Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.
Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.
Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.
The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.
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Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.
The safest next step.
A genuine step up, without a jolt.
A useful leap with guided practice.
This American Ballad unfolds a rhythmic yet veiled mood, with seemingly simple melodies that mask subtle offsets and a shifting palette of dynamics. Among the technical challenges, Polyrhythm 2 against 3 (3.1/5) requires precise hand independence: sustaining a steady ternary pattern in one hand while keeping a flexible duple in the other, coordinating attacks and connections; the Impressionist Style (3.1/5) forces attention to tone color and voice distribution, refining balance between layers and the use of sustain to create those floating harmonic washes. Composed in the modern period of the composer, the piece stands among his piano works as a shorter, more atmospheric page focused on stylized folk gestures and timbral exploration rather than extended symphonic form.