Repertoire › Original Rags › What to play next
What to play after Original Rags ?
Scott Joplin · difficulty 40/100

Choose your level of commitment: consolidate, move up a tier or prepare a challenge. The top-ranked cards combine difficulty, risk, shared skills and confidence.

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Gentle step

The safest next step.

Gentle
Maple Leaf Rag
Scott Joplin
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
The Entertainer
Scott Joplin
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Syncopes — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Königsmarsch in E flat major, WoO100, TrV217
Richard Strauss
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Jig, for piano, H.179
Gustav Holst
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
March in E major, D.606
Franz Schubert
47/100 +7 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Technique générale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
A Breeze from Alabama
Scott Joplin
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Tarantella in A minor, G.vi217
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Adagio in G major, D.178
Franz Schubert
48/100 +8 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Legato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Antoinette
Scott Joplin
48/100 +8 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Syncopes — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 35
Frédéric Chopin
59/100 +19 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Mazurkas, op. 67
Frédéric Chopin
56/100 +16 pts 20-40 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Piano Sonata no. 10 in G major, op. 14 no. 2
Ludwig van Beethoven
55/100 +15 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Variations on a Swiss Air, WoO 64
Ludwig van Beethoven
39/100 -1 pts 2-3 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Paragon Rag
Scott Joplin
37/100 -3 pts 2-3 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Wall Street Rag
Scott Joplin
43/100 +3 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Syncopes and Indépendance des mains — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Progressions computed from difficulty, skill overlap and style between works. A What do we play next? recommendation should remain a pedagogical starting point, not an automatic prescription.