Repertoire › Study no. 2: Coulée › What to play next
What to play after Study no. 2: Coulée ?
György Ligeti · difficulty 45/100

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
By the Seashore, concert etude in G sharp minor, op. 17
Bedrich Smetana
50/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Perpetuum mobile
Béla Bartók
52/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Au jardin, étude-idylle in D flat major
Mily Balakirev
48/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Czerny Étude Op.299 No.30
Carl Czerny
48/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Gammes et arpèges — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Study no. 20: March
Charles Ives
52/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Ornements romantiques — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Prélude et Etude en Arpèges, KiV 297
Ferruccio Busoni
55/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Toccata no. 2 in C
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
55/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 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.
Balanced
Etude F sharp major op. 42 no. 3
Alexander Scriabin
58/100 +13 pts 10-20 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Indian Diary: First Book, KiV 267, "Four Studies on Motives by American Indians"
Ferruccio Busoni
62/100 +17 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Etudes in Canon Form, op. 56
Robert Schumann
61/100 +16 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Capriccio no. 1
György Ligeti
45/100 same level 3-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 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
Etude in C sharp minor, op. 2 no. 1
Alexander Scriabin
45/100 same level 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Trilles — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
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.