Repertoire › 16 Etudes and Polkas, H.308 › What to play next
What to play after 16 Etudes and Polkas, H.308 ?
Bohuslav Martinů · difficulty 50/100

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
2 Toccatas, W.72
George Antheil
55/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
4 Études de rhythme, I/32-35
Olivier Messiaen
55/100 +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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Puppets, Book 1, H.137
Bohuslav Martinů
55/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Balance mains and Style moderne et contemporain — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Valse-improvisation sur le nom de Bach, FP62
Francis Poulenc
55/100 +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: 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
PAR T.S.F., H.173bis
Bohuslav Martinů
62/100 +12 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: 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
2 Waltzes in C
George Gershwin
60/100 +10 pts 12-24 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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Puppets, Book 3, H.92
Bohuslav Martinů
59/100 +9 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Bourrée au pavillon d'Auvergne, FP87
Francis Poulenc
58/100 +8 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 and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Étude in E major Op.10 No.3
Frédéric Chopin
69/100 +19 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Voix chantante and Gammes et arpèges — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Challenge
Study no. 15
Charles Ives
70/100 +20 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style moderne et contemporain — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Study no. 5
Charles Ives
70/100 +20 pts 28-56 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Style moderne et contemporain — 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
Mazurka, H.284
Bohuslav Martinů
50/100 same level 4-6 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Style moderne et contemporain — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Sarabande, for piano, H. 26
Arthur Honegger
50/100 same level 4-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
3 Danses fantastiques, op. 5
Dmitri Shostakovich
47/100 -3 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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.