Repertoire › Marche triste, JS 124 › What to play next
What to play after Marche triste, JS 124 ?
Jean Sibelius · difficulty 38/100

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
The Rosebud March
Scott Joplin
42/100 +4 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (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.
Gentle
Andantino in B major, JS 44
Jean Sibelius
41/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (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.
Gentle
Largo in A major, JS 117
Jean Sibelius
45/100 +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). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
3 Marches, D.602, op. posth.27;, "Heroic"
Franz Schubert
45/100 +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). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Marche triomphale in E flat major, H.16
John Field
45/100 +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: Caractère et style — 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
Variations on a March by Dressler, WoO 63
Ludwig van Beethoven
48/100 +10 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: Analyse harmonique and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Con moto, sempre una corda in D flat major, JS 52
Jean Sibelius
48/100 +10 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
Spagnuolo
Jean Sibelius
50/100 +12 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 demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
March in E major, D.606
Franz Schubert
47/100 +9 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: Technique générale — 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
10 Pieces, op. 58
Jean Sibelius
55/100 +17 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. 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.
Challenge
5 Pieces, op. 85, "The Flowers"
Jean Sibelius
55/100 +17 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
Marche écossaise, sur un thème populaire, for piano 4-hands, L.77
Claude Debussy
55/100 +17 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: Style impressionniste — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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
Più lento: Tempo di valse in E flat major, JS 150
Jean Sibelius
40/100 +2 pts 3-4 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. 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.
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.