Repertoire › Invention No.4 in D minor BWV 775 › What to play next
What to play after Invention No.4 in D minor BWV 775 ?
Johann Sebastian Bach · difficulty 33/100

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
Invention No.5 in E-flat major BWV 776
Johann Sebastian Bach
38/100 +5 pts 3-6 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
Next piece in the same collection, Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Chromatic Invention (1)
Béla Bartók
37/100 +4 pts 3-6 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Demi-pédale and Polyphonie à deux voix — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
Invention I, for piano
Carlos Chávez
40/100 +7 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Ikonit, suite for piano, op. 6
Einojuhani Rautavaara
40/100 +7 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Invention No.13 in A minor BWV 784
Johann Sebastian Bach
40/100 +7 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — 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
Invention No.12 in A major BWV 783
Johann Sebastian Bach
43/100 +10 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Invention No.11 in G minor BWV 782
Johann Sebastian Bach
43/100 +9 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Suite in C minor, T.302
Johann Pachelbel
46/100 +13 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Sinfonia in E minor, H.115, Wq.122, no. 3
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
42/100 +9 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Style classique — 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
Sinfonia No.11 in G minor BWV 797
Johann Sebastian Bach
52/100 +18 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: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Style baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Invention
György Ligeti
50/100 +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 skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Sinfonia No.2 in C minor BWV 788
Johann Sebastian Bach
49/100 +16 pts 16-32 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Style baroque — 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
Sonatina Op.20 No.1
Friedrich Kuhlau
32/100 -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: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
2-Part Inventions, BWV.772-786
Johann Sebastian Bach
32/100 -1 pts 2-3 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Fugue in C major, BWV.953
Johann Sebastian Bach
35/100 +2 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: Analyse harmonique and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
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.