Repertoire › Prelude in E-flat major BWV 852 (WTC I) › What to play next
What to play after Prelude in E-flat major BWV 852 (WTC I) ?
Johann Sebastian Bach · difficulty 64/100

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
Prelude Op.3 No.2 in C-sharp minor
Sergei Rachmaninoff
68/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Prelude A flat major KK IVb,7
Frédéric Chopin
70/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Phrasé — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
3 Préludes
Henri Dutilleux
70/100 +6 pts 7-14 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Phrasé — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV.543, "The Great"
Johann Sebastian Bach
75/100 +11 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Préludes, Book 2, L.123
Claude Debussy
75/100 +11 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Balanced
Preludes for Piano no. 3
Sergei Prokofiev
74/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Phrasé — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Balanced
Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV.532
Johann Sebastian Bach
77/100 +13 pts 14-28 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Préludes, Book 1, L.117
Claude Debussy
80/100 +16 pts 32-64 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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.
Challenge
Prélude, choral et fugue (A Mademoiselle Marie Poitevin)
Robert Schumann
80/100 +16 pts 28-56 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — 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
Prelude and Fugue No.18 in G-sharp minor BWV 863
Johann Sebastian Bach
62/100 -2 pts 4-7 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style baroque and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Prelude and Fugue No.21 in B-flat major BWV 866
Johann Sebastian Bach
62/100 -2 pts 4-7 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Style baroque — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Rêverie L.68
Claude Debussy
61/100 -3 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
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.