What to play after Invention No.6 in E major BWV 777 ?
Johann Sebastian Bach · difficulty 34/100

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 I, for piano
Carlos Chávez
40/100 +6 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
Invention No.3 in D major BWV 774
Johann Sebastian Bach
38/100 +4 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
Invention No.7 in E minor BWV 778
Johann Sebastian Bach
38/100 +4 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
Sinfonia in E flat major, H.104, Wq.122, no. 2
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
41/100 +7 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short 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.
Gentle
Chromatic Invention (1)
Béla Bartók
37/100 +3 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.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Sinfonia in F major, H.227, Wq.122, no. 5
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
43/100 +9 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer 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.
Balanced
Invention No.12 in A major BWV 783
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
Invention No.11 in G minor BWV 782
Johann Sebastian Bach
43/100 +8 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
Canzona Terza
Girolamo Frescobaldi
48/100 +14 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). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements baroque and Style baroque — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

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.