Repertoire › Air and Variations (from The Notebook) › What to play next
What to play after Air and Variations (from The Notebook) ?
Henry Purcell · difficulty 19/100

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
Sonatina in G (3 mvts)
Albert Biehl
24/100 +5 pts 2-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Piano Sonatina from Twelve Easy sonatinas for the Piano-Forte A major
Ignaz Pleyel
23/100 +4 pts 2-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 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
Piano Sonatina from Twelve Easy sonatinas for the Piano-Forte E major
Ignaz Pleyel
23/100 +4 pts 2-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 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
March from the Notebook of W.F. Bach BWV Anh.122
Johann Sebastian Bach
23/100 +4 pts 2-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Variations, K.Anh.137
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
30/100 +11 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Sonatina in G major Op.55 No.2 (I)
Friedrich Kuhlau
31/100 +12 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Sonatina Op.20 No.1
Friedrich Kuhlau
32/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Sonatina in A minor Op.17 No.5
Thomas Attwood
32/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Sonatina in E-flat major Op.168 No.2
Anton Diabelli
36/100 +17 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Invention No.8 in F major BWV 779
Johann Sebastian Bach
35/100 +17 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Invention No.6 in E major BWV 777
Johann Sebastian Bach
34/100 +15 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — 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
Sonatina in C (1st mov.)
Thomas Attwood
20/100 +1 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 2 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
Sonatina in C major (Anh.5)
Ludwig van Beethoven
21/100 +2 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 2 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
Sonatina in C major Op.36 No.1
Muzio Clementi
21/100 +2 pts 1-2 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style classique and Doigté complexe — 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.