Repertoire › No.101 — Diminished Fifth › What to play next
What to play after No.101 — Diminished Fifth ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 46/100

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
No.108 — Wrestling
Béla Bartók
51/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Syncopes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Mazurka in A minor Op.7 No.2
Frédéric Chopin
52/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques and Rythmes pointés — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
No.109 — From the Island of Bali
Béla Bartók
52/100 +6 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Syncopes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Sinfonia No.10 in G major BWV 796
Johann Sebastian Bach
50/100 +4 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Sinfonia No.12 in A major BWV 798
Johann Sebastian Bach
50/100 +4 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — 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
"Night pictures" no. 2 op. 25,2
Fanny Hensel
58/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Chords Together and Opposed
Béla Bartók
56/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
3 Rondos on Slovak Folktunes, BB92, Sz.84
Béla Bartók
55/100 +9 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Indépendance des mains — 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
Sonata in B-flat major K.333
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
66/100 +20 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
No.142 — From the Diary of a Fly
Béla Bartók
66/100 +20 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Ornements romantiques — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
7. Variante della precedente (concert version)
Béla Bartók
62/100 +16 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Style romantique — 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
Piano Sonata G major K. 283 (189h)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
44/100 -2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Same level
Hommage à R. Sch.
Béla Bartók
44/100 -2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Ornements romantiques and Rythmes pointés — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level
1. Molto moderato
Béla Bartók
43/100 -3 pts 3-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
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.