Repertoire › No.141 — Subject and Reflection › What to play next
What to play after No.141 — Subject and Reflection ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 57/100

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.146 — Ostinato
Béla Bartók
62/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Rythmes pointés — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
"Il Pensieroso" from Années de pèlerinage
Franz Liszt
63/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques and Passages rapides — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
Pour le piano: Sarabande
Claude Debussy
60/100 +3 pts 6-12 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 Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Out of Doors, BB89
Béla Bartók
60/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style moderne et contemporain and Passages rapides — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Music for Piano 37 - 52, for piano or any number of pianos
John Cage
60/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Etude D flat major KK IIb, 3,3
Frédéric Chopin
68/100 +11 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Etude f minor KK IIb, 3,1
Frédéric Chopin
67/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
No.145 — Chromatic Invention (1)
Béla Bartók
66/100 +9 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Balanced
No.142 — From the Diary of a Fly
Béla Bartók
66/100 +9 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Syncopes and Staccato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
V. Allegro molto
Béla Bartók
74/100 +17 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: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Challenge
Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor Op.31
Frédéric Chopin
73/100 +17 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: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
II. Molto capriccioso
Béla Bartók
72/100 +15 pts 28-56 weeks
new reflexes moderate 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: Rythmes pointés and Gammes et arpèges — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Sinfonia No.15 in B minor BWV 801
Johann Sebastian Bach
57/100 +1 pts 4-6 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: 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.
Same level
Allegro BB 79,15
Béla Bartók
55/100 -2 pts 4-6 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Scherzo BB 79,5
Béla Bartók
55/100 -2 pts 4-6 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
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.