Repertoire › Prelude and Fugue No.16 in G minor BWV 861 › What to play next
What to play after Prelude and Fugue No.16 in G minor BWV 861 ?
Johann Sebastian Bach · difficulty 61/100

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 and Fugue No.20 in A minor BWV 865
Johann Sebastian Bach
66/100 +5 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Fugue in E flat major, Wq.119, no. 6, H.102
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
66/100 +5 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: Style classique and Analyse harmonique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Prelude and Fugue, op. 46
Albert Roussel
65/100 +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: Polyphonie à deux voix and Connaissance des formes — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Prelude and Fugue in C minor, WAB 131
Anton Bruckner
65/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: 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.
Gentle
Prelude and Fugue No.24 in B minor BWV 869
Johann Sebastian Bach
67/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style baroque and Connaissance des formes — 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
Prelude and Fugue in G minor, WoO 10
Johannes Brahms
72/100 +11 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 skill that will carry the work: 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
Fugue no. 5 en Ré Majeur, BWV.874
Johann Sebastian Bach
73/100 +12 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: Ornements baroque and Indépendance des mains — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV.533, "Cathedral"
Johann Sebastian Bach
70/100 +9 pts 14-28 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: Ornements baroque and Indépendance des mains — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, WoO 9
Johannes Brahms
70/100 +9 pts 14-28 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: 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
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV.903
Johann Sebastian Bach
80/100 +20 pts 32-64 weeks
partial transfer 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: Croisements de mains and Ornements baroque — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV.532
Johann Sebastian Bach
77/100 +16 pts 28-56 weeks
close skills 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: Ornements baroque and Passages rapides — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Challenge
Préludes Book I No.10 (La cathédrale engloutie)
Claude Debussy
76/100 +15 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: Octaves and Balance mains — 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
French Suite no. 4 in E flat major, BWV.815
Johann Sebastian Bach
61/100 same level 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: Ornements baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level
Rêverie L.68
Claude Debussy
61/100 same level 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: Voix chantante — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Same level
English Suite No. 3
Johann Sebastian Bach
58/100 -3 pts 4-6 weeks
partial transfer 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: Polyphonie à deux voix and Style baroque — 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.