Repertoire › Waltz a minor op. 34,2 › What to play next
What to play after Waltz a minor op. 34,2 ?
Frédéric Chopin · difficulty 53/100

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
3rd movement: Finale. Tempo di Minuet from Sonata Hob. XVI:49
Franz Joseph Haydn
58/100 +4 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Pédale de sustain — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
2 Waltzes in C
George Gershwin
60/100 +7 pts 6-12 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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Waltz E major op. 39,2
Johannes Brahms
57/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 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
Waltz e minor KK IVa,15
Frédéric Chopin
57/100 +3 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: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
Waltz in C-sharp minor Op.64 No.2
Frédéric Chopin
60/100 +7 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: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Waltz no. 3 in A minor, op. 34 no. 2
Frédéric Chopin
64/100 +11 pts 12-24 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
3 Ecossaises D major, G major, D flat major op. 72,3
Frédéric Chopin
66/100 +12 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 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.
Balanced
Valse mignonne
Ruggero Leoncavallo
63/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Valse in C
Georges Bizet
67/100 +14 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 demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — 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
Waltz no. 8 in A‐flat major, op. 64 no. 3
Frédéric Chopin
70/100 +17 pts 28-56 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: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Challenge
Valse-Scherzo op. 34
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
69/100 +16 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 — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Waltz in A flat major, op. 42
Frédéric Chopin
69/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Tempo rubato — 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
Waltz f minor op. post. 70,2
Frédéric Chopin
55/100 +1 pts 4-6 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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.
Same level
Mazurka in A minor Op.7 No.2
Frédéric Chopin
52/100 -2 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: Rythmes pointés and Ornements romantiques — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
12 Piano Variations on a Minuet K. 179 (189a)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
55/100 +2 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: Connaissance des formes and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
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.