Repertoire › Mazurka A flat major KK IVb,4 › What to play next
What to play after Mazurka A flat major KK IVb,4 ?
Frédéric Chopin · difficulty 43/100

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
3 Danses fantastiques, op. 5
Dmitri Shostakovich
47/100 +4 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 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
Mazurka
Claude Debussy
47/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
2 Bourrées
Frédéric Chopin
50/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 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
Polka poétique g minor op. 8,2
Bedrich Smetana
50/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Mazurka g sharp minor op. 33,1
Frédéric Chopin
50/100 +7 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into 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.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
2 Mazurkas, op. 40
Alexander Scriabin
55/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Mazurka in C minor, G.11
Manuel de Falla
55/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Style moderne et contemporain — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Mazurka in A minor Op.7 No.2
Frédéric Chopin
52/100 +8 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Ornements romantiques — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Mazurka in B-flat major Op.7 No.1
Frédéric Chopin
51/100 +8 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés — 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
Mazurkas, op. 30
Frédéric Chopin
62/100 +19 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Mazurka de salon in D minor, op. 96, B.31/2, "Ricordatti"
Isaac Albéniz
60/100 +17 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Staccato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Challenge
Mazurkas, op. 33
Frédéric Chopin
59/100 +16 pts 20-40 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des 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
12 German Ländler, D.790, op. posth.171
Franz Schubert
42/100 -1 pts 3-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. 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
Waltz b minor op. post. 69,2
Frédéric Chopin
45/100 +2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Same level
Waltz in E minor Op. posth.
Frédéric Chopin
41/100 -2 pts 3-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. 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.
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.