Repertoire › Exercise Piece C major › What to play next
What to play after Exercise Piece C major ?
Clara Wieck-Schumann · difficulty 56/100

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
Toccata for keyboard no. 1 in C
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
60/100 +4 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: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Toccata no. 2 in D minor
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
60/100 +4 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: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Exercise Piece g minor
Clara Wieck-Schumann
62/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. The skill that will carry the work: Technique générale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Czerny Étude Op.299 No.20
Carl Czerny
59/100 +3 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: Gammes et arpèges — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
No.135 — Perpetuum mobile
Béla Bartók
59/100 +3 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: 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
Chromatic Invention (3)
Béla Bartók
68/100 +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). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Czerny Étude Op.299 No.40
Carl Czerny
68/100 +12 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: Gammes et arpèges — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
8 Etudes
Ned Rorem
65/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Technique générale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Toccatina op. 6,1
Fanny Hensel
65/100 +9 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Sonatine (all mvts)
Maurice Ravel
73/100 +18 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: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Morceau de salon, étude de perfectionnement, S.142
Franz Liszt
76/100 +20 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: Passages rapides — 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
Toccata no. 2 in C
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
55/100 -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: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Prélude et Etude en Arpèges, KiV 297
Ferruccio Busoni
55/100 -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: 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.