Repertoire › Etude op. 40,1 › What to play next
What to play after Etude op. 40,1 ?
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky · difficulty 52/100

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
Etude F sharp major op. 42 no. 3
Alexander Scriabin
58/100 +6 pts 5-10 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: Ornements romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Gentle
6 Piano Variations B flat major op. 19
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
58/100 +6 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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Exercise Piece C major
Clara Wieck-Schumann
56/100 +3 pts 5-10 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: Technique générale — 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 +7 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.
Gentle
Czerny Étude Op.299 No.20
Carl Czerny
59/100 +7 pts 5-10 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: Gammes et arpèges — 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
Exercise Piece g minor
Clara Wieck-Schumann
62/100 +10 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The 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
8 Etudes
Ned Rorem
65/100 +13 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
Etude f sharp minor op. 42 no. 2
Alexander Scriabin
65/100 +13 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes 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 romantiques — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Étude in E major Op.10 No.3
Frédéric Chopin
69/100 +17 pts 24-48 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: Voix chantante and Indépendance des mains — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Challenge
Etude D flat major KK IIb, 3,3
Frédéric Chopin
68/100 +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: 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
Impromptu B flat major
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
54/100 +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. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Legato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
6 Impromptus op. 7
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
50/100 -2 pts 4-6 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Legato — 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.