Repertoire › Menuet I and II in E flat major, H.171, Wq.116, no. 1 › What to play next
What to play after Menuet I and II in E flat major, H.171, Wq.116, no. 1 ?
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach · difficulty 45/100

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
Mazurka g sharp minor op. 33,1
Frédéric Chopin
50/100 +5 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
Rondo in A minor, H.262, Wq.56, no. 5
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
51/100 +6 pts 5-10 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Polonaise E flat major
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
48/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 5 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
Mazurka g minor op. 67,2
Frédéric Chopin
52/100 +7 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
La Borchward, polonaise in G major, Wq.117, no. 17
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
48/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
12 Piano Variations on a Minuet K. 179 (189a)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
55/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique and Style classique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
Eine Kleine Gigue in G major, K.574
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
57/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
L'Auguste, polonaise in F major, H.122, Wq.117, no. 22
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
55/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Fantasia in B flat major, H.289, Wq. 61, no. 3
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
54/100 +8 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Fugue a2 in D minor, for clavichord, H.99, Wq.119, no. 2
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
62/100 +17 pts 24-48 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus and Analyse harmonique — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Fantasia in B flat major, H.146, Wq.112, no. 8
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
60/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Bizet: Minuet from L'Arlesienne-Suite no. 1, TN iii/3
Sergei Rachmaninoff
60/100 +15 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Polonaise in G minor, BWV.Anh.125
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
46/100 +1 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Polonaise in G minor, BWV.Anh.119
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
46/100 +1 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Waltz in D major, WoO 85
Ludwig van Beethoven
42/100 -3 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. 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.