Repertoire › Six Unison Melodies, no. 1 › What to play next
What to play after Six Unison Melodies, no. 1 ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 17/100

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
6 Preludes from op. 65
Theodor Kirchner
22/100 +5 pts 2-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Gentle
Two Major Pentachords
Béla Bartók
23/100 +5 pts 2-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 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
Buzzing
Béla Bartók
22/100 +5 pts 2-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Sarabande in A minor HWV 476
George Frideric Handel
24/100 +6 pts 2-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements baroque and Style baroque — 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
Diminished Fifths
Béla Bartók
29/100 +11 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 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.
Balanced
Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, T.26
Johann Pachelbel
30/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements baroque and Style baroque — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt, T.25
Johann Pachelbel
30/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements baroque and Style baroque — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
In the Style of a Folksong
Béla Bartók
31/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Invention No.4 in D minor BWV 775
Johann Sebastian Bach
33/100 +16 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Doigté complexe — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Melody with Interruptions
Béla Bartók
33/100 +15 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Challenge
Stumblings
Béla Bartók
33/100 +15 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Caractère et style — 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
Six Unison Melodies, no. 2
Béla Bartók
18/100 +1 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. The skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Same level
Dotted Notes
Béla Bartók
16/100 -2 pts 1-2 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 1 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Style moderne et contemporain — 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.