Repertoire › Imitation and Inversion (1) › What to play next
What to play after Imitation and Inversion (1) ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 15/100

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
Music for Piano 1, for piano
John Cage
20/100 +5 pts 2-4 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Gentle
No.13 — Change of Position
Béla Bartók
19/100 +5 pts 2-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 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
In Three Parts
Béla Bartók
18/100 +4 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: Polyphonie à deux voix — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Haunted House
Christopher Norton
18/100 +3 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: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Six Little Preludes
Johann Sebastian Bach
18/100 +3 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: Style baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
And the Earth Shall Bear Again
John Cage
25/100 +10 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced
Music for Piano 1- 85, for piano
John Cage
25/100 +10 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills 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: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Balanced
Increasing - Diminishing
Béla Bartók
24/100 +9 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Balanced
Pastorale
Béla Bartók
23/100 +8 pts 4-8 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Melody with Interruptions
Béla Bartók
33/100 +18 pts 12-24 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Challenge
2-Part Inventions, BWV.772-786
Johann Sebastian Bach
32/100 +17 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 3 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.
Challenge
In the Style of a Folksong
Béla Bartók
31/100 +16 pts 12-24 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Question and Answer
Béla Bartók
13/100 -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: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Minuet in G major K.1e
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
17/100 +2 pts 1-2 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Six Unison Melodies, no. 5
Béla Bartók
12/100 -3 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: Ornements baroque — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
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.