Repertoire › Pastorale › What to play next
What to play after Pastorale ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 23/100

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
Chord Study
Béla Bartók
29/100 +6 pts 2-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Technique générale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
1. Andante tranquillo
Béla Bartók
30/100 +7 pts 2-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Gentle
Kontretänze K. deest (269b)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
26/100 +3 pts 2-4 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Les Petits Moulins à Vent
François Couperin
30/100 +7 pts 3-6 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Caractère et style — 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
Maurerische Trauermusik
Mozart
35/100 +12 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Analyse harmonique — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Balanced
March C major K. 408/1 (383e)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
36/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 4 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.
Balanced
Hungarian Dance
Béla Bartók
32/100 +9 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Major and Minor
Béla Bartók
36/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: 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
6. Andante
Béla Bartók
40/100 +17 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 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.
Challenge
Piano Sonata G major K. 283 (189h)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
44/100 +21 pts 16-32 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Indépendance des mains — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
Imitation and Inversion (2)
Béla Bartók
13/100 -10 pts 8-16 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Beginner (around grade 1 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Praeambulum in F major, BWV.927
Johann Sebastian Bach
24/100 +1 pts 1-2 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
No.51 — Waves
Béla Bartók
25/100 +2 pts 1-2 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Staccato and Lecture avec altérations accidentelles — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Dialogue
Béla Bartók
20/100 -3 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Beginner (around grade 2 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. 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.
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.