Repertoire › In Lydian Mode › What to play next
What to play after In Lydian Mode ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 24/100

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
2 Piano pieces B flat major, E flat major K. Anh. 20a (626b/25)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
30/100 +6 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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Melody in the Mist
Béla Bartók
30/100 +6 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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
In Four Parts (2)
Béla Bartók
30/100 +6 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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
In a Landscape, for piano
John Cage
30/100 +6 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 demand here is musical rather than mechanical: Nuances — the notes will be secure long before the musical line: work in whole phrases, singing the main voice.
Gentle
Album Leaf WoO.22
Edvard Grieg
28/100 +4 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.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Dragons' Dance
Béla Bartók
36/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
From an Indian Lodge op. 51
Edward MacDowell
36/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
"A deserted Farm" from Woodland Sketches op. 51
Edward MacDowell
36/100 +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). The skill that will carry the work: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
No.96 — Stumblings
Béla Bartók
36/100 +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: Rythmes pointés and Indépendance des mains — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
6. Andante
Béla Bartók
40/100 +16 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 +20 pts 16-32 weeks
partial transfer 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
Staccato and Legato (1)
Béla Bartók
15/100 -9 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. New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Style moderne et contemporain — 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
Praeambulum in F major, BWV.927
Johann Sebastian Bach
24/100 same level 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 +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: 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
No.74 — Hungarian Song
Béla Bartók
27/100 +3 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Rythmes pointés and Indépendance des mains — 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.