Repertoire › Broken Chords › What to play next
What to play after Broken Chords ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 27/100

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
In Four Parts (1)
Béla Bartók
32/100 +6 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Piano Sonata (Keepsake for Julie) op. 118,1
Robert Schumann
32/100 +6 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
No.36 — Free Canon
Béla Bartók
33/100 +6 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 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
Burgmüller - Ballade Op.100 No.15
Friedrich Burgmüller
31/100 +4 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Passages rapides and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Burgmüller - La tarentelle Op.100 No.20
Friedrich Burgmüller
34/100 +7 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Staccato — 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
Chromatic Invention (1)
Béla Bartók
37/100 +10 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à deux voix and Demi-pédale — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Song without Words (Venetian Gondola Song) g minor op. 19,6
Felix Mendelssohn
40/100 +13 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Balanced
Melody
Béla Bartók
35/100 +8 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Balanced
4 Early Pieces for piano, "Basso Ostinato"
György Ligeti
35/100 +8 pts 6-12 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Demi-pédale — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
Piano Sonata G major K. 283 (189h)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
44/100 +17 pts 16-32 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in 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
Variations on a Folk Tune
Béla Bartók
42/100 +15 pts 16-32 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap while staying in Elementary (around grade 5 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
Two Major Pentachords
Béla Bartók
23/100 -4 pts 8-16 weeks
new reflexes 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. 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
Czerny Étude Op.599 No.80
Carl Czerny
28/100 +1 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Gammes et arpèges — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Diminished Fifths
Béla Bartók
29/100 +2 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
No.51 — Waves
Béla Bartók
25/100 -2 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Beginner (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. What changes is the skill in play: Gammes et arpèges and Lecture avec altérations accidentelles — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
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.