Repertoire › Two Major Pentachords › What to play next
What to play after Two Major Pentachords ?
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
6 Pieces from "Etudes en Vingt-quatre Valses" op. 49
Johann Wilhelm Hässler
27/100 +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 skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Gentle
Ländler op. 67,5 D 734
Franz Schubert
27/100 +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 skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Gentle
Ecossaise op. 18,4 D 145
Franz Schubert
27/100 +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 skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Gentle
Diminished Fifths
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: Staccato — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
No.44 — Contrary Motion
Béla Bartók
27/100 +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). 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 step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Waltz op. 9,3 D 365
Franz Schubert
34/100 +11 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). The skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Balanced
Waltz op. post. 127,15 D 146
Franz Schubert
34/100 +11 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). The skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Balanced
Playsong (with two pentatonic scales)
Béla Bartók
35/100 +12 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). The skill that will carry the work: Lecture à vue — keep it up with daily reading of easy pieces rather than grinding one passage.
Balanced
Variations
Béla Bartók
32/100 +9 pts 6-12 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Elementary (around grade 3 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. New compared with the previous piece: Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — 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
6. Andante
Béla Bartók
40/100 +17 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. 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
Sonatina BB 69
Béla Bartók
38/100 +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. 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.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
No.39 — Staccato and Legato
Béla Bartók
22/100 -1 pts 1-2 weeks
partial transfer 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: 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, 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
Czerny Étude Op.599 No.40
Carl Czerny
21/100 -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: Staccato — 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.