Repertoire › Chromatic Invention (1) › What to play next
What to play after Chromatic Invention (1) ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 37/100

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
Invention No.11 in G minor BWV 782
Johann Sebastian Bach
43/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Night Wind from Mikrokosmos Vol.4 No.108
Béla Bartók
43/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Doigté complexe — settle and write the fingering in at first reading: changing it later costs weeks.
Gentle
Invention No.14 in B-flat major BWV 785
Johann Sebastian Bach
43/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Toccata from Mikrokosmos Vol.4 No.115
Béla Bartók
42/100 +4 pts 4-8 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 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
Fugue from "Eight Fugues" E flat major
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
40/100 +3 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Polyphonie à deux voix — 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
Sinfonia 5 (ornamented) E flat major BWV 791a
Johann Sebastian Bach
49/100 +12 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements baroque and Polyphonie à deux voix — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced
Suite f minor BWV 823
Johann Sebastian Bach
47/100 +10 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Polyphonie à deux voix — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Intermezzo in A major from Mikrokosmos Vol.4 No.118
Béla Bartók
46/100 +9 pts 8-16 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 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.
Balanced
Chromatic Invention (2)
Béla Bartók
46/100 +8 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk fair confidence
Next piece in the same collection, Intermediate (around grade 5 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
Sinfonia No.9 in F minor BWV 795
Johann Sebastian Bach
55/100 +18 pts 20-40 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Allegretto: Invention
Charles Ives
55/100 +18 pts 20-40 weeks
partial transfer high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Indépendance des mains — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Challenge
Sinfonia No.13 in A minor BWV 799
Johann Sebastian Bach
53/100 +16 pts 20-40 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Style baroque and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Sonatina BB 69
Béla Bartók
38/100 +1 pts 2-3 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 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.
Same level
3 Préludes et Fugues, op. 99
Camille Saint-Saëns
35/100 -2 pts 2-3 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. 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.
Same level
Sonatina, BB69, Sz.55
Béla Bartók
35/100 -2 pts 2-3 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Style classique and Connaissance des formes — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
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.