Repertoire › Playsong (with two pentatonic scales) › What to play next
What to play after Playsong (with two pentatonic scales) ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 35/100

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
Almande Chapelle, for keyboard
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
40/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM). 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.
Gentle
6. Andante
Béla Bartók
40/100 +5 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 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
Piano Sonata (First Prussian) F major Wq 48,1
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
40/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (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.
Gentle
Zortzico op. 165,6
Isaac Albéniz
39/100 +4 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 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
Sonatina BB 69
Béla Bartók
38/100 +3 pts 3-6 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 4 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 step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Film en Miniature, cycle of pieces, H.148
Bohuslav Martinů
45/100 +10 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer 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: Style moderne et contemporain — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
Rondo F major FXWM VII:1
Franz Xaver Mozart
45/100 +10 pts 8-16 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 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
Boating
Béla Bartók
43/100 +8 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 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
3. Andante
Béla Bartók
43/100 +8 pts 8-16 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Elementary (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.
Ambitious challenge

A useful leap with guided practice.

Challenge
1. Allegro
Béla Bartók
51/100 +16 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: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
2. Allegro
Béla Bartók
51/100 +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: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Nocturne in E-flat major Op.9 No.2
Frédéric Chopin
51/100 +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: Ornements romantiques and Voix chantante — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Same level

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Children's Song
Béla Bartók
33/100 -2 pts 2-3 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Elementary (around grade 4 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. 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.
Same level
Melody with Interruptions
Béla Bartók
33/100 -2 pts 2-3 weeks
partial transfer 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: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Same level
Waltz in B minor Op.69 No.2
Frédéric Chopin
33/100 -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: Indépendance des mains — 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.