Repertoire › Village Joke › What to play next
What to play after Village Joke ?
Béla Bartók · difficulty 47/100

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
Six Bulgarian Dances No.1 from Mikrokosmos Vol.6
Béla Bartók
51/100 +5 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Contrôle du toucher — what matters is quality of attack and evenness of tone, not speed.
Gentle
Rondo in D Major, K. 485
Mozart
50/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Gammes et arpèges — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
2 Bourrées
Frédéric Chopin
50/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Staccato and Rythmes pointés — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Gentle
Change of Time
Béla Bartók
50/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Gentle
Malambo, op. 7
Alberto Ginastera
50/100 +3 pts 5-10 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 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 step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Mazurka, KK VIIb/8
Frédéric Chopin
58/100 +11 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Waltz No. 19 in A Minor, Op. posth.
Frédéric Chopin
58/100 +11 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Sonata for Piano no. 11 in A major, K. 300i/331 “Alla Turca”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
58/100 +11 pts 10-20 weeks
partial transfer moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Style classique and Gammes et arpèges — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Balanced
No.144 — Minor Sixths in Parallel Motion
Béla Bartók
58/100 +12 pts 10-20 weeks
new reflexes moderate risk to confirm
A real step up, staying in Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Doubles notes — 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
Sonata in B-flat major K.333
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
66/100 +19 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes — understand the form and the harmony before memorising, or memory collapses the moment you play for someone.
Challenge
No.142 — From the Diary of a Fly
Béla Bartók
66/100 +19 pts 24-48 weeks
new reflexes high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Syncopes and Staccato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Challenge
Fourths
Béla Bartók
43/100 -3 pts 16-32 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Next piece in the same collection, Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): the order its editor chose, a progression already tested. New compared with the previous piece: Technique générale — 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
No.139 — March
Béla Bartók
45/100 -1 pts 3-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. What changes is the skill in play: Passages rapides — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Same level
Clashing Sounds
Béla Bartók
48/100 +2 pts 3-4 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): what changes is the ground. The skill that will carry the work: Rythme général — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
Waltz Op.12 No.2
Edvard Grieg
44/100 -3 pts 3-4 weeks
new reflexes low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. 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.