Repertoire › Mazurka no. 4 in G flat major › What to play next
What to play after Mazurka no. 4 in G flat major ?
Mily Balakirev · difficulty 40/100

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
Mazurka no. 2 in C sharp minor
Mily Balakirev
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Mazurka no. 5 in D
Mily Balakirev
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Romantic Waltz, M59a
Karol Szymanowski
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Mazurka in C major Op.33 No.3
Frédéric Chopin
45/100 +5 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up, staying in Elementary (around grade 5 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Mazurka, L.67
Claude Debussy
46/100 +6 pts 4-8 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Intermediate (around grade 5 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.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Mazurka in B-flat major Op.7 No.1
Frédéric Chopin
51/100 +11 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Mazurka no. 7 in E flat minor
Mily Balakirev
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Waltz no. 7
Mily Balakirev
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 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
3 Mazurkas in A flat major
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka
50/100 +10 pts 10-20 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Intermediate (around grade 6 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
Mazurkas, op. 67
Frédéric Chopin
56/100 +16 pts 20-40 weeks
close skills 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: Indépendance des mains — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Challenge
Waltz no. 4 in B flat major, "Valse de concert"
Mily Balakirev
55/100 +15 pts 20-40 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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.
Challenge
Valse di bravura no. 1
Mily Balakirev
55/100 +15 pts 20-40 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Intermediate (around grade 6 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. 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

To widen the repertoire without raising the level.

Same level
Polka in F sharp minor
Mily Balakirev
40/100 same level 3-4 weeks
close skills 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: Tempo rubato — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Same level
30 Minuets with Trios, D.41
Franz Schubert
37/100 -3 pts 2-3 weeks
close skills 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: Caractère et style — the notes are not enough: articulation and ornaments follow performance conventions best checked in an urtext edition.
Same level
Allemande in A major, WoO 81
Ludwig van Beethoven
37/100 -3 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: Style baroque and Ornements baroque — 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.