Repertoire › Polonaise in A flat major, B.5 › What to play next
What to play after Polonaise in A flat major, B.5 ?
Frédéric Chopin · difficulty 64/100

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
Polonaise in G flat major, B.36
Frédéric Chopin
70/100 +6 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Polonaise en rondeau in E flat major, H.29
John Field
68/100 +4 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Grande Polonaise in E flat major, J.59, op. 21
Carl Maria von Weber
67/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Demi-pédale and Rythmes pointés — the pedal is set by ear, note by note: misjudged, it blurs the harmony instead of joining it.
Gentle
Polonaise in C major, op. 89
Ludwig van Beethoven
67/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk to confirm
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Gentle
Polonaise in G sharp minor, B.6
Frédéric Chopin
67/100 +3 pts 6-12 weeks
close skills low risk fair confidence
A short step up — but it is the one that moves you into Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques and Indépendance des mains — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Balanced step

A genuine step up, without a jolt.

Balanced
Polonaise in B flat minor, B.13, "Adieu à Guillaume Kolberg"
Frédéric Chopin
74/100 +10 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Polonaise in F sharp minor, op. 44
Frédéric Chopin
76/100 +12 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk fair confidence
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). New compared with the previous piece: Indépendance des mains and Rythmes pointés — practise it slowly and hands separately before any attempt at tempo: that is where tension builds up.
Balanced
Polonaise in B flat minor, op. 21
Alexander Scriabin
72/100 +8 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Balanced
Ballade, for piano, op. 9
César Franck
72/100 +8 pts 14-28 weeks
close skills moderate risk to confirm
A real step up: this piece moves you into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM). The skill that will carry the work: Passages rapides — 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
Polonaise-fantaisie in A flat major, op. 61
Frédéric Chopin
83/100 +19 pts 32-64 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Ornements romantiques and Analyse harmonique — ornaments must be secure before the piece goes up to tempo, otherwise they break the line instead of decorating it.
Challenge
Polonaise no. 6 in A flat major, op. 53, "Heroic"
Frédéric Chopin
84/100 +20 pts 32-64 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Great repertoire (diploma level, beyond grade 8) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. The skill that will carry the work: Rythmes pointés and Passages rapides — the pitfall is the pulse drifting as soon as the writing thickens: subdivide with the metronome.
Challenge
Ballade in the Form of Variations on an Norwegian Melody in G minor, op. 24
Edvard Grieg
80/100 +16 pts 28-56 weeks
close skills high risk to confirm
An ambitious leap into Advanced (around grade 8 ABRSM/RCM) — only worth starting if the practice time is really there. New compared with the previous piece: Connaissance des formes and Polyphonie à trois voix ou plus — 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
Rhapsodies, op. 79
Johannes Brahms
64/100 same level 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 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
Mazurkas, op. 30
Frédéric Chopin
62/100 -2 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, still Intermediate (around grade 7 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.
Same level
Mazurkas, op. 41
Frédéric Chopin
66/100 +2 pts 4-7 weeks
partial transfer low risk to confirm
Equivalent demands, right at the edge of Advanced (around grade 7 ABRSM/RCM): different ground, same level. 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.
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.