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Chopin - Mazurka in A Minor, Op. 68 No. 2
ABRSM Grade 7 - B1
The mazurka is a stylised Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with strong accents on the second or third beat. Chopin wrote over 50 mazurkas and this is an example of a slower one - there needs to be some leeway with the prescribed metronome speed of 116, given the lento marking. Sad and wistful in character, the mood changes when the music moves briefly into C major, requiring a new colour. The middle section in the brighter key of A major requires a flexible approach to the new (faster) tempo. Pedal markings require some... Read >>
Daquin - Le coucou (Rondeau: 1st mvt from Troisième suite)
ABRSM Grade 7 – A3
Preview (please log-in or subscribe to see full video) Resources & links This piece is available for individual purchase as a digital download here or in print as part of the Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 Grade 7 publication here. Open domain editions are also available here. You can listen to a recording of this piece and others from this grade on Spotify using this link. ... Read >>
Bartók - Stamping Dance (No. 128 from Mikrokosmos, Vol. 5)
ABRSM Grade 6 – C1
Resources & links This piece is available for individual purchase as a digital download here or in print as part of the Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 Grade 6 publication here. Open domain editions are also available here. You can listen to a... Read >>
D. Scarlatti - Sonata in A, Kp. 208, L. 238
ABRSM Grade 6 – A10
Born in 1685, the same year as J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel, Domenico Scarlatti wrote 555 single-movement, mostly binary form sonatas for the harpsichord (some possibly intended for the early piano). Some of these works display a bold use of harmony, the influence of the Spanish guitar and of Iberian folk music.To make the Sonata in A, K. 208 interesting on the piano, a wide dynamic palette is essential. The main line needs to be projected and shaped in vocal style, the left hand generally keeping out of the way. Play without pedal and your sound will likely... Read >>
Trad. Swedish (arr. Bullard) - Björnen sover
ABRSM Initial Grade – A3
Resources & links This piece is available for individual purchase as a digital download here or in print as part of the Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 Initial Grade publication here. You can listen to a recording of this piece and others from this grade on Spotify using this link. ... Read >>
Mel Bonis - Il pleut
ABRSM Grade 8 – A2
Preview (please log-in or subscribe to see full video) Resources & links This piece is available for individual purchase as a digital download here or in print as part of the Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 Grade 8 publication here. Open domain editions are also available here. You can listen to a recording of this piece and others from this grade on Spotify using this link. ... Read >>
Debussy - Arabesque No. 2 (from Deux arabesques, L. 66)
ABRSM Grade 8 - C2
Debussy’s two arabesques are from his early period, before he became influenced by Impressionism. Arabesque No. 2 requires a certain deftness (lightness) of touch to bring out the balletic qualities in the piece. The pedalling is too subtle for the player to notate in the score (Debussy famously didn’t even try), calling for light touches here and there to add colour and resonance. Certain spots (bars 42 and 82, for example) call for longer pedals to sustain the harmony, the rests are not to be taken literally here but instead indicate to play the surrounding notes lightly. ... Read >>
Daquin - Suite de la réjouissance (Gavotte en rondeau from Premier livre de pièces de clavecin)
ABRSM Grade 2 – A3
Resources & links This piece is available for individual purchase as a digital download here or in print as part of the Piano Exam Pieces 2025 & 2026 Grade 2 publication here. Open domain editions are also available here. You can listen to a recording of this piece and others from this grade on Spotify using ... Read >>
Haydn - Minuet and Trio (2nd mvt from Sonata in D, Hob. XVI:4)
ABRSM Grade 5 – A2
In the Classical Period a minuet was a stylised dance in triple time, elegant in character. It was customary to follow a minuet with a trio, after which the minuet was repeated (creating an overall ABA structure); we find minuets and trios in symphonies as well as in other multi-movement forms, such as sonatas.This piece requires a strong rhythmic backbone as well as some articulation and delicacy with the ornamentation. Do we play the right hand in bar 7, for example, legato or detached? Perhaps the first beat might be detached, and a slur added between the second and third... Read >>