Intermediate

Schubert - Valse sentimentale, Op. 50 No. 13

This beautiful waltz by Schubert features a cross rhythm between the hands. Don’t miss this feature! The player will need to consider carefully how to use the pedal here - sometimes more, sometimes less. Resources & links Click here to purchase sheet music form the Trinity College online store (external link). Click here to view open domain editions for these works (external link, see page 7). Click here to view the index for our Guide to... Read >>

David Önaç - A Distant Star in the Stillness

ABRSM Grade 5 - C3

David Önaç’s cosmic soundscape is an ideal piece to stimulate the imagination. It will help to read the composer’s programme note at the foot of the page, where he describes how he found inspiration from the vastness of space, how “gigantic stars…appear as tiny dots in our night sky”. Using jazz-influenced chords, this piece uses the high and low registers of the piano to conjure up vast distances, blending sounds together using the pedal. Preview (please log-in or subscribe to see full video) ... Read >>

Schumann - Von fremden Ländern und Menschen

Kinderszenen, Op. 15, no. 1

Schumann’s Von fremden Länder und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and People), the first piece of his Kinderszenen (Scenes of Childhood), is a poetic evocation of the dream-like world of children. In this article, the three strands of the music — melody, bass, and accompaniment — are studied individually before being... Read >>

Burgmüller - Velocity, Op. 109 No. 10

ABRSM Grade 6 – A6

Velocity is the tenth piece in a collection of small character studies by Friedrich Burgmüller (1806-1874). In the tradition of the very best studies, each piece presents a technical problem to be overcome and practised, while at the same time having a distinct musical appeal that raises it to the status of art. In Velocity, the main challenge is control of right hand semiquavers at high speed as the patterns move across the keyboard, even crossing over the accompanimental left hand’s repeated chords in two places. The player can develop the necessary leggiero touch by practising the semiquavers at first... Read >>

Arens - Moonbeams (No.1 from Rendezvous with Midnight)

ABRSM Grade 4 – B1

Barbara Arens’ imaginative and beautifully-written nocturne needs a flexible approach and generous pedalling to bring out its many expressive possibilities. It is certain to be a popular choice. Resources & links Piano Exam Pieces 2021 & 2021, Grade 4 is available from the ABRSM online shop here. The syllabus upon which these Practising the Piano Online Academy materials are based is © by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and is reproduced by permission of the copyright owner. The Practising the Piano... Read >>

Schubert - Minuet and Trio (D. 41 No. 21)

ABRSM Grade 4 – A3

An elegant minuet and trio with some pleasing chromatic touches, this pair of dances is full of interest as well as challenges in touch and articulation.... Read >>

Heather Hammond - Changing Times (from Cool Piano 5)

ABRSM Grade 5 – C2

We find two time signatures – 4/4, featuring an expressive RH melody with a flowing LH accompaniment in quavers, and then a contrasting jazz waltz in 3/4, faster and with zingy syncopations. Resources & links Piano Exam Pieces 2021 & 2022, Grade 5 is available from the ABRSM online shop here. The syllabus upon which these Practising the Piano Online Academy materials are based is © by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and is reproduced by permission of the copyright owner.... Read >>

Farrenc - Mouvement de valse (No. 15 from 25 études faciles, Op. 50)

ABRSM Grade 4 - A2

This graceful waltz is a study in lightness of touch (leggiero), both in the right hand figuration and in the left hand accompaniment. The extended semiquaver passagework requires careful consideration of the keyboard choreography involved, as well as suitable practice methods to create a sound that is even yet contoured. This piece offers a good opportunity to explore how a composer uses standard harmonic progressions to form phrase structures. Preview (please log-in or subscribe to see full video) ... 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 >>