The path

90 pieces in order, each bringing in one new skill, from your very first notes at Level 1 to the summit at Level 10. After Level 3 it splits in two: read and play, or chords and accompaniment. Start at the top, or jump in wherever you feel at home.

Start the pathFind my level

5-minute warm-up: note cards and a rhythm to tap, once a week.

Level 1 First notes

Beginner, 7 steps. All Level 1 pieces

  1. Right hand aloneMary Had a Little Lamb (Easy)Set Hands to Right in Options and let your left hand have a nap. Three notes, one lamb.Traditional American, 0:19
  2. Left hand takes the tuneStudy in C major, Op. 190 No. 12Your turn, left hand: it plays almost three times as many notes as the right in this study.Louis Köhler, 0:21
  3. Both hands at onceStudy in C major, Op. 190 No. 1Long notes in both hands, pressed down together. Slow is a superpower here.Louis Köhler, 0:50
  4. A tune over a held noteLondon Bridge Is Falling Down (Easy)The right hand walks the tune while the left holds one note a bar. Count it out and keep holding.Traditional English, 0:19
  5. Three beats in a barStudy in C major, Op. 190 No. 3Your first 3/4: count one, two, three and lean on the one.Louis Köhler, 0:16
  6. Your first black keyAura Lea (Easy)G major brings in F sharp, so every F here is the black key just below G.George R. Poulton, 0:23
  7. A flat and a full tuneOde to Joy (Easy)F major swaps B for B flat, and you get sixteen bars of a tune the whole world knows. Level boss!Ludwig van Beethoven, 0:44

Level 2 Rhythm wakes up

Beginner, 6 steps. All Level 2 pieces

  1. Eighth notesHot Cross Buns (Easy)Two notes to a beat. Say "hot cross buns" out loud and your fingers will follow.Traditional, 0:19
  2. Quarters and eighths mixedFrère Jacques (Easy)Walking notes and running notes in one tune. Keep the beat steady when they swap.Traditional French, 0:19
  3. Dotted notesMichael, Row the Boat Ashore (Easy)A dot makes a note half as long again. Feel the long-short swing of the rowing.Traditional African American spiritual, 0:20
  4. 6/8 timeRow, Row, Row Your Boat (Easy)Two big beats a bar, each split into three. Gently down the stream, one-and-a, two-and-a.Traditional American, 0:18
  5. Dotted rhythms in 6/8Pop! Goes the Weasel (Easy)Long-short patterns inside a lilting 6/8, all leading up to the pop. Make it a good one.Traditional English, 0:20
  6. A busier left handIn the Bleak Midwinter (Easy)The left hand stops holding and starts moving, with dotted notes in the tune on top.Gustav Holst, 0:39

Level 3 Minor keys and moving parts

Beginner, 7 steps. All Level 3 pieces

  1. A minor keyFür Elise (Easy)A minor, and the famous D sharp to E wiggle. Watch for the plain D sneaking in too.Ludwig van Beethoven, 0:21
  2. Two beats in a barSurprise Symphony Theme (Easy)Your first 2/4, bouncing along in eighth notes. Keep it light and tiptoe.Joseph Haydn, 0:19
  3. Dotted rhythm in a minor keyKorobeiniki (Easy)A dotted kick in A minor. Yes, that tune. Try not to stack falling blocks in your head.Traditional Russian, 0:16
  4. A steady bass lineCanon in D (Easy)The left hand walks a slow, steady line while the right hand flows above it in eighths.Johann Pachelbel, 0:47
  5. 6/8 in a minor keyGreensleeves (Easy)All the lilt of 6/8, with the minor colour of A minor and plenty of dotted notes.Traditional English, 0:30
  6. Sixteenth notesAir in F major, BWV Anh. 131Four notes to a beat show up for the first time, and each hand has a line of its own.attr. Johann Sebastian Bach, 0:30
  7. Speeding upIn the Hall of the Mountain King (Easy)Eighths all the way and sharps creeping in. Loop it with Ramp on and let the trolls chase you faster.Edvard Grieg, 0:26

Two ways on from Level 3

Pick the one that sounds like you. Switch any time: every piece on both stays free.

Level 4 Chords and swagger

Intermediate, 5 steps. All Level 4 pieces

  1. Dotted eighth and sixteenthToreador Song, from Carmen (Easy)The long-short strut of a toreador. Snap the short note and stride on the long one.Georges Bizet, 0:16
  2. Your first chordsHallelujah Chorus, from Messiah (Easy)The left hand plays two notes at once. Press them as one sound, and hallelujah!George Frideric Handel, 0:30
  3. Sixteenth-note runsTurkish March (Rondo alla Turca) (Easy)Quick runs in the right hand over a steady left. Start slow with Speed, then nudge it up.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 0:24
  4. SyncopationThe Entertainer (Easy)Ragtime puts the accent between the beats. Count steadily and let the tune lean off them.Scott Joplin, 0:27
  5. A flowing accompanimentMelody, Op. 68 No. 1 (Album for the Young)A real Schumann piece, not an arrangement: the left hand flows in eighths under a singing tune.Robert Schumann, 1:36

Level 5 Real repertoire

Intermediate, 7 steps. All Level 5 pieces

  1. Chords in both handsApplicatio in C major, BWV 994 (Clavier-Büchlein for W. F. Bach)Eight bars of Bach with chords in both hands. Small, mighty and very satisfying.Johann Sebastian Bach, 0:23
  2. Hymn harmonyAmazing GraceFour voices, two in each hand, moving together on almost every beat. Sing it with your fingers.James P. Carrell and David L. Clayton, 0:30
  3. TripletsMinuet in F major, K. 2 (Nannerl Notebook)Three notes in the time of two. Mozart tucks a few into this minuet, so spot them early.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1:12
  4. Two independent linesMinuet in G major, BWV Anh. 114The famous Minuet in G: the left hand has a tune of its own, not just a bass note.Christian Petzold, 0:41
  5. Your first sonatinaSonatina in C major, Op. 36 No. 1, first movementA full sonatina movement, with eighth-note runs in the right hand. A real milestone.Muzio Clementi, 0:58
  6. Runs shared between handsArabesque, Op. 100 No. 2Sixteenths in both hands and crisp left-hand chords. Keep the runs even and quick.Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, 0:26
  7. A 6/8 gallopThe Wild Rider, Op. 68 No. 8 (Album for the Young)Chords in both hands at a gallop. Hold on to the reins and keep the beat bouncing.Robert Schumann, 0:38

Level 6 Speed and colour

Intermediate, 6 steps. All Level 6 pieces

  1. Fast right-hand runsEight-Measure Exercise, Op. 821 No. 15Thirty-second notes race over left-hand chords for eight bars. Use Ramp to build up speed.Carl Czerny, 0:08
  2. Rolling tripletsLe Courant limpide (The Clear Stream), Op. 100 No. 7The right hand ripples in triplets from start to finish, like the clear stream in its title.Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, 0:22
  3. The tune in the left handThe Happy Farmer, Op. 68 No. 10 (Album for the Young)The farmer sings in the left hand while the right answers with chords. Let him be loud.Robert Schumann, 0:48
  4. Big, still chordsGymnopédie No. 2Right-hand chords of up to five notes over one long bass note a bar. Slow, calm, no hurry.Erik Satie, 3:15
  5. Restless sixteenthsInquiétude (Restlessness), Op. 100 No. 18Sixteenths in the right hand all the way, with chords in the left. Restless by name and by nature.Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, 0:26
  6. A big minor-major pieceBallade, Op. 100 No. 15Ninety-six bars that storm in C minor and break into C major. The Intermediate boss fight.Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, 1:23

Level 7 The preludes

Advanced, 3 steps. All Level 7 pieces

  1. Broken-chord patternsPrelude in C major, BWV 846 (Well-Tempered Clavier I)One broken-chord pattern in every bar while the harmony shifts underneath. Hypnotic in the best way.Johann Sebastian Bach, 2:20
  2. Fast 12/8Prelude in F major, BWV 856 (Well-Tempered Clavier I)Twelve eighths a bar, with sixteenths racing in the right hand. Keep four big beats under it.Johann Sebastian Bach, 1:02
  3. Long lines in 3/2Prelude in C-sharp minor, BWV 849 (Well-Tempered Clavier I)Three half-note beats a bar and four sharps. Let the long lines sing over each other.Johann Sebastian Bach, 2:10

Level 8 A singing tone

Advanced, 6 steps. All Level 8 pieces

  1. Triplets in both handsOf Foreign Lands and Peoples, Op. 15 No. 1 (Scenes from Childhood)Triplets flow through both hands while the tune floats on top. Gentle and steady.Robert Schumann, 0:37
  2. Space and patienceGymnopédie No. 1The full Gymnopédie: slow chords, long notes and lots of air. Resist every urge to rush.Erik Satie, 2:21
  3. Voices in both handsTräumerei, Op. 15 No. 7 (Scenes from Childhood)Chords in both hands with a tune that sings through them. Dream, but count.Robert Schumann, 1:51
  4. Broken chords and leapsLittle Prelude in D minor, BWV 926Right-hand broken chords in eighths and a left hand that leaps around. Find each landing early.Johann Sebastian Bach, 1:02
  5. Repeated chords, slow tunePrelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4The left hand repeats soft chords in eighths under a slow, sighing tune. Less is more.Frédéric Chopin, 1:48
  6. Triplets under a tunePiano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight", Op. 27 No. 2, first movementTriplets all the way, with the tune on top of the same hand. The Moonlight is yours.Ludwig van Beethoven, 4:36

Level 9 Concert favourites

Advanced, 6 steps. All Level 9 pieces

  1. Two-part counterpointInvention No. 1 in C major, BWV 772Two lines chase each other in sixteenths, one in each hand. Play each hand alone first.Johann Sebastian Bach, 1:06
  2. The full Für EliseFür Elise, WoO 59All of it, middle sections included, with sixteenths passed from hand to hand. Remember Level 3?Ludwig van Beethoven, 2:10
  3. Scales at speedPiano Sonata in C major, K. 545, first movementSixteenth-note scales in both hands. Clean, even and bright is the whole game.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 2:12
  4. The waltz left handWaltz in B minor, Op. 69 No. 2Bass note, then chord, chord, bar after bar, with jumps between them. Land softly.Frédéric Chopin, 2:52
  5. The full Turkish MarchRondo alla Turca, Piano Sonata K. 331, third movementThe real Rondo alla Turca, chords crashing in the left hand. You met it at Level 4.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 2:08
  6. Stride left handThe EntertainerThe full rag: the left hand leaps between low bass notes and chords. Bounce, do not stomp.Scott Joplin, 4:13

Level 10 The summit

Advanced, 7 steps. All Level 10 pieces

  1. Colour and five flatsClair de lune (Suite bergamasque)Five flats, 9/8 and chords that shimmer in both hands. Moonlight, the French way.Claude Debussy, 5:23
  2. Ornaments over wide leapsNocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2A decorated tune over a left hand that leaps wide in 12/8. Sing first, then decorate.Frédéric Chopin, 3:22
  3. Stride at full tiltMaple Leaf RagThe king of rags, the left hand leaping between bass notes and chords. Ramp is your friend.Scott Joplin, 2:24
  4. Six flats and inner tripletsImpromptu in G-flat major, Op. 90 No. 3, D. 899A tune held over endless triplets in the same hand, in G flat major. Smooth as silk.Franz Schubert, 5:50
  5. Four against threeFantaisie-Impromptu, Op. 66Sixteenths in the right hand against triplets in the left. Practise each hand alone first.Frédéric Chopin, 4:14
  6. Fire and staminaPiano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight", Op. 27 No. 2, third movementTwo hundred bars of storm, with racing sixteenths. Pace yourself and keep the fire.Ludwig van Beethoven, 6:41
  7. The summitBallade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23The longest piece on the path and the top of the mountain. Plant your flag.Frédéric Chopin, 11:35

Level 4 Chords under the tune

Intermediate, 5 steps. All Level 4 pieces

Chord drill: play C, F, G, Am, Dm and E from their names.

  1. Root and fifth in the bassJingle BellsThe left hand rocks between C and G, then moves the same shape up to F and C. Feel the chord change.James Lord Pierpont, 1:04
  2. Two-note chordsTraditioner af Swenska Folk-Dansar, 3rd part, nr 17The left hand plays two notes at once, A and C, under a tune that climbs an A minor chord.Traditional, 0:28
  3. One note holds, one movesTraditioner af Swenska Folk-Dansar, 3rd part, nr 5Low A stays down while the note above it moves: A minor, then D minor, over the same A.Traditional, 0:35
  4. Two chords a barTraditioner af Swenska Folk-Dansar, 1st part, nr 14The left hand changes chord twice a bar in G minor. Hear D, with its F sharp, pull home to G.Traditional, 0:29
  5. Broken chords, eight a barHumming Song, Op. 68 No. 3 (Album for the Young)The left hand never stops: a moving note, then G, eight times a bar. Keep it soft so the tune hums.Robert Schumann, 1:35

Level 5 Hymns and waltzes

Intermediate, 5 steps. All Level 5 pieces

Chord drill: play F, B♭, C7, E♭, A♭ and G7 from their names.

  1. C, D minor and GEight-Measure Exercise, Op. 821 No. 1The left hand holds the chord shapes while the right hand runs. C, D minor, then G7 to come home.Carl Czerny, 0:17
  2. Chords shared by both handsAway in a MangerLow octaves on F and B flat in the left hand, two notes in the right: together they make each chord.James R. Murray, 0:29
  3. Four voices, two handsCome Thou Fount (Nettleton)Two notes in each hand, like a choir of four, in E flat. Let the top note sing the tune.Asahel Nettleton, 0:33
  4. Waltz bassValse, from Les étoiles d'or No. 1Low C on beat one, then E and G together on two and three. That oom-pah-pah is the waltz.Louis Streabbog (Jean-Louis Gobbaerts), 1:35
  5. Soft repeated chordsSonatina in C major, Op. 20 No. 1, second movement (Andante)The left hand repeats F, A and C together under the tune. Keep every chord quiet and even.Friedrich Kuhlau, 0:40

Level 6 Patterns that drive

Intermediate, 5 steps. All Level 6 pieces

Chord drill: play Am, E, Gm, D7, B♭ and F7 from their names.

  1. Open fifthsIn the Hall of the Mountain King (Next Step)A and E thump four times a bar, then the same shape moves to E and B, and to C and G.Edvard Grieg, 0:51
  2. Waltz bass in a minor keyMelodic Study, Op. 840 No. 4Oom-pah-pah in G minor: low G, then B flat and D. D7 brings in F sharp and C.Carl Czerny, 1:08
  3. Three-note chordsEight-Measure Exercise, Op. 821 No. 14B flat, D and F, then A, E flat and F for F7: two left-hand shapes carry most of this study.Carl Czerny, 0:13
  4. Thirds over chordsEight-Measure Exercise, Op. 821 No. 3The right hand plays in thirds while the left holds C and G, then G and F for G7.Carl Czerny, 0:17
  5. A drone under the tunePas de deux, from Giselle (Act 1)The left hand repeats G and D, low down, bar after bar, while the tune moves above. Light, like a heartbeat.Adolphe Adam, arr. Laurence Sardain, 1:12

Level 8 Chords that sing

Advanced, 5 steps. All Level 8 pieces

Chord drill: play Em, F, C7, Fm, Dm and A7 from their names.

  1. Chords in the right handGymnopédie No. 3Here the right hand takes the chords, A minor then E minor, over one low bass note a bar.Erik Satie, 3:00
  2. Seventh chords on the beatLa Gracieuse (Grace), Op. 100 No. 8Three-note chords on every beat: F, then C, E and B flat for C7. Keep them soft so the runs sparkle.Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, 0:29
  3. Rocking chords in 6/8La Pastorale, Op. 100 No. 3From bar 3 the left hand repeats G, B and D in a gentle 6/8 rock, then G, C and D.Johann Friedrich Franz Burgmüller, 0:51
  4. Oom-pah in 2/4Moment musical No. 3 in F minor, D. 780Low F, then C and F together, over and over: a march-like oom-pah in F minor.Franz Schubert, 1:57
  5. One note, changing chordsApril: Snowdrop, The Seasons, Op. 37a No. 4F stays on top of the left-hand chords while the notes under it move. Hear each chord change colour.Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 2:24

Level 9 Marches, rags and waltzes

Advanced, 5 steps. All Level 9 pieces

Chord drill: play A♭, E♭7, D♭, C, G7 and F from their names.

  1. A wide waltz bassWaltz in A-flat major, Op. 39 No. 15A low bass note, then a chord well above it, every bar. A flat major, with E flat 7 to lean home on.Johannes Brahms, 1:08
  2. March bassThe Stars and Stripes ForeverFrom bar 5 the left hand marches: a low note, then a chord, twice a bar, in E flat.John Philip Sousa, 3:32
  3. Octaves in the bassThe Strenuous LifeFrom bar 5 the bass notes are octaves: low C with C, then C, E and G above. Swing between them.Scott Joplin, 3:04
  4. Stride on G7The Harlem RagBar 5 starts the stride: B, then the G7 chord, then low G and the chord again.Tom Turpin, 3:11
  5. Ragtime strideThe Easy WinnersFrom bar 4: low A flat, a chord, low E flat, the chord again. That bass and chord swing is ragtime.Scott Joplin, 5:04

Level 10 Stride and showpieces

Advanced, 5 steps. All Level 10 pieces

Chord drill: play G, D7, Bm, B♭, F7 and A7 from their names.

  1. A ragtime waltzBethenaJoplin in 3/4. In bars 3 and 4 the left hand plays the tune alone, and the key keeps moving.Scott Joplin, 4:23
  2. Stride with a seventhThe St. Louis RagBar 5: D, then G, B and F for G7, then low G and the chord again. Bass, chord, bass, chord.Tom Turpin, 1:30
  3. One line, then stridePineapple RagBars 1 to 4 put both hands on one line, an octave apart. From bar 5, stride: B flat, chord, F, chord.Scott Joplin, 2:57
  4. Octaves in 6/8The Washington PostBoth hands open in octaves, three octaves apart. Feel two big beats in each 6/8 bar.John Philip Sousa, 2:32
  5. Rumbling octavesThunder and Lightning Polka, Op. 324In bar 2 the left hand rumbles between D and the D below: thunder. From bar 5, bass and chord on D7.Johann Strauss II, 3:13