Music of Substance
Grade 6 — Polyphony, Depth, and Four Style Periods
The gap between Grade 5 and Grade 6 is the largest in the graded system. The repertoire includes Bach Two-Part Inventions, early Beethoven sonata movements, and Romantic character pieces of real complexity. Polyphonic awareness — the ability to hear and balance multiple independent voices — is a completely new cognitive skill that takes time to develop. Your programme now needs to span all four style periods convincingly, and each style must sound distinct from the others. Technical accuracy is assumed; it is no longer the primary challenge.
Pieces in this plan
The most famous of Bach's Two-Part Inventions and often the first one studied. Two entirely independent voices run through the whole piece — each hand carries a complete musical line.
One of Beethoven's two "easy" sonatas — elegant, well-proportioned, and a genuine introduction to Classical sonata style at the keyboard.
More emotionally intense than Invention No. 1 — the D minor tonality gives it a serious, searching quality. A benchmark piece for this plan.
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If you covered this in Grade 5, the Grade 6 expectation is a more polished performance: better voicing, more nuanced pedalling, and a clearer emotional arc. If it's new to you, it's a beautifully accessible entry into Grieg's world.
Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas are unlike any other Baroque music — witty, rhythmically vital, full of sudden contrasts and unexpected turns. This D minor sonata is a perfect introduction to his world.
If this piece was on your Grade 5 plan, Grade 6 asks for a more complete performance: refined ornaments, sophisticated pedalling, and a fully inhabited emotional world. If it's new, it's one of the great piano works of the Romantic era.
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