Understanding the Difficulty Points System
Welcome to kziira's Piano Difficulty Catalogue. This website offers a structured, technical analysis of piano repertoire difficulty, designed to facilitate a clear and consistent comparison of piano works across the entire difficulty spectrum. Explore our catalogue and gain a deeper understanding of the pianistic and biomechanical challenges within various compositions.
A New Approach to Piano Repertoire Difficulty
Piano difficulty is often described using vague labels or broad grade levels that don’t explain why a piece feels hard. This catalogue approaches difficulty as something relative, technical, and explainable. Each work is assigned Difficulty Points based on concrete pianistic factors such as technical density, coordination demands, hand independence, biomechanical strain, endurance, and learning difficulty. Rather than declaring absolute truths, the goal is to offer a consistent framework that makes it easier to compare piano works across different eras, styles, and extremes of the repertoire.
Designed for Pianists, Teachers, and Enthusiasts
Advanced students, teachers, professional and pre-professional pianists, competition participants, composers, and serious piano enthusiasts often face the same question: how difficult is a piece really, and compared to what? This catalogue is meant for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of how technical demands scale across the repertoire.
Our Goal
Our goal is to equip pianists, teachers, and students with a transparent and thoughtful difficulty system that helps improve their understanding of how difficult different pieces are, and how repertoire fits into a broader technical progression. We aim to help provide a deeper, more structured path to musical growth.
"kziira's Piano Difficulty Catalogue is an invaluable resource for understanding the complexities of piano repertoire. The Difficulty Points system offers a unique approach for pianists of all levels."
David Chen