This piece pushes technical boundaries through rapid, pointillistic gestures across the keyboard. It is a dense, rhythmically intricate composition that demands high dexterity.
Clear articulation of complex, fast-moving figures across the full register is essential.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
'...and keep the clay wet' is rated Henle level 6 of 9 — advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 7–8.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 6 — meaning you can already play level 5–6 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of '...and keep the clay wet' lasts about 7 minutes.
'...and keep the clay wet' is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Broadway Boogie Woogie by Nikolaos-Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis, Bleed by Nikolaos-Laonikos Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis, Bergamasca by Girolamo Frescobaldi — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.