Maarten Smit's Ballad Op. 7 No. 12 is a short, lyrical work written in a Neo-Romantic style often associated with modern educational repertoire. It relies on graceful phrasing and consistent rhythmic pulse.
Students must focus on balancing the weight of the accompaniment against the top melodic voice.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballad (Op.7 No.12) is rated Henle level 3 of 9 — late beginner repertoire, roughly ABRSM grades 4–5. In the RCM system it corresponds to about level 4.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 3 — meaning you can already play level 2–3 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 Ballad (Op.7 No.12) lasts about 2 minutes.
Ballad (Op.7 No.12) 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 Berceuse No. 1 by Maarten Smit, 2 Honky Tonk Types No.2 by Maarten Smit, 2 Honky Tonk Types No. 2 by Maarten Smit — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.