Bettina Polka is a bright, rhythmic dance composed by Smetana in his early career. It captures the charm and buoyant energy characteristic of 19th-century salon polka music.
Focus on the precise rhythmic definition of the 'oom-pah' polka accompaniment while keeping the melody light.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Bettina Polka, JB 1:74 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 Bettina Polka, JB 1:74 lasts about 3 minutes.
Bettina Polka, JB 1:74 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 Bettina Polka by Bedřich Smetana, Alexander's Ragtime Band by Irving Berlin, Waltz in D-flat major, No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.