Rockwell’s piece is a typical example of late 19th-century American salon piano literature. It features a graceful, slow-moving melodic line that prioritizes emotional resonance over technical display.
At Henle 3 this is a late-beginner piece — comfortable hands-together playing is assumed, and musical shaping starts to matter. The main demands: a true singing tone, with the melody floating above the accompaniment; careful pedaling — clarity depends on the foot as much as the fingers; and rubato that must breathe naturally without losing the pulse.
Maintain a singing tone throughout the melody while using subtle rubato to express the gentle phrasing.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
A level or two down with the same spirit — ideal if this piece is still out of reach.
Where this piece's skills lead: slightly harder works making similar technical demands.
Drifting 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 Drifting lasts about 3 minutes.
Drifting 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 Solace by Scott Joplin, Ave Maria in G by Franz Liszt, Dzwony klasztorne by Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.