Beginner's Corner: Etudes

An etude is a special kind of piece that is written for a particular instrument. The name comes from a Frech word for study. Etudes are designed to help the musician improve their playing. For every instrument, there are certain things that take extra practice to master. An etude usually focuses on one problem. For example, there are etudes that help students learn to play even scale passages, smooth arpeggios, or hand crossings.

Because etudes are designed as exercises, they are usually not the most beautiful pieces to perform. They tend to have repeated notes or sections to make sure the player really learns the technique. However, some composers did write very interesting and beautiful etudes that are also very difficult to play. These etudes sometimes are brought out of the practice room and performed in recitals! Chopin, Debussy, and Lizst are a few composers who wrote this type of etude.