Leo Brouwer's Estudios Sencillios!

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martin.3
updated 1 mth ago
421replies

Welcome to our next Study Group — a collaborative, peer-led dive into a beautiful piece of music over the course of two weeks.

This time, we’re diving into the methodical riches of Brouwer’s Estudios Sencillos 1–10!

This is not a course or a class — it’s a space for mutual exploration, discussion, and shared progress. I’ll be learning the piece alongside you (again — it’s been a while!), and I’m excited to discover new things together.

🗓️ What to expect:
Over the next two weeks, we’ll focus on:

🎯 Fingerings and technique
🎯 Methodical background
🎯 Interpretation and expressive choices
🎯 Your own questions and perspectives!

We’ll also meet for two live Zoom sessions to share progress, chat about challenges, and nerd out over all things Brouwer.

✅ How to participate:

Sign up through the Forum
Grab your score of the Estudios Sencillos
Introduce yourself below!
Join the prompts and discussion
Share your thoughts, ideas, or a clip of your playing

📅 Live Zoom Calls:

🗓️ Dates: July 28th – August 8th

📫 Sign-Up

- Barney
- 2 wk ago
- Reported - view
In Etude #20, does anyone know how to interpret the wavy lines between each rapid sixteenth notes box pattern sections; some type of repetition pattern?? Thanks!
- Barney
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  I have a whammy bar on my PRS . When I feel better I will try it., lol
- Barney
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks very much David!
  
  Maybe if I slow down the recordings from this guy and other players, it will reveal how each of them interpreted Leo's notation.
- Barney
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Hey Martin, Any thoughts on those sections in etude #20 --rapid sixteenth notes box pattern with wavy lines between? Perhaps you can ask Joaquin (top Brouwer expert), what Brouwer wanted, haha.
- magmasystems
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  I have been playing Etude No. 20, and I am pretty sure that the wavy lines between the boxed sections mean that you can play the lick as many times as you want. That's the same sort of notation that I have seen in some modern percussion pieces.
  
  I tend to play each section 4 times, but that's just my personal preference.
- Barney
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Blaise has the same opinion about Etude #20. When I listen to versions, they all vary as well on the repeats. I'm wondering how the Musescore handles it. I don't know too much about MuseScore. Is the file you have from your own performance, or another player?
  
  I guess there is no definitive consensus on number of repeats for each those boxed patterns with the wavy lines in between...,
- magmasystems
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  If I remember correctly, I created the MuseScore file from the MIDI or the MusicXML file that is on ClassClef. MuseScore has the ability to import both a MIDI file and a MusicXML file (the latter being more precise). It's a good way to give you a jumpstart.
  
  I am not sure if you know this, but the MuseScore editor is completely free. I use the 3.4 version on my MacBook Pro. I have not upgraded to version 4 yet because they changed the UI around. You can import MuseScore 3 files into MuseScore 4, but not the other way around.
- magmasystems
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  The sections get progressively longer, and if you have a certain time limit for performing Estudio No. 20, you may want to play fewer repetitions in the longer sections.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  This is something that he does in many other pieces like Tarantos and La Espiral Eterna and more. It belongs to a period of very undetermined music of Brouwer with much left to the interpreter. The caged materials. In tarantos, more over, it's not about repeats but you can compose the piece yourself by putting together the cages in different orders.
  
  In the case of the Estudio sencillo #20 there is no fixed amount of repetitions. What I would look for hence is the sence of stacking of materials towards a flowing tension up or down (so whenever i feel like a given material looses interest and breaks the line of ascending or descending tension i'd switch to the next one. As it was mentioned by the motivs have different lenghts but I wouldn't mind about the total time it takes to perform the full piece.
  
  I'd work very playfully on trying to see which are the most important patterns and try and select a way of saying them (tension wise) and then work backwards to arrive to where i want, there. Also, video or audio recordings to listen if the amount of repeats feels too short or too long. And of course, as I mentioned many times already, just playing around to see what comes naturally to you.
- Barney
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Got it. thanks Marc!
- Barney
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Excellent analysis of this issue. I'm not quite ready to play again but wanted to be prepared for this. Thanks very much Ariel!
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  12 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  very welcomed!
- magmasystems
- 2 wk ago
- Reported - view
I wanted to record some videos but there is a lot of construction work going on outside of my apartment, and I cannot seem to line up a time when there is no noise. So, I am posting this 6-month-old video of me playing Brouwer 5.
- Mark_Janka
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thank you for posting! I'm working on V too! I hope to have something post worthy soon. I was able to get through the whole piece this weekend, but haven't quite gotten it all "in my fingers" yet. This posting inspires me! I changed the fingering in bar 13 in a sort of unusual way that helps me to get to the bar 14 pattern a little more fluidly. I'll try to point that out when I post, in case it interests you.
- Steve_Price
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Nice, Mark. That's what I'm working on now, too. I think this one is deceptively simple. It gives you familiar chord shapes and then throws these oddball shapes at you that you have to hold while letting open strings ring. Good job on this. Hopefully, you get some peace and quiet at your place soon. I had several days of tree crews working around me, and it gets old quick.
- Barney
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Well played Marc. If I may suggest that when you play your next version, pay attention your right hand "i" finger. It is hard to hear it sounding; maybe the nail on that finger was not in good shape....
  
  I understand about outside noise. In my case it's the frequent lawnmowers.
- magmasystems
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks. Unfortunately, I have no nails and I am not able to grow them or use artificial nails (one of the nailbeds is damaged because of a childhood mishap, so a false nail does not adhere to the nailbed).
  
  It's always a challenge to play Brouwer pieces without nails. I will definitely take your advice into consideration. I have begun to concentrate a bit more on my RH sounds. I will try to record a version of Brouwer 7 soon, where I need to make the strings sound better without the use of nails. Sometimes, my RH fingers feel like miniature baseball bats.
- BLaflamme
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  About fake nails, have you ever tried double sided adhesive tabs instead of just glue? At least for me, when I need it, it works better and less damaging to nails.
- Barney
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Have you watched Brandon Acker's advice/training about playing without nails?
- magmasystems
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Can you recommend a specific brand of these kinds of nails with the double-sided adhesive? I can always try.
  
  ... Yes, I watched the Acker video a while ago. Another good resource is Douglas Niedt's No Nail Guitar page. https://nonailguitar.com/
- BLaflamme
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  There's this kit, a bit expensive but it works great, and I found alternatives on Amazon that works similarly at a lesser cost. It's worth a try, who knows!
- Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Very well played, Marc.
- magmasystems
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks so much.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
- Ariel.1
- 13 days ago
- Reported - view
Hi, , and all! While we were discussing #2 I was wondering about vibrato, so here it is the promessed video on vibrato for chords. I hope you find this of interest and I welcome any comment on it or if you want to add something or you have a different take on this.

https://guitar-community.tonebase.co/t/y4yk9fg/vibrato-for-chords-how-i-approach-it
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
- Ariel.1
- 13 days ago
- Reported - view
And here are some notes i'd like to share for Estudios #3 to #8 going very much over them but stoping to share with you some of the things I do that I think help me with these studies or that I like my students to learn early on to later apply in much more complicated situations.
- BLaflamme
  
  13 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Very good insights Ariel, I agree that some articulations (and most of the time not written) should be applied to make the music more alive, dynamic and flowing (#5). Also about slurs in #7, I also agree that having that kind movement helps a lots for better articulation, sounding and flowing. I understand the benefits of working the hand and fingers straight, but like dancers are using their body, it's similar for us to have flexibility to be in, and create, the motion of music, the body is part of that.