🎯 The Etude Challenge — what actually surprised you?
The Etude Challenge wrapped up two weeks ago. Six weeks of practice, 600+ replies across the weekly threads, etudes from Sor to Villa-Lobos to Brouwer. 🎸
Now that the dust has settled — what did you actually learn that you didn't expect?
💬 Tell us:
- Which etude did you work on?
- What was the technical surprise — the thing that turned out harder (or easier) than you thought?
- What was the musical surprise — something about the piece that revealed itself only after you'd lived with it for a few weeks?
- Are you keeping it on your stand, or moving on?
For those who didn't participate: jump in too. Tell us which etude you'd pick if we ran it again — and what you'd want to know going in.
This is the thread where six weeks of work compounds into community knowledge. Don't let it disappear.
4 replies
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Thanks for the question Martin. I worked on Sor's Opus 6 No. 11. A few things surprised me about this piece. One is that it's deceptively challenging. Some people refer to it as the "pinky piece" and it's easy to see why with all the stretches and moves the pinky has to do. It's also not so easy to incorporate some of the shifts while keeping the steady 8th notes for the entire piece and not lose any of the notes. The second thing is how incredibly beautiful a study can be. One might not think of studies as concert pieces but I think this is one of the most beautiful pieces in the classical guitar repertoire and I would not hesitate for a second to include it in a serious performance. Lastly, given the challenges I've had with my left hand issue, I'm surprised I can play it, albeit on a small scale guitar. I will happily be playing this etude for many years to come and hopefully bring out more if its poignant beauty in the process.
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I chose the piece "Kurpie Etude" by Tatiana Stachak to work on during the challenge, although I didn't record and participate. As a newbie classical guitarist, this piece was a stretch for me - figuratively and literally.
The technical surprise was that it was more challenging (for me) than it looked. Plus, I originally had issues with fretting the C on the 2nd string 1st fret and the F# on the 4th string 4th fret at the same time. My Tonebase coach, Juan, was great and gave me solutions that would allow me to play the same notes without making the stretch. But I remember hearing from one of the experts in a Tonebase course that stretches can take a while. So, I persevered and continued to work on it. The breakthrough for me came after listening to the audiobook "Learn Faster, Perform Better" by Dr. Molly Gebrian. One of the sections discusses internal vs. external focus. I was focusing on me, on my fingers. But once I took the focus off of me and focused on the fretboard - where to place my fingertips - I was able to make the stretch very easily. I found that this new focus allowed me to relax my hand, drop my arm a bit, position my thumb properly on the back of the neck which then allowed me to open my hand. And voilà - I could play the arpeggio.
The musical surprise was how beautifully simple the piece is. There is an opportunity for so much musical expression - much more than I can offer at this point in my musical journey. Tatiana named this piece after the Kurpie region in northeast Poland, which is known for its unique cultural traditions and natural landscapes, such as the Kurpiowska Forest. I wish I could visit this region and really feel and express it.
My classical guitar journey is in its infancy, and I know I will eventually grow into this piece. It will be on my music stand for a while.
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Good questions,
I worked on the Brouwer #1 Etude and the Sor OP 60 no.9
The prupose was to return to these two etudes to improve my RH techniques (thumb or a finger resting).
The technical surprise is that after working about 6 months on that specific element; It seems now I am quite used to it and almost always look for that support when playing.
The musical surprise is that despite simple and low level; they both sound great and offer a lot of opportunity for interpretation.
Yes, I will keep them close as they constitute good warm up pieces