🎯 The Etude Challenge: Study Pieces, Serious Progress - Week 1

Attention tonebuddies! It's time to embrace the music that was literally designed to make you a better guitarist. Welcome to The Etude Challenge — four weeks dedicated to the art of the etude!

Etudes occupy a unique place in the classical guitar repertoire. They're technical workouts disguised as beautiful music — pieces that sharpen your skills while rewarding you with something genuinely worth performing. From the elegant simplicity of Carcassi and Sor to the rhythmic brilliance of Brouwer's Etudes Simples, the virtuosic fire of Villa-Lobos's 12 Études, and everything in between — there's an etude out there for every player at every level.

This challenge is your chance to pick one (or more!), commit to it, and share your journey with the community.

🎯 Whether you choose to:

  • Tackle a classic — Sor Op. 35, Carcassi Op. 60, Giuliani Op. 48
  • Go for something bold — Villa-Lobos, Barrios, or Coste
  • Explore the modern side — Brouwer, Carlevaro, or Bogdanovic
  • Revisit an old friend — Polish a piece you learned before and bring it to a new level

…this is your moment to dig in and grow. This challenge is open to all levels — whether you're working through your very first Sor etude or preparing a Villa-Lobos for the stage, you belong here.


📅 Challenge Dates

Start: February 23

End: March 20


💡 How to Participate

  1. Pick your etude – Choose one that excites you and challenges you. Not sure where to start? Ask the community for suggestions!
  2. Share your goal – Tell us what you're working on and what you want to achieve (clean run-through, memorization, performance tempo, etc.)
  3. Post your progress – Upload short clips, practice notes, or reflections as you go. We want to see the process, not just the polish.
  4. Engage – Listen to what others are working on, leave encouragement, and trade practice tips!

63 replies

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    • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
    • 11 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi, everyone, I wanted to ask you for a piece of advice. Is it advisable, technically and musically to play open strings on scales like HVL etude 7? I remember Barney playing this etude during one of the previous challenges. Perhaps he can provide some advice.

      • BLaflamme
      • 11 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Yes!

      • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
      • 11 days ago
      • Reported - view

       are you working on something, Blaise?

      • BLaflamme
      • 11 days ago
      • Reported - view

       I don't have a planned short or medium-term study in my upcoming work schedule but I'll see if I can integrate some!

      • Eric
      • 11 days ago
      • Reported - view

      I've never played the whole study, but I have worked with that opening scale run. Like Blaise, I think it's great to use open strings for it.

      • Barney
      • 10 days ago
      • Reported - view

       I haven't played HVL Etude No. 7 for a while, but I recall at least the first 2 opening scales have some open strings within it.  

      • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
      • 10 days ago
      • Reported - view

       thanks for replying. Yeah, I was just thinking of whether playing open strings would have over ringing notes, but I think it's not a big issue imo. And using some open notes makes it easier to play the scale runs.

      • Amateur guitarist/lutenist
      • David_Krupka
      • 9 days ago
      • Reported - view

       I don't think there's a general rule here, Nijwm. Each particular case is likely to have its own particular solution. (And remember, what works well for one person may not be suitable for another.) A few things to consider when incorporating an open string into a scale passage: (i) right hand string crossing; (ii) left hand position shifting; (iii) musical effect (i.e. tone, articulation). An 'optimal' fingering will likely involve some sort of compromise among various considerations.

      • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
      • 9 days ago
      • Reported - view

       thank you for your detailed advice, David. For me, using open strings in this piece makes it easier to play.

      • Amateur guitarist/lutenist
      • David_Krupka
      • 9 days ago
      • Reported - view

       I should have included 'ease of execution' in my list of things to consider - in most cases, that will be the determining factor!

      • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
      • 9 days ago
      • Reported - view

       lots of insights in that comment to help me.

    • michel.2
    • 11 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Can I participate as a beginner ?

      • Eric
      • 11 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Of course! There are plenty of studies for beginners. If you are using a method book, it is probably full of studies (even if they are not labeled as such). Personally, I'd suggest Fernando Sor's Opus 60 as a good starting place. Carulli and Aguado have a lot of beginner studies as well. Those composers are all public domain and can be found for free online. I've attached some links.

      Sor Op 60

      Carulli Op 241 The studies begin on page 14.

      Carulli Op 333

      Aguado Method for Guitar He calls them lessons, and they begin on page 48.

      Aguado New Method for Guitar I'd say the studies start on page 31.

      Any other suggestions out there?

      • BLaflamme
      • 10 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Absolutely! Look at Eric's suggestions this is a good starting point!

      • michel.2
      • 10 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Merci beaucoup.

      • LIVE
      • martin.3
      • 8 days ago
      • Reported - view

        Absolutely, yes! The Etude Challenge is open to every level, and honestly some of the most inspiring posts we see every month come from members who are just getting started. An etude for a beginner IS still an etude - even a simple study from your method book counts. What matters is that you pick something at your current ability, work on it with focus over the four weeks, and share your progress. We would love to have you join in. Looking forward to seeing what you pick!

      • Retired
      • Andre_Bernier
      • 7 days ago
      • Reported - view

        Great Michel. You will not be alone, I am also a beginner. All Eric's suggestions are great and like him, I like learning Sor's Studies. This is a very friendly community. Don't hesitate to post your progress  and ask for help.

    • Eric
    • 8 days ago
    • Reported - view

    I know this does not officially start until tomorrow, but I have a rather busy day tomorrow, so I am going to post this now.

    I'm working on Sor's Op 29 No 24. It's a beautiful piece of music that I would love to get to a performance level, maybe by the end of the challenge.

    The first video is from Feb 21, and the second is from Feb 22.

      • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
      • 7 days ago
      • Reported - view

       it's already sounding so good, Eric. You're playing with the metronome but it's already so musical and tone wise, so sweet.

      We all have our favourite composers. One of the first things I discovered after joining the forums is that you're a Sor guy, if I may say so. You're doing a great job of keeping Sor's music thriving. Bravo.

      • Ron.3
      • 7 days ago
      • Reported - view

       As Nijwm says, it's already sounding very musical. As  soon as the challenge was posted I thought there would be some Sor studies from you to look forward to! Thank you!

      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Great beginning Eric. Your meticulous approach is inspiring (well... it should be if I could be more patient 😀)

      • Retired
      • Andre_Bernier
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Very nice playing Eric. As usual, you are way ahead of us 😂  Always a pleasure to watch you playing 😉

    • Dale_Needles
    • 8 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Hi All, I am looking forward to all the great estudios that will be shared over the next four weeks. While I am traveling in Portugal and Spain until the end of April and will not be able to post anything new, I thought I would repost some of my previous posts showing the range of Estudios that Abel Carlevaro wrote during his lifetime.  

    Here is a short little Estudio, Carlevaro wrote for his students when he was teaching at the Conservatory in Montevideo in the 1960s. 

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=GgzE5u3PjO0&si=6zBdZdYqySPhPLtp

      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Hey Dale, glad you are joining  in from afar, however I can't seem to open your link. I don't know if the problem is only on my end.

      • Amateur guitarist/lutenist
      • David_Krupka
      • 6 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Hi Jack - the link works for me.

Content aside

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