🎯 The Etude Challenge: Study Pieces, Serious Progress - Week 6

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martin.3
2 wk ago
102replies

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: April 17

💡 How to Participate

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

- Eric
- 2 wk ago
- Reported - view
Sor - Op 29 No 24 final version (at least for now 😉)

I think this is about as polished of a version of this that I can make for now. I tried a different process in my video editing, but there are some synchronization problems. Oh well!
- Ron.3
  
  2 wk ago
  
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  Simply beautiful! You have a real affinity with the music of Sor. I see you recorded in a different room today. Which cameras and mics do you use?
- Eric
  
  2 wk ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thank you, Ron. I published this video on YT, and I like to do those with this fireplace background. I use the camera that came on my laptop. My microphone is a Samson Go Mic that I plug into a USB port on the laptop. I bought it at Walmart a few years back. Nothing fancy.
- Ron.3
  
  2 wk ago
  
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  Thanks Eric
- Debbie
  
  11 days ago
  
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  👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🌹
- Retired
  
  Jack_Stewart
  
  9 days ago
  
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  This only keeps getting better, Eric. For a long time I was kind of down on Sor. But I have greatly revised my opinion of his music over the last couple of years, which you have contributed to.
- BLaflamme
  
  8 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Definitely a great version of this study, it was great to see how you've progressed on it over a few weeks.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  6 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Hi, Eric! Congrats!! this is gorgeous! Really. I have one thing for you to try out, though. In line with what we were discussing about classical articulation, would you give this a try? I know it makes it quite more complex but I think it would improve the dramatic expressiveness by quite a lot. The rythmic pattern in the bass. Try stoping the quarter note at the end of its exact value and each eighth note, with a small portato accent and not quite as long as an eighth (maybe 3 32nds instead of 4.... aprox.)
- Eric
  
  6 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  I’m sure that would make it sound better, but right hand articulation like that is just not in my technical toolbox. I have tried many times to articulate with the thumb while playing legato with the fingers, and it just seems beyond me. Maybe someday I’ll figure it out, but I think I’d need to work on it with simpler pieces first, and probably with the guidance of a teacher.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  6 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  if you want I can send you some exercises for you to try out... Not all stoping needs to be done by RH though. Most of the eighths are played with some LH finger and you can also try to articulate with that hand. Let me know if you are interested about the excercises.
- Eric
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Sure, I’ll give them a try. Thank you!
- Dale_Needles
- 2 wk ago
- Reported - view
Here is anorher little Study by Carlevaro from his Cuaderno No. 4, called Ligados Dobles that I posted in the Carlevaro Discussion Forum a while back. While it is a technical study, it is fun to play and has a nice musical quality. Coming to you from Oviedo, Spain.

https://youtu.be/I044r76a6Bs?si=pWZYUlKzOSUwCSvB
- Ron.3
  
  2 wk ago
  
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  That does look fun to play - I'm sure it's a lot more difficult than you make it look! Well played!
- Retired
  
  Jack_Stewart
  
  9 days ago
  
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  This is really interesting, Dale. It looks like a fun piece to play. Have a great time in Spain.
- Dale_Needles
  
  9 days ago
  
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  Thanks, Jack. It is a great little study and fun to play. Really helps build left hand strength doing all those legados doubles. Spain has been great, we are currently in the North, but heading to the South later this week and ending up on the Islas Canarias.
- BLaflamme
  
  8 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Another great Carlevaro's exercise! Don't forget to send us some pictures of the Islas Canarias, be safe!
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  6 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Hi, Dale! Great work! I kinow you must have studied this with Carlevaro but I do have some suggestions (that may not be along Carlevaro's ways) that may help.
  
  The first would be to practice all the passages of the study without the barres. Your barre might be tiring your left hand and some ligados aren't clear because of that, it seems to me. Then you can add a muted barre (without any tension) and afterwards the barre as written.
  
  The second would be to not try to make the ligados stright and only from the fingers. If you involve a little more a radius and ulna turn, that will certainly add speed to the falling of the fingers resulting in better sounding ligados. Of course it must be a measured movement but it realeses the fingers from a lot of responsability resulting in a lighter hand.
  
  Let me know what you think about this
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  6 days ago
  
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  I just watched it again and noticed also that your barre is very much towards the tip of the finger. Maybe 3 and 4 will be more comfortable if you enter your palm a little more and performe the barre a little more towards the knuckles.
  
  I'll try and record just a little sample to clarify both answers.
- Dale_Needles
  
  6 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks for listening and taking the time to write your detailed critique. I agree the ligados could use more arm action which Maestro Carlevaro would most definitely agree.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  6 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  you are welcomed! here's a video in between lessons that I did in 5 seconds.
- Dale_Needles
  
  6 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks for your suggestions. I am currently traveling without a guitar but will check them out when I get home at the end of the month.
- Eric
- 2 wk ago
- Reported - view
Aguado - Estudio 24 (Apr 3)

I don't know if any of you have been following the Guitar Composers Series put out by Fabio Zanon on the GuitarCoop YT channel. A couple days ago, they released one on Dionisio Aguado. Listening to it, one piece really stood out for me as particularly beautiful, and I had never heard it before. When I saw that it was a study, I figured I just had to play it.

It's from Aguado's Nuevo Método para Guitarra. Don't confuse it with the "lessons" and "exercises" in the method. It's in the studies (estudios) at the end. Despite its adagio tempo, I found it to be a real challenge for the left hand. I did end up going with a few different fingerings than the ones indicated in Aguado's score.

In case you want to hear it played really exquisitely by Sachito Miyashita, here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFjzeLVuVnk&list=PLSwBD3vKFbqbLS5YG1daDZ6HKWOLzvnmy&index=7
- Ron.3
  
  2 wk ago
  
  Reported - view
  Very nice Eric - not one I've heard before either. Thank you for the link also - I hadn't come across Sachito Miyashita.
- Retired
  
  Jack_Stewart
  
  9 days ago
  
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  This is really nice, Eric, and well played. I only knew Aguado thru his lessons and exercises (I think), I never found his music very interesting. I may have to look into more of his works. Thanks for sharing this.
- BLaflamme
  
  8 days ago
  
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  Thanks for sharing this, I was not aware of the GuitarCoop YT channel, looks interesting!
- Eric
  
  8 days ago
  
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  It's a spectacular channel. The composer's series has been very educational for me.