Étude
An étude (French étude, “study”) is an instrumental piece in which a particular playing technique is practised. Unlike a pure finger exercise, it is a complete piece with a chord progression and an ending. Some études are also performed as concert pieces.
- Meaning
- piece for practising one technical problem
- Word
- French étude, literally “study”
- In the sheet music archive
- 42 sheets titled “Etüde Nr. …” by Aguado, Carcassi, Giuliani and Sor
- For comparison
- fingering
One problem, one piece
An étude is a practice, performance or concert piece that contains particular difficulties. At its centre there is usually one short technical problem that is repeated often in the piece: a broken-chord figure, a change of chord shape, a chord pattern. Anyone who practises the étude can train that one problem on purpose, instead of having to look for it again in every new piece.
One figure that fills the whole bar
An original example built on the plan of Giuliani’s Étude No. 1: in each half bar an eighth rest is followed by six sixteenth notes, while underneath the bass holds a quarter note. The rhythmic figure stays the same, only the notes follow the chord (C, then G). The notes are written in guitar register: the small 8 at the clef means that the music sounds an octave lower than it appears on the staff.
Étude and finger exercise
A finger exercise repeats one movement until it is secure. An étude puts the same task into a complete piece: it has a beginning, a chord progression and an ending. In Giuliani this is easy to see. The rhythmic figure is the same in bars 1 to 9, but the chords underneath change, and in the tenth bar the piece comes to rest on a final chord. That is why études can be performed as well as practised.
Three études compared
The sheet music archive holds 42 sheets titled “Etüde Nr. …”. Three of them are set side by side here. They pose quite different tasks: in Giuliani a single figure carries the whole piece, in Sor chord shapes with fingering numbers are the focus, and in Carcassi broken chords are combined with dynamic markings and a ritardando at the end.
| Étude in the archive | Time signature | Tempo and expression marking | Key signature | What stands out on the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giuliani, op. 100 No. 1 | 4/4 | “Cadence. Maestoso.” | none | In bars 1–9 the same rhythmic figure in every half bar, only the chords change; bar 10 is the final chord |
| Sor, op. 35 No. 11 | 2/4 | “Allegretto.” | one flat | Chord shapes with fingering numbers across the whole page |
| Carcassi, op. 60 No. 12 | 4/4 | “Andante mosso.” | two sharps | Broken chords with fingerings, plus p, mf, f, cresc., dim., ritard. and a repeat sign |
Three études for guitar
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Etüde Nr. 1 Mauro Giuliani, from: 24 Études, op. 100 · guitar · 1 page
Treble clef with a small 8, time signature C, no key signature. Above the first staff is written “Cadence. Maestoso.”, and above the bars the chord symbols B°, C, G, Am and Dm change. The last bar, bar 10, is a final chord with a rest.
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Etüde Nr. 11 Fernando Sor, from: 24 Études for guitar, op. 35 No. 11 · guitar · 1 page
Two-four time, one ♭ in the key signature, “Allegretto.” Almost every bar carries shapes of several notes with fingering numbers; above them are chord symbols such as Dm and A⁷. The piece ends on a Dm chord.
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Etüde Nr. 12 Matteo Carcassi, from: 25 Melodic Études, op. 60 No. 12 · guitar · 1 page
Time signature C, two sharps, “Andante mosso.” Fingering numbers are written above the notes; as the piece goes on, p, mf, f, cresc., dim. and ritard. appear. A repeat sign begins in bar 9.
Common mistakes
- Playing fast too early: An étude trains security. It only becomes fast once the movement is right at a slow tempo.
- Skipping fingerings: In Sor and Carcassi the numbers are part of the task. Anyone who uses other fingers is usually practising something else.
- Equating étude and exercise: The étude is a whole piece with an ending; it is played even when the technique has long been secure.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
FingeringGuitarArpeggioChordDynamicsRitardandoRepeat signNotation
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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