If you’ve played music for any length of time you may be familiar with etudes. What they are exactly is a two part answer, because there are fundamentally two different types of etudes. Even though they are both called etudes, these two different types are radically different from one-another. So let’s explore this topic and explain the differences in etudes and how they relate to your music.

Etude comes from the French word meaning, “study”. Etudes generally focus on overcoming specific technical challenges. One type of etude is strictly an exercise. There are famous Czerny and Hanon etudes that are famous exercises, but they aren’t pieces people generally perform. Their main purpose is to develop technique on an instrument.

Most Hanon etudes are simply a series of repeated note patterns. They are valuable for younger students to develop strength. Hanon Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises also contains the standard fingering for all major and minor scales and arpeggios, a staple for serious pianists. Brahms and Czerny also have etudes that are used for developing technique as opposed to necessarily providing great musical compositions. However, some Czerny etudes are quite enjoyable to listen to.

The other type of etudes are musical etudes. Chopin, Liszt, and others have created masterful pieces of music called etudes. These etudes explore different technical issues such as double thirds, sixths, octaves and other unique challenges. Yet, they are masterful works of music.

Musical etudes from Chopin, Liszt, Moszkowski, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and others are sometimes extremely complex and can be daunting for intermediate students to attempt to play. But the good news is there are some musical etudes from composers such as Burgmüller that are very nice pieces of music which help develop technique, yet provide intermediate level students with richly rewarding music to play! There are musical etudes that range from student level to virtuoso. Mastering a musical etude can greatly benefit your development as a pianist and give you music to perform as well.

If you’re a teacher you’ve undoubtedly been asked by students about how to get into a music conservatory. As we all know, there is no easy answer to this process and we all wish it could be something much simpler than it is. If you plan on attending a music school you really need to plan far ahead and be ready to dedicate years of hard work and study just to get into a good program.

For those students who dream big at a later age and decide they want to pursue music there is still plenty of hope. Your chances of getting into a top school might not be as good as those around you who have studied longer but there are options. Many community colleges have music programs and some of them don’t even require an audition – this is a great way to further your education even if you haven’t been accepted into a conservatory program.

Getting into a good music conservatory is still an incredible challenge and it really does require a tremendous amount of work. As a pianist you will need to have mastered at least one Prelude and Fugue from book one or two of Johann Sebastian Bach – excluding some of the easier preludes and fugues. You will need to have mastered a classical era sonata from either Mozart, Haydn or Beethoven – again some of the easier sonatas are not accepted. You will also need one or two contrasting works from the 19th or 20th century. You will also need to know all your major and minor scales and arpeggios.

As you can see, this is not something you can simply learn overnight! This is a lot of preparation that takes an incredibly long time to learn and prepare for. You could never prepare for an audition into a top school with only a year or two of studying.

When choosing the school, it’s most important to find a specific person for your specialty. For example, if you are a singer you will want to make sure the school you’re interested in has a singing instructor or professor you respect. The private teacher really is the most important aspect of any school you go to – even beyond the name of the institution or any of the orchestras associated with it. Better schools will also offer opportunities to perform in groups with more advanced players which can be extremely valuable as well.

Many people wonder if there is anything they can do to improve their fundamental skills of playing the piano once they progress past the basic lessons to become a competent player. Are there any tips, tricks, or advanced exercises you can employ to progress your playing even further?

I’ve stressed in the past the importance of learning all major and minor scales and arpeggios. But beyond this, are there any hidden secrets that will make you a better pianist? There is a simple thing you can do that won’t take much time and can greatly improve your playing:

Practice at least 10 minutes a day

Seriously, that’s it! You may not be able to do this every single day, but if you sit down and practice even a little bit every day, it can dramatically change your piano playing. Like any endeavor, whether it’s music, writing, drawing, or physical fitness, the key to success is to work consistently over time.

By practicing every day for even a few minutes, you will be keep yourself in shape on the piano both mentally and physically. Whether it’s scales, arpeggios, or what I recommend above all else, repertoire, you will enjoy benefits to your playing. You will also build on what you have worked on the previous day instead of taking two steps forward and one step back forgetting what you had learned previously when you skip days.

You can revisit a piece you played in the past, play through something you are working on currently, or learn a brand new piece. Focusing your practice sessions on actual music is one of the best ways to improve as a pianist, and it can be an enriching experience.

Just sight-reading through music can help you grow musically by getting exposed to new music while improving your reading. Learning new music will help you expand your horizons as well. You’ll learn new techniques, get exposed to new sounds, and discover new ways to play your instrument. As pianists, we are extremely lucky because there is more solo music written for piano that any other instrument. You will never run out of new music to learn!

So instead of focusing on just scales, arpeggios and exercises, try focusing on music and work some at the piano every day. Not only will you be exposing yourself to something new that presents fresh challenges, you will be able to actually play something enjoyable for people once your master a particular piece.

I hope this is helpful and if you have any questions about this topic or any other, please email me Robert@LivingPianos.com for more information.

Welcome to my multi-part series of piano exercises. This is a great exercise I learned in conservatory that provides a wonderful way to build strength in your technique.

Sometimes you don’t have a lot of time to practice but you want to get the maximum amount of production out of your time – this is great exercise for this exact situation. It’s something you can easily do with just a few minutes every day.

Rather than playing an entire series of scales or arpeggios and without having to learn an entire etude, you can perform this exercise – which is based on a pattern of chords – relatively easily and frequently as a great way to improve your strength.

The exercise goes from a major triad, to a minor triad, to a diminished triad, to an augmented triad. If you’re unsure of what these mean we will have a series of videos explaining them in the near future.