There’s a long tradition in classical music of composers writing Etudes, literally “studies”: music written to help develop the player’s skill that is also satisfying to play and listen to.
All the most significant composers for the guitar wrote sets of studies, and most of the music I’ve been practicing on the classical guitar the past couple of years comes out of this repertoire.
One of the positive things that has come out of this crazy year has been more time to practice and create. I’ve spent a lot of time over the past year working on my picking hand, and over the first six months of 2020 developed this set of five melodic exercises for coordination between the thumb and fingers.
The music is challenging enough to be satisfying to a skilled player, but attainable for anyone with more than a beginners’ grasp of fingerstyle.
Listen on Spotify
5 Etudes is available on Amazon as an illustrated sheet music & tab book, and also available in digital form. Click below to hear performances in a YouTube playlist on a Larrivee OM-9 and Cordoba GK Pro.
Cover and illustrations by Christa Schoenbrodt at Studio Haus Nashville.
