Why etudes?

[consectaneus]

Like a lot of people here I am using my extra time to do a bit of woodshedding. I'm finding some great material, running arpeggios over the changes to Giant Steps, learning some Paul Chambers transcripts--just stretching myself musically. I came across an etude, and absent the written score, I do see the benefit of the ear training aspect of it. But musically I wonder if it's the best use of my practice time. It seems to me that I get the same benefit from looping the above mentioned actual tunes as both exercise and real harmonic content. At least when I'm done I can say I learned a real piece of music.

 

[dreamadream99]

Etudes are studies. Exercises. They aren’t melodic and beautiful. They aren’t even particularly interesting. It’s musical weightlifting. They usually focus on a particular aspect of technique, and explore that aspect throughout the range of the instrument.

And like weightlifting, they have their place in musical development. After a student has learned all the notes in the range of the instrument (1 to 2 years) and is aware of keys and key signatures, it’s time for etudes. It’s time to micro focus on a particular fine point of technique, and just overkill the s**t out of it.

Why? Because, after you’ve gotten all the etudes under your belt, there are no technical surprises to encounter in the business of actually performing. You’ve already covered all the possibilities in the etudes. So when you encounter that weird sixteenth rhythm, with a major sixth interval, it’s no sweat, because you did all the sixteenth note etudes and the major sixth interval exercises in all keys.

Etudes are the necessary groundwork and bridge between learning the notes, and being able to competently perform anything put in front of you.

 

[consectaneus]

I appreciate your educated views on this. There are times when one has to have some faith in the process. I suppose looking back many things did not seem especially applicable at the time, but I do know that whatever dexterity or endurance I have is due to repetition of things which could be considered exercises. I just thought I would kill two birds with one stone by making it actual music, but you have perfectly described the value of the etude. Actually the particular one in question happens to have a nice baroque quality to it (an exercise in minors) so at least it is pleasing to the ear, and I'm starting to find some unusual (to me) inversions and things that could be strung together to make phrases. You have improved my motivation. Thanks.

 

[BassChuck]

I too have been wood shedding and etudes are a huge part of it. I've gone back (again) through Simandl, Hrabe, Slama, and Storch. I like the cello books like Sebastian Lee, and Dotzauer. Also there are tons of wonderful etudes in bassoon and trombone books. I have a degree in trumpet and I've transposed the Charlier etudes (which are really great musical pieces) and I have the Arban book for trombone. Additionally I did graduate performance degree work with French horn and I've transposed a good bit of the Gallay and Maxium-Alphonse books.
That said, I no longer play in bar bands. All my bass playing is in big bands and musical pit orchestras so reading is a huge part of that work.
I do also work on the Jamie Abersold books and tunes in the iReal Pro app. Mixing up different practice stuff is important to me. I don't know that I'd recommend it for everyone, but being able to read new music quickly and correctly is the number one demand of the places I find myself these days. Well, I hope to find myself again.

 

[fdeck]

I think that etudes help to break bad habits. So long as you're just playing bass parts for songs, and especially if you have leeway to ad-lib them, it's easy to play patterns that you already know, that are easy and convenient. But etudes weren't written for our convenience. They force us to confront patterns that are hard, or that expose issues such as shifting and intonation. They can also get us out of the most familiar keys.

And when those hard passages become easy, you might discover that they actually work better than the old familiar ones.

For me there's also a meditative aspect of playing boring etudes and just focusing on my technique and tone.

 

[Malcolm35]

Like a lot of people here I am using my extra time to do a bit of woodshedding. I'm finding some great material, running arpeggios over the changes to Giant Steps, learning some Paul Chambers transcripts--just stretching myself musically. I came across an etude, and absent the written score, I do see the benefit of the ear training aspect of it. But musically I wonder if it's the best use of my practice time. It seems to me that I get the same benefit from looping the above mentioned actual tunes as both exercise and real harmonic content. At least when I'm done I can say I learned a real piece of music.

This is coming from a good ole boy that played music with his friends. I think we move to tunes when we start playing with others. Scales, arpeggios, etudes, etc. are done to learn something or some , i.e. how to play.

That said; I also think we find a time when sales and arpeggios are not part of our study time. Yes we may run a scale or two to warm up, but, we move to practicing the songs we will be using...

Played rhythm guitar in the same band for 15 years. Played the same 35 songs over and over. We gigged somewhere once a week, and because of that rust did not develop, so none of us practiced we just showed up and played. At Christmas we would get together and dust of our Christmas songs. If we wanted to add a new song, we would get the fake chord on that song and practice it as a warm up, at a gig for a couple of weeks.

My point, there is a time for study and there is a time to take what we know and just go play the music.

Playing music was a part of my life, along with several other things, like family, job, and things like that.

 

[Les Fret]

Why? Why not?

It keeps you from the street.

 

[consectaneus]

Why? Why not?

It keeps you from the street.

I think you hit the nail on the head!

Sounds like a good life, Malcolm. I hope I can get back together with my friends soon. A group is a great motivation to learn songs and yes, play. I don't know what's going on with me. I'm obsessive about playing right now. I have considered that it may be form of escapism in these anxious times. Whatever it is I'm just following my heart. I have a capacity for focus and repetition--as fdeck above said, there is a meditative aspect to it. I may crash and burn and not feel like picking up my bass again but right now I'm riding it. I am learning a new piece about every day and my ability to pick up what I see and hear has taken a step forward. I'm in that happy place of progress between plateaus we all experience. (Mind you, in my own humble way, not anything like BassChuck above).

 

[RustyAxe]

@dreamadream99 is spot on. Learning to play piano at a very young age I found etudes to be BORING as all get out. But, they were necessary to get me to the next level of playing. I'll admit, though, that since starting the guitar and bass in 1967, after six or seven years of piano, I never played an etude on guitar or bass ... I played songs.

 

[Boogiepop]

A good etude is a good piece of music that emphasizes a particular technique.

Chopin and his contemporaries raised the composition of etudes to a high art. I've heard some of the pieces in piano competitions. They're spine-tingling, and I'm not normally a fan of uber-romantic piano.

My advice: find a piece of music with a lot of what you're trying to work on and use that as an etude. I'm considering picking up a medieval salterello as a speed and dexterity etude. (BTW, the piece rocks.)

B.