This genre is found in many types of creativity: painting, theater, literature, music. If expressed in terms of fine art, then the study, from the French "study", is a kind of sketch, sketch. This definition also applies to a musical etude.
Etudes are usually not regarded as complete, complete works. They can be called musical sketches of a relatively small size, which usually take no more than two pages of a sheet music album. The lion's share of a student of a music educational institution is devoted to etudes, since each of these works is usually devoted to a particular musical technique or performance technique. In one etude, for example, there may be many triplets or syncopations, overlapped notes or, on the contrary, staccato - so that the musician can hone his skills.
Etude history
The history of the genre dates back to the 18th century. Initially, the pieces were purely educational exercises, the popularity of which increased when the piano became the favorite instrument for home music making in Europe. The author of several hundred studies for pianists, for example, was the Austrian composer Karl Czerny. In the next century, the famous composer Frederic Chopin introduced more melody and beauty to this genre, thanks to which the etudes can now be heard not only in music lessons, but also at concerts - these are no longer just educational pieces for practicing virtuosity, but independent musical works. However, the sketches still, as a rule, have no names.
Today, a huge number of works of this genre are known for the authorship of renowned composers - Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Claude Debussy and many others. Along with them, the names of musicians are known who, not possessing outstanding talents in writing musical works, are the authors of many popular collections of etudes.
Sketches today
In modern musical educational institutions, from school to conservatory, education does not take place without the regular playing of etudes. Collections of these works of all levels have been released for each of the instruments. Moreover, there are etudes recorded not only in the tradition of classical music, but also jazz ones. Contemporary composers continue to turn to this genre. For example, the famous avant-garde artist John Cage, already in the second half of the 20th century, also composed etudes for piano, cello and violin, written in his characteristic experimental manner.
Etude is perhaps the best way to hone individual elements of the game: firstly, playing it is not as boring as scales or other exercises, and secondly, a musician can work on a variety of techniques in a complex manner. Despite the fact that the etude, as a rule, is devoted to one or two techniques, it is built as a full-fledged work, that is, it requires the performer to observe a certain tempo, musical touches and other nuances of the game.
