Once I had to do research in which I interviewed a great number of children from seven to twelve years, who learned to play different instruments. One of the questions I asked was: "Do you like to play etudes?" Some children answered, that they had not played etudes yet, others said that it wouldn’t make any difference to them whether they played an etude or any other piece. But most of them answered that they like to play neither etudes, nor exercises.
What is the reason for such an aversion to compositions of this type? The etudes, which are played by the novice musicians, have many negatives. A lot of etudes don’t have a figurative content. The theme for such an etude is nothing more than a simple melody, performed in the appropriate technique. The uniformity of the texture doesn’t promote the development of the child’s imagination. The expressive tools are limited to a few piano or forte and ritenuto between the middle part and the reprise. At the same time
the sheet music of etudes is full of complex elements. The etude becomes faceless, non-emotional for the child. It turns into a mechanically performed burden, like a walk through the desert with a bag of stones on your back.
The question arises why musicians have to play etudes? Perhaps, they do it to learn to perform and improve the quality of a certain type of technique of performing. Meanwhile, one important point is missing. Why do you have to learn the new techniques? Of course, to gain the skills for a variety of compositions. Often, we are able to perform an etude correctly, based on some technique. Problems appear, when that same technique is applied in a piece. Here techniques are interweaved in the musical context of the piece, have a content, the musician must express in his performance, embodying the imagination, whereas playing etudes, many musicians play the appropriate notes without thinking about any expressiveness.
But we must keep in mind, an etude is also a musical work and at the heart of any piece of music is an idea. It is very important to teach the beginner to treat etudes like a concert pieces, which he has to play not only quickly, but also expressively. It goes without saying that the teacher has to select carefully etudes and exercises, selecting the most interesting from a musical point of view. If the etude becomes a music composition of full value for a student, which excersising he will be interested in, the work on the technical skills will be an additional bonus to the exciting study of the music world.
