étude
Americannoun
-
études
plural
-
a musical composition, usually instrumental, intended mainly for the practice of some point of technique.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of étude
From French, dating back to 1830–40; see origin at study
Explanation
An etude is a short, tricky tune that a musician plays mainly for practice or to demonstrate skill. Many etudes are meant to be played on the piano. Well-known composers like Debussy and Chopin wrote piano etudes that continue to be used for teaching beginning musicians. There are also etudes composed for other instruments, like guitar, violin, and cello. In French, the word étude means "study," from the Latin studium, which also means "study," though it first meant "eagerness," from studere, "to be diligent."
Vocabulary lists containing etude
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
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English Words Derived from French, List 8
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Under a Painted Sky
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They even dared to parody South Korean girl group Blackpink for using a small part of a motif from Paganini's La Campanella étude in their song Shut Down.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2023
McDermott’s childhood memories are matched by naïvely excited music; the flotation tank, by a soporific étude; the simulated coma, by music so shapeless yet alluring that it could have been written by Satie.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
This particular track features a break based on a Chopin étude, which is always a live crowd-pleaser.
From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2021
Even the third étude, rippling like sun-dappled brook, was undermined by an overly frenetic bass.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 14, 2019
Yet a great artist can give even a technical study, say a Rode étude, a quality all its own in playing it.
From Violin Mastery Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers by Frederick Herman Martens
The pianist Yunchan Lim, who recently turned 20, debuted at Carnegie Hall in February with an old-school program: all 24 of Chopin’s études.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
The études — all recognizably Glassian in harmony, rhythm and oscillation — vary in character but are all a similar length, four to seven minutes.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
For pretty, there are restless Satie-like piano études by Paul Shilton.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2022
Mr. Floyd’s non-operatic works include song and choral cycles, a piano sonata and a book of études, as well as symphonic movements.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2021
It is a mistake to suppose that a correct touch, which alone can produce a good execution, will come of itself, through the practice of études and scales.
From Piano and Song How to Teach, How to Learn, and How to Form a Judgment of Musical Performances by Mary P. Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
