etude

/eɪˈtud/

Other forms: etudes

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."

Definitions of etude

1. noun

   a short composition for a solo instrument; intended as an exercise or to demonstrate technical virtuosity
   type of:

   composition, musical composition, opus, piece, piece of music

   a musical work that has been created