An encyclopedic index of commonly used etudes catalogued and organized pedagogically by technical difficulty
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Abstract
In the study of the violin, teacher and student are involved in an on-going process of identifying, analyzing and overcoming technical and musical obstacles on the way to complete mastery of the instrument. Etudes often bridge the gap between exercises and "real music," and, as such, are extremely valuable as a step to mastering various playing skills in a musical setting. Nevertheless, without an encyclopedic memory, a teacher may find it difficult to locate appropriate etudes for an individual student with a specific technical problem.The charts from this study are designed to be used as an aid in locating and assigning etudes to students based upon their grade level and the technical difficulty they are having. The etudes selected were determined by their availability in three or more published editions to be those most commonly used.First, each etude was assigned a grade level. Next, each etude was catalogued by performance difficulty. Each performance category was carefully defined and limited. Finally, the writer determined whether the performance problem being studied was a "primary" difficulty of that etude, or whether the problem existed as a "secondary" component.After determining the technical difficulty to be studied, a violinist may consult the list of etudes addressing that particular difficulty. The list of etudes is organized from the simplest to the most difficult, and for each etude it is noted whether the problem is of primary (P) or secondary (S) importance. Finally, each etude is cross-referenced with other technical problems, and a teacher or student may make the decision whether to study the problem in isolation or in conjunction with other technical difficulties.