If you’ve spent any time around violin method books or talked with advancing students, you’ve probably heard the word etude, sometimes called a study. These are short pieces written specifically to build one technical skill: shifting, string crossings, finger dexterity, bow control, or intonation.
So, do violin students need them?
My answer is yes, but not necessarily right away, and not as a substitute for learning technique inside real music.
Why I Don’t Start With Etudes
For beginning and intermediate students, there’s already a lot happening at once: tone production, reading music, rhythm, posture, intonation, vibrato, and listening. Assigning etudes on top of all of that doesn’t really help at this stage. A new etude comes with its own learning curve. Students have to learn the notes and rhythm before they can even get to the technical point the etude was written to teach, which means the actual lesson gets buried under the work of just learning the piece.
I’ve had several students place highly in competitive youth orchestra groups without having worked through Kreutzer or Dont etudes. Instead, we built technique directly inside the pieces they were already playing. If a student needed to work on keeping the left-hand pinky curved, I wouldn’t hand them a separate finger-strengthening exercise. I’d have them pause mid-piece, reset the curve, and then play the note. The technical work happened inside music they already knew, not in a separate drill disconnected from anything they were performing.
Where Etudes Actually Earn Their Place
As students advance, etudes become more useful. Once the fundamentals are solid, an etude lets us isolate one specific challenge such as cleaner string crossings, smoother shifting, and more even finger dexterity. At this stage, a student has enough technical prowess that the etude itself doesn’t become a reading exercise. It becomes a focused study
Even then, I don’t assign etudes because a student has reached a certain book or a certain age. I assign them for a specific technical need that a scale or piece isn’t already addressing well enough.
Technique Within the Music, Not Separate From It
Some students are surprised to learn that professional violinists still practice scales, etudes, and repertoire throughout their careers. These aren’t separate categories competing for practice time. They work together. Scales build consistency, repertoire builds musical expression, and etudes isolate specific technical problems. My approach is to use whichever tool fits with what a student needs right now, rather than working through every category just because it exists.
I’d rather a student master a few things than spread thin across everything. That’s part of why I prioritize teaching technique inside the pieces students are already playing, especially early on, rather than layering on separate study books before they’re ready to benefit from them.
The Real Goal
The goal was never to finish a book of etudes. The goal is a confident, expressive violinist whose technique actually serves the music, whether that shows up in scales, Suzuki repertoire, orchestra music, concertos, Bach, or eventually, etudes.I’ve seen students reach a high level of playing, including placing well in competitive youth orchestras, without etudes ever entering the picture.
FAQ
What is a violin etude, exactly? It’s a short piece built around one specific technical skill, rather than something written to be performed on its own. Some, like the standard Kreutzer or Dont studies, have been used by violinists for generations.
Does every student eventually need etudes? Most benefit from them at some point, but not on a fixed timeline. I introduce them when direct, targeted practice will close a technical gap faster than repertoire alone.
Why doesn’t every student start with etudes like Kreutzer or Dont? Those studies assume a level of technical fluency a newer student doesn’t have yet. Without that foundation, a student ends up spending most of their effort just learning the etude itself instead of the skill it was written to teach.
If you’re curious how I build technique into a student’s playing, whether that’s through repertoire, scales, or eventually etudes, I’d be glad to talk it through in a free intro at any of my studios in Falcon Heights, North Oaks, or Mounds View, or through online violin lessons, which I’ve been teaching since 2014.
Contact me to learn more.