Leo Brouwer's Estudios Sencillos #1-5: Interplay of Technique & Expression
Mini-Masterclasses (70 minutes)
This course will help any guitarist gain a deeper understanding of the interplay between technique and expression
Beginners: all material is accessible
Intermediate players: move your playing to the advanced level through many technical distinctions and refinements
Advanced players: strengthen your foundations while enjoying comprehensive study materials for ongoing practice and review
Brouwer's études are an opportunity to harness the power of expressive technique, to aim for increases in refinement & gradation, contrast & shape!
Interpretive insights that will help you maximize the benefit of these essential studies
Practice approaches used by professional concert guitarists to develop and maintain a high level of technical facility, coordination, and control
Key musical & technical insights gleaned from hundreds of masterclasses and decades of lessons and mentorships with the world's top concert guitarists
00:00 Performance
01:26 Mini-Masterclass
Though the guitar possesses a rich repertoire of études, particularly from the 19th century, there was a scarcity of "modern" didactic literature going well into the 20th century.
Written in the 1970s, Leo Brouwer's Estudios Sencillos have become an absolutely critical part of every classical guitarist's education.
It can be said without exaggeration that the études of Villa-Lobos and Brouwer brought the guitar into the 20th and 21st centuries.
The universal acclaim that Brouwer's Estudios Sencillos have received is partly due to their compositional sophistication, and also to their efficacy as tools for the acquisition of instrumental technique.
A distinguishing feature of these études is their detailed expression markings.
Many 19-century études contain very few dynamic and articulation markings, leaving the performing guitarist with questions regarding proper interpretation.
Brouwer provides clear and specific directions that challenge us to develop refined and expressive techniques and nuanced interpretations.
In addition, Brouwer's harmonic and rhythmic language is significantly more complex and "modern" than much of the guitar's didactic literature, presenting opportunities for growth into the guitar's contemporary repertoire.
Guitarists have an opportunity to hone a great number of technical and musical skills while practicing Brouwer's études.
Here are some of the areas, if consciously focused upon, that will see marked improvement:
- thumb strokes: free & rest strokes
- right-hand stability
- dynamics & accents
- timbre & string tension: the connection
- balancing & voicing: chords & parts
- first position reading
- foundations of tremolo
- reading & feeling syncopations
The topics above (and many other interpretive considerations) will be addressed in the Mini-Masterclasses videos in each chapter.
Étude I (Movido): Performance
Masterclass 1: Étude I (Movido)
Étude III (Rapido): Performance
Masterclass 3: Étude III (Rapido)
Étude IV (Comodo): Performance
Masterclass 4: Étude IV (Comodo)