Approaching Etude No. 2 by Villa-Lobos

This post deals with how to approach learning the awesome Etude No. 2 by Villa-Lobos. It has a series of videos that will walk you through how to learn and effectively practice this study. It is the second lesson in the #villalobos12in12 challenge.

#villalobos12in12 & Etude No. 2 by Villa-Lobos

I bet, like me, you want to play all 12 of Villa-Lobos’ awesome studies? And not just kind of perform them, but actually play and understand them!

Have you found it a little tough to get some of them started, or even finished? Well I have created a unique method for learning these awesome studies. Check out the intro below.

If you haven’t got it already, the best edition to buy currently for Villa-Lobos’ 12 Etudes is the Zigante Edition.

If you’re wondering why! Check out this detailed post on all the current editions available, and why I have chosen this particle one.

Full of detail and long post on editions

Grab your Study Guide Below

Etude 2 (Villa-Lobos) Study Guide

Etude No. 2 by Villa-Lobos is a 2 page whirlwind study of extended arpeggio shapes across the entire fret board. Villa-Lobos was very methodical with his first 6 etudes and as such they are great technical workouts as they generally concentrate on one or two aspects of technique. In this study Page 1 deals with basic shapes, such as A minor or B7, whilst page two is all about barre chord shapes and chord extensions.

Short Cut Tip

So, there is no short cut tip for this etude no. 2. There is however an excellent bit of advice. Plant your RH thumb on the 6th string after you have used it. It creates stability for the hand and fingers while you are playing all those string crossing arpeggios.

Getting the shapes under your fingers

In order for this study to get off the ground and be fluid, you need to get the chord shapes under the fingers solidly. So practice the shapes first on their own, before playing with the right hand pattern. Note that some shapes are duplicated across the fretboard, same fingering and shape.

The same can be said for the right hand pattern.

Practice it with open strings first. Note that when playing arpeggios on the guitar a common sequence of fingers is utilized; generally PIMA IMA.

Etude No. 2 RH & LH Co-ordination

The video below walks through learning to learn etude no. 2 by Villa-Lobos. The approach taken to this study needs to different as you have to co-ordinate both hands. This requires a slightly more detailed approach to learning the notes in each bar. Check the video out for full details. And again all example are fully tabbed out in the study guide.

First 10 bars

Below is the video for the first 10 bars to etude no. 2. It covers fingering and how to approach to both LH and RH fingers. Along with the main tips to getting this challenging etude off the ground.

Big Middle Scale

Below is the video for the big technical challenge for this study: the Bach style scale pattern up 1 string. Here you are focusing on shifting and finger order. Make sure that your LH is under control, no flailing, and relaxed.

Micro Studies 12 – 15 Compound Barres

Below is the video for the 2nd half of etude no. 2 and it hols all the barre chord types you are ever going to come across in guitar music: full, half and hinge barre chords. Make sue you are not squeezing with your LH thumb, it is leveraging the arm, with a little help from the thumb. If you still have issues check out this post on barre chords.

Barre Chord Basics

Tips for the shifts and the barres

Tip 1:

Practice each bar on its own until it is secure, before moving to the next.

Tip 2:

Let the elbow lead any big shifts, and pivot off its point. The roll of the left hand elbow is crucial to facilitating the shifts…

…and for easing the left hand fingers around any barred chords.

Tip 3:

The elbow, again, needs to facilitate the use of the left hand fingers around the barred chords, such as bars 16 – 21 where a static first finger has fluid 2, 3, and 4 fingers are being placed along side it.

Tip 4:

Don’t be afraid to alter fingering in the repeat bars.

Sometimes altering the way you come down an arpeggio shape will ease the transition into the next chord. The B7 at bar 21, into 22, is a great example. Can you finger it another way?

Right Hand

As a general rule the right hand pattern will always be PIMA IMA IMA up and AMI AMI AMI down the arpeggio. However that is not always the case so check the suggested fingers in the chord chart below. If you are still new to arpeggios on the guitar use bars 5 – 8, which are standard shapes for A & E, to practice this slowly.

Tip 5:

Planting is essential to securing arpeggios, especially at speed. So practice the full study, super slow concentrating on the right hand finger placement coordinated correctly with the left hand movements. This will then become second nature thus allowing you to speed up.

• Speed is a by product of relaxed (good) technique.

The F major substitution at bar 25

Below is my solution to the F major sub at bar 25 that maintains the hammer on texture.

Playing the Ending: Bicords

Below is the video for the actual ending of etude no. 2, as Villa-Lobos intended it, using bicords. What are they? These is the technique of resonating a string at two places simultaneously. Want to know more? Check out the video below, it will show you.

And here is the solution for the final harmonics. These are both hands working in tandem, normal playing and left hand plucking.

The full study, step by step

Check out the video below, which steps through each shape slowly keeping in mind the tips above.

This study is a great warm up piece, or even a show piece (see Matt Palmer scaring guitarists for life below). Approach it slowly and practice with a metronome, pushing the speed a little each session, and maybe you too can play it in under a a minute and a half.

Join the CGRocks community on Patreon and find more lessons just like this one, with my unique micro study process to help you nail it.

Etude No. 3 Next

Next in the series is Etude No. 3 by Villa-Lobos. This study focuses on LH legato, or slurs, or as us guitarists known them hammers & pull-offs. It is a great warm up piece and will really challenge your LH’s ability.

Approaching Etude No. 3