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35 Etudes for piano, op.100

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Published in August 2025 at  AvA Musical Editions 

 

 

This book of piano studies was born out of playful moments during practice sessions with my son, Filipe Matosinhos, who began learning the piano at the age of six. I had just completed my Op. 99, and what better way to celebrate my Op. 100 than with a family project!

Curiously, when I was 14 and took my first steps in composition, I wrote a few piano studies, including my Op. 7, which I even performed in exams as a keyboard practice student. This book brings together a total of 36 studies, creating a time bridge of 28 years.

But if the piano already has such an extensive repertoire and great masters have written studies, why add these Matosinhos Studies?

In a similar spirit to the studies I have written for horn, each of these studies addresses a specific technical challenge on the piano, while keeping a sense of fun. It is true that practice is essential for progress, but no one ever said we cannot have fun in the process.

Each study has a title suggesting a character or a situation, helping to approach technical challenges in a more imaginative way. Improvisation, so often neglected in early learning, appears in different forms in 13 of these studies: 1, 5, 8, 13, 14, 17, 19, 23, 27, 29, 31, 33, and 35.

The studies are organised in a progressive manner, roughly following an increasing level of difficulty. However, they should be used according to the needs of each student and not necessarily in the presented order. Care was taken to avoid intervals larger than a sixth, at least in the earlier studies, to allow students with smaller hands to play them comfortably. Although some of these studies may benefit from the use of the pedal, it has been deliberately left out so that younger students can perform them without it. However, a few laissez vibrer markings indicate notes that should be sustained.

To facilitate learning, a few fingering suggestions are included, which should be regarded as such. Different factors influence fingering choices, and ultimately, these should be adapted by each performer according to their needs and hand shape.

I would like to thank Professor Helena Lourosa for all her support regarding technical aspects, whose help was invaluable in the development of this project.

I chose to reduce the number of dynamic indications: some studies include more detailed markings, while others have sparse dynamic suggestions. Performers are given complete freedom to be expressive, to become co-authors of the work, and, above all, to have fun.

1. The Winter – This study uses only the notes F, G, A and B in different octaves, all white keys, just like snow! You may add dynamics to bring some colour. In the improvisation section, you may use different octaves, playing melodically or in clusters.

2. Frogs – In this study, the right hand slowly and gently plays notes between C and G. However, this calm is interrupted by frogs croaking on the black keys. Note: the frogs only appear if the fingers are rounded and in the correct position.

  

3. The Swing – The notes between C and G swing up and down in the right hand in this study. Take advantage of the stable hand position to focus more on the left-hand jumps.

 

4. Spring is here – It is so beautiful when spring arrives, full of colours! In this study, the same notes in the right hand gain new colours by changing the context in the left hand, always at a perfect fifth distance.

  

5. Chinese Waterfalls – Chinese music has a distinctive sound due to pentatonic scales. The piano’s black keys form a pentatonic scale, so this study uses only black keys in different octaves. In the improvisation section at bar 13, the right hand maintains the same pattern while the left hand improvises. It’s easy, but no white keys allowed!

  

6. The ladder – Many beginners dislike scales, but they are simply groups of notes arranged in steps, forming the best “ladder” to elevate musical performance. To facilitate thumb passing, longer notes are placed strategically where thumb changes occur.

7. The Clock in the Mirror – This study uses the symmetry around the note D, allowing the fingers of both hands to move diatonically and chromatically in mirror motion most of the time.

  

8. Blues – This study offers a blues pattern using the same notes in both hands. During repetitions, you may improvise with the right hand using the C blues scale. The number of repetitions is up to your creativity.

  

9. Jumping’ Blues – This study focuses on articulation, with some notes sustained while others bounce in staccato, following a blues harmony.

  

10. The Ambulance – Different finger combinations are used to create consonant and dissonant intervals, imitating the sound of an ambulance. At the end, if you listen carefully, you will hear the Doppler effect as the ambulance moves away.

  

11. Ah non… Cha Cha Cha! – The title of this study is a playful reference to a famous exercise by Charles-Louis Hanon (1819–1900), presented here with a small twist.

12. The Soldiers – In this study, the left-hand fingers march in synchronised formation, like soldiers, constantly interrupted by an out-of-tune bugle a semitone away. The “military orders” require the left-hand fingers to stay arched without losing formation!

  

13. Sadness – This study begins with a sad sonority where some notes should be sustained while others change. The improvisation section at bar 17 may be repeated ad libitum. Since the left hand alternates between B natural and B flat, the right-hand improvisation should follow these oscillations.

  

14. The Sunrise – This study features sections with free pulse alternating with sections of stable pulse, aiming to depict the calm image of the sun breaking through the morning clouds. The improvisation section in E Mixolydian at bar 9 may be repeated ad libitum.

15. Spooky – A scary study featuring many augmented fourths and diminished fifths. It takes advantage of the natural hand position, with the 1st and 5th fingers on the white keys and the other fingers navigating the black keys. Use a wide dynamic range for a truly scary sound.

  

16. The Modes – This study was created to explore different modes starting on C: Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian, and Locrian. The left hand highlights characteristic notes of each mode.

  

17. Caravan – This study in Phrygian mode evokes the image of a caravan of camels crossing the desert. At bar 19, a mirror section appears, like a mirage, followed by two right-hand improvisations: first over fifth jumps, then over an Andalusian cadence. For improvisation, you may use either G natural or G sharp depending on the chord, or both as passing notes.
 
 
 
18. Hiccups – This study includes tricky fingerings, like hiccups that refuse to stop immediately.
 
  
19. The Monster of Seven– Time signatures with seven beats often scare students like a bogeyman. However, the earlier a student encounters them, the easier they will seem, becoming normal. At first glance, this study may look intimidating, with sharps in the right hand and flats in the left, but it is simply a whole-tone scale. The right hand maintains a cluster-like pattern while the left hand moves. In the improvisation at bar 20, the same initial notes can be used to keep the hand position, or adventurous players can explore different octaves while maintaining the right-hand pattern.
  
20. The Mirror – Another mirror study, this time with more notes and some jumps.
21. The Train – Inspired by the sound of a steam train, this study uses chromatic movement in one hand to represent motion and alternates between augmented fourths and minor sixths to imitate the traditional whistle.
 
22. Waltz – No set of piano studies is complete without a waltz. This study includes various mirrored movements with different articulations, providing an excellent tool for practising hand independence regarding articulation.
23. The Robot – This study aims to portray the mechanical image of a robot. The notes follow a pentatonic pattern at semitone distances, alternating between white and black keys. The left-hand improvisation section at bar 10 may be repeated ad libitum in a small range or with bold jumps, maintaining the left hand in time while the right hand plays off-beats. Pauses may also be included in the left-hand improvisation. In the final bar, the robot gradually runs out of energy until it stops completely.
24. The Horse – A fun study starting with fast right-hand movements alternating with the left-hand trot, illustrating the image of a horse strolling leisurely. Each hand has independent elements based on patterns, allowing freedom to shift focus between hands.
25. The Slide – Inspired by the idea of a slide, this fun study is filled with chromatic passages. It begins with clapping, adding fun and requiring the hands to leave and return to the same position on the keyboard. Chords and chromatic passages switch hands to distribute focus between them.
26. Flying – Inspired by the movement of birds, this study features fifths turning into sixths and even sevenths, requiring the hand to stretch like wings. Add dynamics and, if needed, a touch of rubato, letting your imagination take flight.
27. Iberia – This study draws on flamenco sonorities, taking advantage of both the instrument’s and the hands’ characteristics. The left hand often holds a sus4 shape, while the right hand, in mirror, forms a sus2. Mostly white keys are used, alternating relaxed sus chords with tension created by semitone intervals. The duration of the two improvisations is left to the performer’s discretion.
28. Mathematical Dream – Based on the Lydian mode, this study alternates movement between the hands: when one moves, the other maintains a fixed pattern. The title was chosen by Filipe, probably inspired by The Number Devil by Enzensberger.
29. Arpeggios in the Caribbean – Is there a fun way to practise arpeggios? Perhaps only if we were on holiday in the Caribbean! This study follows that idea, including a Mixolydian improvisation at bar 10 and rhythmic improvisations at bars 16 and 20.
30. Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyaah nyaah! – This playful melody has many names worldwide, often used by children teasing each other. The passages are built on semitone distances, alternating white and black keys. At the end, it is time to “sleep” on the black keys, gently, to avoid breaking any strings!
31. The Haunted Castle – A ghostly study, built entirely on diminished chords and scales, the most frightening in tonal music. The improvisation section using the diminished scale at bar 19 may last as long as the performer desires.
32. Sequences – This study is based on interval sequences that expand in one hand while contracting in the other. It can be played with some rubato and dynamics at the performer’s discretion.
33. Circle of Fifths – As the title suggests, this study is based on the cycle of fifths in the bass while the right hand plays chromatic passages and tritones. The improvisation sections at bar 41 may be repeated optionally. Since the notes are indicated, the idea is to improvise only the durations, creating interesting rhythms from hand alternation. Another tritone improvisation follows at bar 53, and finally, a whole-tone scale improvisation in the last bars, ending with a diminuendo into silence.
  
34. Perpetuum Mobile – Based on repeated notes and rapid hand alternation, this study should sound light, requiring relaxation and excellent finger control.
35. Walkin’ in the Park – A light study with a cheerful improvisation in Ionian, Dorian, arpeggios in E-flat major, D-flat major, B major, and the whole-tone scale. The improvisation section at bar 15 may be repeated as many times as needed.
 
 
Memories of a Young Dreamer, Op. 7 – This study is in C minor, although it begins with C natural, C sharp, and B in the first bar. This combination continues throughout the piece, finally resolving to C sharp an octave higher in the last bar.