Composed between approximately 1865 and 1890, this collection was published in 1893, during Brahms's later years. Some etudes are assigned sub-numbers with letters, such as 1a. Each etude, with the exception of a few, generally begins with the tonic chord of a certain key and is written in a form that repeats the opening figure while ascending or descending. Furthermore, instructions are given to practice them in keys other than the notated one.

Individual Etudes

• Etude No. 1 consists of parts a to f, featuring arpeggiated chords played by the hands in contrary motion. It begins with the D major tonic chord, ascends, then turns back to descend, repeating the opening figure. The fact that the note values in both hands are not always identical is characteristic of Brahms.
• Etude No. 2 comprises parts a and b. Both are primarily based on thirds. In part a, ascending scales in 16th notes are played alternately by the left and right hands, ascending, and after turning back, descending scales are played alternately by the left and right hands, descending. It begins with the A major tonic chord. In part b, the note values become eighth-note triplets.
• Etude No. 3, following Etude No. 2, is also primarily based on thirds. Here, both hands play simultaneously in parallel motion. It begins in E major with a V-shaped figure within one measure, ascends, then turns back to descend while playing the same figure.
• Etude No. 4 is an exercise in descending arpeggiated sixth intervals played by both hands in parallel motion. Both hands are instructed to sustain the first note.
• Etude No. 5 is written in C minor. It is an exercise in arpeggiated octaves played by both hands in parallel motion. Part 5a also exists. The technique of shifting octaves themselves by octaves is characteristic of Brahms. Etude No. 6 is an elaboration of Etude No. 5, also written in C minor. It is an exercise in playing arpeggiated chords as arpeggiated octaves, and like Etude No. 5, it has a part 6a.
• Etude No. 7 is an exercise in playing chromatically rich figures within narrow intervals in unison by both hands. Such figures are seen in only one of the hands, while the other hand plays notes of longer duration; part 7a exists for this.
• Etude No. 8 consists of parts a and b, with b being an elaboration of a. It features a figure resembling a mathematical similarity symbol played in unison by both hands within one measure.
• Etude No. 9 also consists of parts a and b. It is an exercise in playing arpeggiated chords with intermittent sustained notes between each note, in contrary motion by both hands. In Etude No. 10, these sustained notes are actually held while arpeggiated chords are played within an octave, in contrary motion by both hands. Etude No. 11, consisting of parts a and b, is a further elaboration of Etudes No. 9 and No. 10. Here, additional notes are added.
• From Etude No. 12 onwards, tempo markings are occasionally seen. Here, 'Moderato' is indicated, along with the term 'ben legato'. It is an exercise in playing chords while also performing ornaments attached to some of their notes. Etude No. 13 is an elaboration of Etude No. 12. While Etude No. 12 began with the C major tonic chord, Etude No. 13 begins with the C minor tonic chord.
• Etude No. 14 is marked 'Vivace'. It is an exercise where each hand sustains two half notes while the other fingers play a range exceeding one octave.
• Etude No. 15 is marked 'leggiero'. It features a figure resembling a mathematical similarity symbol, played in 16th-note sextuplets, with both hands in contrary motion. Etude No. 16 is an elaboration of Etude No. 15, consisting of parts a to c. Here, sustained notes (whole notes or half notes) are added.
• Etude No. 17 is in 3/2 time. It is an exercise where one hand plays eighth notes, while the other hand assigns one 16th-note triplet to each eighth note. Both hands play a repetition of two adjacent notes, forming a notated trill. The note values played by each hand are interchanged between the first and second halves.
• Etude No. 18 consists of parts a and b, marked 'ben legato'. Each hand plays two voices: one voice consisting of 16th notes primarily based on arpeggiated second intervals, and another voice consisting of eighth-note triplets primarily based on arpeggiated third intervals.
• Etude No. 19 is marked 'Moderato'. It involves playing chords by dividing them into double notes. In this process, the intervals played by the left and right hands alternate, ensuring that the constituent notes are always sounding.
• Etude No. 20 is an exercise in playing wide-ranging arpeggiated chords in a meandering fashion, traversing back and forth over two measures. This figure is then repeated, ascending by semitones.
• Etude No. 21 consists of parts a and b. It is an exercise in playing arpeggiated chords spanning over an octave in contrary motion by both hands, with double notes inserted at the beginning of each beat.
• Etude No. 22 is an exercise where one hand plays scales with long note values and shorter note values including neighboring tones, while the other hand plays scales with neighboring tones in thirds.
• Etude No. 23 consists of parts a to c. It involves playing scales with appoggiaturas in thirds, in contrary motion by both hands. At the same time, sustained notes of long duration are added. Etude No. 24, consisting of parts a and b, is an elaboration of Etude No. 23. It is marked 'ben legato'. It is an exercise in playing a swirling lower or upper voice in thirds with added neighboring tones.
• Etude No. 25 consists of parts a to c, marked 'non troppo allegro'. This etude is written with a complex texture, more akin to what is found in actual compositions rather than mere repetition of figures. It is also marked 'f legato'. A fixed rhythmic pattern is played alternately by the left and right hands with a time lag. Such a technique is frequently seen in Brahms's piano works.
• Etude No. 26 also consists of parts a to c, marked 'leggiero'. It features unique figures, characteristic of Brahms's piano works, played by both hands in contrary motion. Etude No. 27 is an elaboration of Etude No. 26. It includes repeated notes within the figure, and sustained notes are added. Etude No. 28 further elaborates on the preceding two etudes. However, here it is marked 'legato' instead of 'leggiero'. It involves playing chromatically rich figures in contrary motion by both hands, while sustaining one note per measure.
• Etude No. 29 is marked 'Presto', featuring octaves played by both hands in contrary motion. It also has a 'leggiero' marking at the beginning, and near the end of the etude, it becomes 'più presto'.
• Etude No. 30 is similar to Etude No. 24. Both hands play figures in contrary motion in the inner voices, while playing notated trills in the outer voices. Slurs are applied to all voices, and 'legato' is required.
• Etude No. 31 consists of parts a and b. It is primarily based on a triplet figure where chords are played sequentially as single note → double note → double note. Both hands play this in parallel motion. Part b begins with an anacrusis, where the right hand precedes by one eighth-note triplet.
• Etude No. 32 also consists of parts a and b. In part a, the outer voice plays a legato unison by both hands, while the inner voice plays arpeggiated chords in contrary motion by both hands. In part b, these outer and inner voices are interchanged.
• Etude No. 33 also consists of parts a and b. Both hands play legato figures composed of single notes or double notes. The interchange of parallel and contrary motion between outer and inner voices in parts a and b is the same as in the preceding Etude No. 32.
• Etude No. 34 consists of parts a to c, marked 'ben legato'. In all parts, either the outer or inner voice features a unison played by both hands, while the other voice plays a finer figure, also in unison by both hands.
• Etude No. 35 features both outer and inner voices playing figures in contrary motion by both hands. A characteristic aspect here is that, during performance, the notated outer voice notes occasionally dip below the inner voice every other beat. Although no sub-numbers are assigned, it is instructed to practice with 'legato' and 'leggiero'.
• Etude No. 36 is an exercise in playing figures in contrary motion by both hands with 'legato', while sustaining one note per measure, with an additional sustained note added in the latter half of each measure.
• Etude No. 37 consists of parts a and b. In each beat, wide-ranging arpeggiated chords in contrary motion by both hands are repeated, expanding outwards in one direction only. Strictly speaking, part a is in 4/4 time and precedes by one 16th note, while part b is in 9/8 time and divided into groups of five and four eighth notes, so the beat divisions do not align with the arpeggio divisions. Furthermore, part a is marked 'dolce legato', while part b is marked 'ben legato più forte'.
• Etude No. 38 is marked 'Allegro ben marcato f'. It features neighboring tones added to the upper or lower voice of chords played in unison by both hands, with the voice containing the neighboring tone alternating every beat. Etude No. 39 also features chords in unison by both hands, but here, neighboring tones are added to the lower voice. It is also marked 'ben legato'.
• Etude No. 40 consists of parts a and b. It involves playing single 16th notes in contrary motion by both hands, first 'f legato', then 'p leggiero'. In part b, by sustaining some of the single notes, it becomes partially polyphonic. Etudes No. 41 and No. 42 are elaborations of Etude No. 40, and each consists of parts a and b.
• Etude No. 43 consists of parts a and b. It features a chromatic progression in unison by both hands, centered around one sustained note per measure, while both hands play leaping double notes in contrary motion. Practice at 'Andante' and 'Allegro' is required.
• Etude No. 44 also consists of parts a and b. Part a is an exercise in arpeggiated chords in parallel motion by both hands, while part b is an exercise in arpeggiated chords in contrary motion.
• Etude No. 45 is marked 'ben marcato'. It is an exercise in unison by both hands, where a note is sustained in the upper voice, while the first note of an arpeggiated third is played as an appoggiatura in the lower voice. Two types of key signatures are provided.
• Etude No. 46 consists of parts a and b. Part a is marked 'dolce', featuring leaping double notes played by both hands in parallel motion, centered around notes sustained by each hand for five measures. On the other hand, part b is marked 'dolce leggiero', also centered around notes sustained by each hand for one note per five measures, playing figures spanning a high register.
• Etude No. 47 is marked 'Allegro'. One hand plays a wavy figure with 'ben legato', while the other hand plays a unison figure with 'leggiero', interspersed with rests at various points.
• Etude No. 48 features both hands playing in parallel motion, while the upper and inner voices form contrary motion, offset by one beat. Etude No. 49, consisting of parts a and b, is an elaboration of Etude No. 48.
• Etude No. 50 begins with a wavy figure played in contrary motion by both hands, marked 'leggiero' in the first measure. From the second measure, it is played 'ben legato' with an added outer voice, also in contrary motion.
• Etude No. 51, which concludes this collection of etudes, is marked 'Vivace leggiero' and features single-note figures played in contrary motion by both hands.

Since all of Brahms's piano works had been published by 1893, the year this collection of etudes was released, these etudes can be considered Brahms's own etudes for his piano works. Indeed, these etudes exhibit characteristic Brahmsian techniques found in his piano works, such as polyrhythms and the use of wrist flexibility (especially in octaves). Furthermore, figures played by both hands in contrary motion are characteristic. Notably, there is an interesting treatise on this collection of etudes by the female pianist, Axenfeld.