A first for classical guitar; a first for classical music…
Never before have the voices of so many classical guitar performers and pedagogues come together for a unique project that examines how the study, teaching, and performance of the classical guitar have been “instrumental influences” in the lives of the artists and teachers, or the lives of their students.
Over the centuries, the classical guitar in its various forms has inspired musicians and composers to create some of the world’s most beautiful music. The elements of mastering the classical guitar have parallels in other areas of life; some parallels are more obvious than others and may be short-lived, while others reveal themselves over time to last for a lifetime.
In Instrumental Influences, many of the instrument’s most influential artists and teachers reveal what lessons they have learned through the study of the classical guitar, including an examination of the parallel lessons in life that emerge from the study of technique, repertoire, memorization, music theory, performances, recitals, music literature, and the lives of great classical guitar pioneers and teachers who came before them.
Instrumental Influences unveils for readers not only the variables that classical guitar students, teachers, and virtuosos must develop over years of practice, but how such acquired disciplined training opens up other avenues for personal growth beyond the study of the classical guitar.
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“A ‘must read’ for all guitarists! Instrumental Influences is filled with insights and wisdom shared by some of the world’s greatest classical guitarists. Each contributing author writes as if having a personal conversation with the reader. Author Donn LeVie has filled a void by bringing together some of the world’s greatest classical guitarists to share gems of life-long lessons of success. This book should be on the ‘required reading list’ for all students of music considering a performance career!
“My hat is off to Mr. LeVie. You knocked this one out of the park!”
Bill Swick / Music Department Chair, Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts; Guitar Task Force Chair, Clark County School District
“Any comprehensive music training requires the development of the student’s mental and physical approach to the instrument and repetoire. Yet, areas of cognitive and personal growth are often unjustly neglected in favor of more assessable and tangible technical study. Bridging this divide, Instrumental Influences offers fresh perspectives on issues essential to refining the complete musician. Contributions from today’s leading guitarists are elegantly woven as Donn LeVie Jr. illuminates a path through indispensable subject matter, revealing a counterpoint to the multitude of beneficial technical tools available in the artist’s search for
greatness.
“Instrumental Influences is an enlightening resource for any musician. With its penetrating perspectives on the more elusive elements of study, it has quickly become a centerpiece of my students’ curriculum.”
Dr. Stephen Mattingly / Guitar Instructor – Bellarmine University and University of Louisville
“Donn LeVie’s book, Instrumental Influences, is a compelling and engaging book…a window into the world of classical guitar in the 21st century. Represented are many of the great players and thinkers of the guitar world. An important book for all musicians and guitarists.”
Jerry Willard / Guitarist, Author
“Stories are one of the best ways we can learn from others, and guitarists are master storytellers. Instrumental Influences is a book of charming, educational stories from some of the greatest guitarists in the world—it’s a wellspring of information that deserves a place on any musician’s bookshelf.”
Chris Davis / www.classicalguitarblog.net
“Instrumental Influences is a veritable treasure-trove of anecdote and insight into the world of music making from some of today’s great masters who live and breathe the guitar. Author Donn LeVie Jr. provides a significant contribution to the musician’s literature that probes the questions of what is required to become, and what it means to be, a great musician.”
Andrew Zohn, DM / Guitarist, Composer
”Instrumental Influences provides a fascinating insight into the minds of the classical guitarists of our generation. Through each page the reader is offered their memories, their unique view of their surroundings, and an inspiring account of their beautiful vocation.”
Jorge Caballero / Guitarist
“…an inspiring book of essays by noted guitarists addressing all aspects of the psychology of musical preparation and performance.”
Pamela Kimmel / Professor of Guitar – Roosevelt University
“The classical guitar is a demanding yet very personal instrument. It has a rich tradition of great music and has been adapted to the demands of contemporary classical composition and also popular and ethnic styles. Every classical guitarist makes his or her own journey through the lands of technique, interpretation, style, and performance in order to merge the message of the music with their own personality via performance. This is especially true of the great performers and many of those represented in this volume. I find [Instrumental Influences] to be an enjoyable and insightful reading which promises to impart new knowledge on
familiar subjects.”
William Bay / CEO Mel Bay Publications, Inc.
“Donn LeVie Jr. provides a unique window into the personal journeys and insights from some of the most respected classical guitarists performing today, and synthesizes them with his own experiences as a performer in a warm, engaging style.”
Dr. Michael Quantz / Associate Professor of Guitar, Guitar Ensemble; The University of Texas at Brownsville
“In Instrumental Influences, Donn LeVie Jr. has collected the thoughts and inside reflections from many of the most dedicated and experienced pedagogues and performers in the field and stitched them together (along with his own contributions) in this insightful and coherent guide. Any guitarist seeking illumination along their bewildering inner journey will find guidance from this wealth of anecdotes and impressions.”
David Collett / Managing Director, Guitar Salon International
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