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RUNNER-UP OF THE 2011 GLOBAL eBOOK AWARD FOR PERFORMING ARTS
Instrumental Influences: Reflections on the Classical Guitar from the Instrument's Most Influential Performers and Pedagogues by Donn LeVie Jr. Afterword by Tony Morris, host of Public Radio's Classical Guitar Alive! Program (April 2011, 312 pages). $22.00 retail. ISBN: 978-0-9814857-3-7.
It's often been said that the experience of music isn’t the playing of the black notes printed on the page; it’s understanding the time relationships between them. We learn how to read and create music from books, teachers, DVDs, and the internet. We are taught how to properly position our fingers, arms, hands, and body as well as the guitar itself so that we can comfortably and efficiently perform music.
But if we perform all the mechanics correctly, practice diligently for many years, study with passion, and push beyond our self-imposed limitations, why aren’t we all on our own world tours or competing in worldclass competitions? What are the inner qualities, characteristics, and beliefs that differentiate the good performer from the artist? What are those individual perceptions, impressions, and even presuppositions that make for an accomplished classical guitarist’s transition to “artist”? If we are fortunate enough, we may absorb a gem of wisdom from a master class, or perhaps overhear an artist in backstage conversation with someone that propels us to the next level of our own ability. Such circumstances so often involve being in the right place at the right time.
But Instrumental Influences has changed all that. For the first time, we now have many of classical guitar’s most influential artists and teachers together providing their thoughts on the psychological, emotional, and even physical approach to performing and teaching the classical guitar. Donn LeVie Jr. has assembled nearly sixty original essays from his own experiences with the instrument as well as those of Grammy Award winners, Grammy Award nominees, Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) First Prize winners, and respected teachers. These fresh essays reveal the individual paradigms out of which are forged the qualities that create a caliber of musician that can perform on any world stage, or a teacher with the gift of imparting practical knowledge to some students, and removing the blinders from others.
Donn LeVie’s role in this unique contribution has been that of “everyman guitarist,” where his essays present the perspective of anyone and everyone who has taken up the classical guitar, or for that matter, any other musical instrument. As “the ordinary individual” with whom the reader can easily identify—and who at times faces extraordinary circumstances—Donn reveals the same struggles, victories, and rewards from the study and performance of the classical guitar that readers and audiences can relate to with head- nodding agreement.
After reading the essays in Instrumental Influences, don’t be surprised if you now listen to music with a more discerning ear, approach your study with a renewed vigor, or just see positive changes in other areas of your life, as many of the essay themes reveal.
In the words of the great contemporary classical guitar virtuoso, Pepe Romero: “If you are touched by music, you are touched by love in a very pure way.”
Table of Contents
Publisher's Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: Acquiring Self-Discipline (Donn LeVie Jr., Scott Tennant, Charles Postlewate)
Chapter 2: Strengthening Self-Determination (Donn LeVie Jr., and Susan McDonald)
Chapter 3: Offering Honest Self-Appraisal (Donn LeVie Jr., Jason Vieaux, Matthew Greif)
Chapter 4: Building Self-Confidence (Donn LeVie Jr. and Marc Teicholz)
Chapter 5: Developing Self-Expression (Donn LeVie Jr., Kevin Gallagher, Nicholas Ciraldo)
Chapter 6: Cultivating Concentration (Donn LeVie Jr., Margarita Escarpa; English/Spanish)
Chapter 7: Expanding Patience (Donn LeVie Jr., Nicholas Ciraldo, and Ronn McFarlane)
Chapter 8: Fine-Tuning Attentiveness (Donn LeVie Jr. and Ben Verdery)
Chapter 9: Forging Perseverance (Donn LeVie Jr., Denis Azabagic, and Gerald Garcia)
Chapter 10: The Means to Make Music (Donn LeVie Jr., David Tanenbaum, Stanley Yates)
Chapter 11: Finger Independence and Coordination (Donn LeVie Jr., Charles Postlewate, and Marco Tamayo
Chapter 12: The Sensitivity of Touch (Donn LeVie Jr. and William Kanengiser)
Chapter 13: Aural Awareness and Sensitivity (Donn LeVie Jr., Laura Oltman and Michael Newman, and Jeffrey McFadden)
Chapter 14: Involvement and Enjoyment (Donn LeVie Jr., Christopher Parkening, Kevin Gallagher
Chapter 15: Independent Thinking and Artistry (Donn LeVie Jr., Stanley Yates, Lily Afshar)
Chapter 16: Personal Accomplishment and Self-Esteem (Donn LeVie Jr. and Anthony Glise)
Chapter 17: Self-Identity and Self-Worth (Donn LeVie Jr., Eliot Fisk, Berta Rojas)
Chapter 18: Acquiring Balance and Developing Imagination (Donn LeVie Jr, Anthony Glise)
Chapter 19: Greater than the Sum of Its Parts (Donn LeVie Jr., Matthew Hinsley, Gerald Garcia)
Chapter 20: Cultivating an Encore (Donn LeVie Jr., Anthony Glise)
Afterword by Tony Morris, host of Public Radio's Classical Guitar Alive! Program
References and Suggested Reading
Glossary of Musical Terms
Bonus: Guitarist's Technical Workout Based on Time Available (from Tony Morris)
About the Author
What Other Performers and Pedagogues Said About Instrumental Influences
“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
“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
“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: Reflections on the Classical Guitar from the Instrument's Most Influential Performers and Pedagogues by Donn LeVie Jr. Afterword by Tony Morris, host of Public Radio's Classical Guitar Alive! Program (April 2011, 312 pages). $22.00 retail. ISBN: 978-0-9814857-3-7.
It's often been said that the experience of music isn’t the playing of the black notes printed on the page; it’s understanding the time relationships between them. We learn how to read and create music from books, teachers, DVDs, and the internet. We are taught how to properly position our fingers, arms, hands, and body as well as the guitar itself so that we can comfortably and efficiently perform music.
But if we perform all the mechanics correctly, practice diligently for many years, study with passion, and push beyond our self-imposed limitations, why aren’t we all on our own world tours or competing in worldclass competitions? What are the inner qualities, characteristics, and beliefs that differentiate the good performer from the artist? What are those individual perceptions, impressions, and even presuppositions that make for an accomplished classical guitarist’s transition to “artist”? If we are fortunate enough, we may absorb a gem of wisdom from a master class, or perhaps overhear an artist in backstage conversation with someone that propels us to the next level of our own ability. Such circumstances so often involve being in the right place at the right time.
But Instrumental Influences has changed all that. For the first time, we now have many of classical guitar’s most influential artists and teachers together providing their thoughts on the psychological, emotional, and even physical approach to performing and teaching the classical guitar. Donn LeVie Jr. has assembled nearly sixty original essays from his own experiences with the instrument as well as those of Grammy Award winners, Grammy Award nominees, Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) First Prize winners, and respected teachers. These fresh essays reveal the individual paradigms out of which are forged the qualities that create a caliber of musician that can perform on any world stage, or a teacher with the gift of imparting practical knowledge to some students, and removing the blinders from others.
Donn LeVie’s role in this unique contribution has been that of “everyman guitarist,” where his essays present the perspective of anyone and everyone who has taken up the classical guitar, or for that matter, any other musical instrument. As “the ordinary individual” with whom the reader can easily identify—and who at times faces extraordinary circumstances—Donn reveals the same struggles, victories, and rewards from the study and performance of the classical guitar that readers and audiences can relate to with head- nodding agreement.
After reading the essays in Instrumental Influences, don’t be surprised if you now listen to music with a more discerning ear, approach your study with a renewed vigor, or just see positive changes in other areas of your life, as many of the essay themes reveal.
In the words of the great contemporary classical guitar virtuoso, Pepe Romero: “If you are touched by music, you are touched by love in a very pure way.”
Table of Contents
Publisher's Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1: Acquiring Self-Discipline (Donn LeVie Jr., Scott Tennant, Charles Postlewate)
Chapter 2: Strengthening Self-Determination (Donn LeVie Jr., and Susan McDonald)
Chapter 3: Offering Honest Self-Appraisal (Donn LeVie Jr., Jason Vieaux, Matthew Greif)
Chapter 4: Building Self-Confidence (Donn LeVie Jr. and Marc Teicholz)
Chapter 5: Developing Self-Expression (Donn LeVie Jr., Kevin Gallagher, Nicholas Ciraldo)
Chapter 6: Cultivating Concentration (Donn LeVie Jr., Margarita Escarpa; English/Spanish)
Chapter 7: Expanding Patience (Donn LeVie Jr., Nicholas Ciraldo, and Ronn McFarlane)
Chapter 8: Fine-Tuning Attentiveness (Donn LeVie Jr. and Ben Verdery)
Chapter 9: Forging Perseverance (Donn LeVie Jr., Denis Azabagic, and Gerald Garcia)
Chapter 10: The Means to Make Music (Donn LeVie Jr., David Tanenbaum, Stanley Yates)
Chapter 11: Finger Independence and Coordination (Donn LeVie Jr., Charles Postlewate, and Marco Tamayo
Chapter 12: The Sensitivity of Touch (Donn LeVie Jr. and William Kanengiser)
Chapter 13: Aural Awareness and Sensitivity (Donn LeVie Jr., Laura Oltman and Michael Newman, and Jeffrey McFadden)
Chapter 14: Involvement and Enjoyment (Donn LeVie Jr., Christopher Parkening, Kevin Gallagher
Chapter 15: Independent Thinking and Artistry (Donn LeVie Jr., Stanley Yates, Lily Afshar)
Chapter 16: Personal Accomplishment and Self-Esteem (Donn LeVie Jr. and Anthony Glise)
Chapter 17: Self-Identity and Self-Worth (Donn LeVie Jr., Eliot Fisk, Berta Rojas)
Chapter 18: Acquiring Balance and Developing Imagination (Donn LeVie Jr, Anthony Glise)
Chapter 19: Greater than the Sum of Its Parts (Donn LeVie Jr., Matthew Hinsley, Gerald Garcia)
Chapter 20: Cultivating an Encore (Donn LeVie Jr., Anthony Glise)
Afterword by Tony Morris, host of Public Radio's Classical Guitar Alive! Program
References and Suggested Reading
Glossary of Musical Terms
Bonus: Guitarist's Technical Workout Based on Time Available (from Tony Morris)
About the Author
What Other Performers and Pedagogues Said About Instrumental Influences
“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
“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
“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
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Instrumental Influences was the Runner-Up
of the 2011 Global eBook Award for the
Performing Arts.