What is the piece that changed your guitar journey?
We all have that one piece of music that opened new doors for us. The piece that, when we first heard or played it, made us think, "I need to learn this," or "I want to play like that." It might have challenged us in ways we never expected or ignited a deeper passion for the instrument. 
For many of us, it’s more than just a piece—it’s a milestone in our musical journey. Whether it’s a composition that changed how we approach technique, a piece that inspired us to dive deeper into classical guitar, or a personal favorite that still makes us feel something special every time we play it, these moments are what shape us as musicians. 
Now, let’s share and inspire each other with the music that made us who we are today! 
What’s your game-changer? Was it a challenging piece that tested your limits? A piece from a particular composer that resonated with you? Or maybe it was a performance that made you realize the true depth of classical guitar? 
We’d love to hear your stories! Feel free to share your thoughts and any tips or insights you've gained from tackling that piece. Let’s celebrate the music that keeps us going and motivates us to reach new heights! 
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For me, it was a transcription of Bach's Cello Prelude by Bream! I didn't no anything about Urtext, or faksimiles at the age of 13, I just knew that by playing this music, I will be a different person! At the same time I heard an interview about Bach bei Frank Peter Zimmermann who said that "playing Bach is like taking a shower for the mind"
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martin martin I love that quote!
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For me, it wasn’t a piece, but rather, it was the realization that I was playing well enough to make an emotional impact on others. I was delivering the message that music contained. And often, it doesn’t even matter what we play: a difficult piece, an easy piece, a 16-bar etude, an exercise, improvised musical lines straight from our imaginations…that’s what originally did it for me and still does to this day. It’s such a freeing feeling to realize how we can harness the musicality inside us to truly communicate on a deeper lever.
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Jeffrey Kirn : so true, and changing a ‘hobby’ into a meaningful activity for ourselves, others and therewith society.
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Bart Versteeg thank you for your comment. Also, it takes our playing from something to be judged (how fixated is the classical world on competitions?!) to something to be shared. We all have something unique to say with our music.
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Segovia playing John Duartes English Suite on a birthday gift vinyl LP when I was 12… 1963. I’ve used it as an incentive ever since… still got the disc.. still trying to play it!
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For a piece of music that changed my journey, I would probably go with Villa-Lobos' Prelude No 1. I did not start playing classical guitar until college, where I began taking lessons more for fun than anything else. I quickly fell in the love with the sound of the instrument and the discipline of practicing. But it was this piece that started making me feel like I was playing "real music" that other people would actually want to listen to. Once I managed to memorize it, it became my "go to" piece whenever I was asked on the spot to play something. I guess it made me feel like a real guitarist, and not just a guy who noodled around.
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Eric Phillips I wasn't aware of this piece until I joined TB and heard the bass line in one of Mircea's lessons. As soon as I heard it, I just fell in love. I'm still trying to learn it ever since.
Btw, I'm curious to know what kind of music you grew up listening during your high school and college days, Eric. My teenage years were spent listening to Indian Bollywood music combined with an obsession with boybands of the late 90s like Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Michael Learns to Rock. Then I started to listen to Bryan Adams (I was a big fan), Bon Jovi, all the 80s hair metal stuff.
Things got heavier in college when I developed another obsession with Nirvana and the grunge bands. But my musical taste widened to people like Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, and many more.
My journey with the classical guitar is a bit of a boring story. Thanks to YouTube's algorithm, I heard Ana Vidovic play Asturias and Recuerdos while I was driving along with my family. The music settled in my subconscious without really making me want to play the guitar. Then, my son started guitar lessons in school and I also started to noodle around with his steel string guitar trying to play tremolo of all the techniques!
I ventured into the first steps of the rabbit hole of classical guitar on YouTube until I ended up here on Tonebase. If there's one repertoire set or composer who's music has captured my fascination, it's Barrios. So, ultimately, it's him who's having the most profound effect on my guitar journey. If I had the chance to learn only one piece in my lifetime, it's probably La Catedral.
Apologies for the long post
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Yes, it's hard not to love that piece. If someone has never really listened to the classical guitar, there are not too many better things to play for them.
I started playing guitar at age 13. I was mostly interested in playing songs by the Beatles and the Who, but I quickly got interested in more guitar-dominant bands like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Cream (Eric Clapton), and eventually Van Halen.
I had a teacher in high school who kept me interested by showing me how to play some of my favorite songs every once in a while, but who also taught me basic music skills like theory and sight-reading. He actually loved jazz, and would occasionally give me some jazz tunes to work on. I remember in my senior year of high school, he gave me a "chord solo" by Joe Pass to play, and I really loved the idea of playing melody and harmony at the same time.
When I went to college, I found out that I could take guitar lessons for credit, and so I signed up. Then I found out that the teacher taught classical guitar. I knew almost nothing about it, but I decided to give it a try. I showed up with a steel-string acoustic, but pretty soon, I bought a used classical guitar (the one I still play today, more than 35 years later). Within a month or two, I had fallen in love with classical.
And now here I am today, still chugging along!
And like you, I need to apologize for my long message.
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Eric Phillips Back in the day, I was desperate to play the intro to 'Stairway to heaven' and play 'Layla' and 'Tears in heaven'
.That guitar of yours definitely has been your trusty companion for 35 years, and still sounds great.
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I am going to leave out all of the progressive rock pieces that formed the backbone of my teenage years ... Thick as a Brick by Jethro Tull was the one that did it for me.
As far as classical music goes, it was Mahler's Second Symphony, which one of my housemates in college turned me on to when I was 19 years old. It was the recording of the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter. Now, Mahler's 2nd seems to have graduated to "standard symphonic repertoire". I have gone on to elevate the 3rd symphony as my favorite. I also want to mention the effect that The Rite of Spring has on me ... Zubin Mehta conducted the NY Philharmonic on TV in 1977, and when those 11 hammer blows on the timpani occurred, I was on the floor.When I was studying classical percussion (and mostly the marimba), it was Minoru Miki's Time for Marimba that inspired me. And of course, Bach's Chaconne, which I was fortunate enough to be able to perform.
As far as classical guitar goes ... I think hearing someone play Brouwer's Danza Caracteristica got my old blood flowing. But now I hear too many shiny new objects courtesy of YouTube, and I think that I have to play them all!
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Marc Adler I saw The Rite of Spring live and it was unforgettable. A smaller market orchestra in Ohio, but they nailed it.
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That can only be the Chaconne……
need I say more? But on my way to playing the Chaconne on a decent level I am now working on the 2nd Lute Suite. Same genius-composer….
playing this music is an almost religious experience.
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Bart Versteeg Yep. All of Life’s Emotions expressed in 15 minutes.
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Not a single piece per se, but an album. When I was dabbling in different sorts of music decades ago, I heard this guy Julian Bream was the boss, so I got some of his CDs, some Renaissance lute music, some Bach, and some other Baroque transcriptions. All of it was remarkable. Then I bought his CD Nocturnal and was blown away. Martin, Takemitsu, Brouwer, Britten, and Lutoslawski. I had no idea what I was listening to, but there was something I was drawn to. Still can't play any of it except for a couple of the Lutoslawski transcriptions, but it's still one of my favorites today. It's one of the things that I love about playing guitar, that you can sit in one session and go from Narváez to Sor to Brouwer to Zinovjev.
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Steve Price For me it was his album 20th Century Guitar, which had many of the same pieces. I remember playing that at almost full volume in my car (on a cassette tape!) during college. Like you, I could never play any of it myself, but the sound captivated me. I listened to a little Segovia and a little Parkening, but Bream was my guy. Back then, I gravitated toward either Renaissance or modern music, and very little in between.
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Eric Phillips That had Drei Tentos, which is at the top of my bucket list pieces. I normally like doing my own fingering, but on that one, I really wish I could find an edition with them, because I get stumped.
I love the documentary with Bream playing Badminton with Henze. It always makes me laugh.
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For me, about 50 years ago walking into the Barnes and Noble bargain annex on lower Broadway, and heard the recording of Eugen Dombois playing Bach (PFA BWV 998) on baroque lute. I knew I wasn't going to start with baroque lute, but...I was hooked.
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Barnes & Noble near J&R Music?
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Bach’s Chaconne, played by Christopher Parkening. Put it on my turntable at night, and I’d be asleep in 15 minutes. Not that it was dull, but because the music pushed everything else out of your mind and transported it to a peaceful place. Playing The Chaconne has been the footpath of my classical guitar journey.
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I guess my first specific inspiration/influence was the Yardbird's 2nd US album, Having a Rave Up with The Yardbirds, 1965. It featured Jeff Beck on guitar (it was several years later that I learned the live tracks featured Eric Clapton). They have remained one of my favorite bands. I saw them in Dallas, Texas with the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars in 1966. Both Jimmie Page and Jeff Beck were on guitars. Jeff Beck played one more concert before quitting the tour. I saw them the next year in a small night club in Dallas with just Jimmie Page on guitar. And finally saw them as a revived group with just 2 of the original members, the rhythm guitarist, Chris Dreja and drummer, Jim McCarty.
My next major influence, still in the rock vein, was when I was in my first year of high school. My brother and I were listening a radio station (AM) that devoted one hour in the evening to the new rock music. I remember listening to one piece of the most incomprehensible yet mesmerizing sounds I had ever heard. We sat there with our mouths open and, after it was over, said; "what the hell was that?!!!" It was the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I immediately went to the record store the next day to check out the album. It featured these 3 unbelievably wild and weird guys in outrages clothes on the cover. So I bought it. I also saw Hendrix live in a concert in Dallas. A close friend of my reminded me that we went together with dates. I was horrified to be reminded that we wore coat and ties! To see Hendrix!
I was exposed to classical music in college and the first work that really captured my attention was Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. This was followed shortly by Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which has remained one of my favorite works. During my first year at college I decided to quit rock guitar and take up jazz. I went to a music store where a friend of my had taken some jazz lessons. The teacher informed me he no longer taught jazz but now taught classical guitar. I agreed to try that. On the way home I stopped at the music store (the same store I had bought my Yardbirds and Hendrix records) and bought a record of classical guitar; John Williams 'Virtuoso Variations'. I remember listening to a piece called Chaconne by Bach and thinking: 'Wow, I am going to learn how to play that?!!!!!'. I still think that today.
Maybe someday.......
