The Calling for Trumpet by Eddie Lewis

On the surface, The Calling looks like an etude book. It’s a book of trumpet music, and it can certainly be used as an etude book if you so wish. However, as you dig deeper into the music and the text, you find that the pieces of music contained within the book are not etudes at all. They are performances pieces written for solo trumpet without accompaniment.

The unaccompanied trumpet solos in The Calling are presented in chronological order. The book begins with Eddie Lewis’ very first unaccompanied trumpet solo, We Shall See, and continues for over seventy pages for a period spanning over twenty years.

In that way, you could say that The Calling is an autobiographical representation of Eddie’s life as a trumpet player. Most of the pieces in the book are written for or about the people that God has placed in Lewis’ life. Those which are not written about other people are expressions of his Christian faith.

How is that autobiographical?

Our lives are forever shaped by the people in them. Whether they be family, friends, mentors or students, each and every person God places in our lives makes some kind of impact. So yes, a book about other people can very easily be a book about you.

Currently Available at:

You can purchase The Calling at the following locations:

  • Tiger Music
  • Lulu.com
  • Amazon.com (coming soon)
  • Barnes and Nobel (coming soon)

Foreword by Leonard Brandt

I first came into contact with Mr Eddie Lewis’ writings through his book, Daily Routines for Trumpet, which he was giving away free at the time. The internet in South Africa was still new and it was through this medium that we initially connected.

The first thing that struck me was a certain sense of peace which I experienced when playing through Eddie’s studies. This led to my using his materials with my students along with all the other obvious study materials out there. But somehow, I always found myself defaulting to parts of Eddie Lewis’ Daily Routines, drawn to the materials by the peace I experienced.

I have subsequently purchased and used many more of Mr Lewis’ materials. I have found a certain integrity in his writings that is difficult to put your finger on at first, but always evidences itself as that sense of inner peace I experienced when I first played his Daily Routines.

As a result of this experience, his materials have become the foundation of my personal playing and teaching method.

I had the privilege of meeting Eddie Lewis in person when he presented a master class for my students while he was in South Africa. I quickly understood the integrity which I sensed in his music, as his music is an extension of his own character. I found that same honesty and integrity in Mr Lewis.

I am particularly drawn by his work on the Lord’s Prayer in this publication. It reminds me of how the Lord Jesus saved my soul when another Christian musician testified to me and explained how each line of the Lord’s Prayer was actually a heading helping us to prioritize our prayer life. Eddie Lewis’ The Lord’s Prayer takes this simple truth one step further and includes the trumpet in this process of prayer.

So, while not all of Mr Lewis’s music is inspired by religious factors on the surface, I believe all his music is influenced by this deep, profound integrity and love for our Lord and Savior.

It is this integrity which draws me time and time again to his works for trumpet.
I am sure that you too, no matter what your convictions are, will appreciate the honesty found in each composition.

We Shall See

We Shall See was the trumpet solo that started it all. It’s a three movement work spread over five pages. Written in a twentieth century style, featuring odd meters and angular melodies.

We Shall See is performed literally all over the world. But don’t let that fool you. It’s not because the piece is so amazing that everyone wants to play it. No, We Shall See’s popularity is rooted in the fact that it has always been a free download. Even today, you can download We Shall See at our online music store, http://TigerMusicStore.com. It is included in the book only because it is the first in a full collection of unaccompanied works.

The Lord’s Prayer

Eddie Lewis originally composed his The Lord’s Prayer for solo trumpet to be used as a musical prayer. It is seven movements with each movement representing a different section of the Lord’s prayer from the Bible.

The Lord’s Prayer is fifteen and a half pages long. It has seven movements with five short interludes. As performance works, the movements can be done individually or collectively.

Most of it can be performed by a intermediate to advanced trumpet player, but the last movement is fast and long.