By Lee Anderton, a widely known among guitarists & musician figurehead of The Award-Winning Family Music Store
A Voice in the Wood and Wire
It’s rare these days to hear a guitarist who isn’t trying to impress you in the first ten seconds. Vladimir Chernyshov’s playing doesn’t pander—it invites. His 2016 debut single “Hellen” opens with spacious phrasing and melodic warmth that feels more like storytelling than showmanship. It’s clear from the first few bars that this is a player who understands restraint. The song breathes. The harmonics feel as though they rise and fall like light, and it’s in this minimalism that the emotional weight settles in.
“Goodbye,” released later that same year, reveals a different side—sharper edges, more rhythmic movement, a percussive vocabulary that blends body hits, harmonics, and layered tapping. But again, what’s striking is not the complexity of the technique (which is considerable), but how naturally it flows. Vladimir uses advanced methods like a seasoned writer uses punctuation—with intent, not flair. There’s a balance of head and heart in his music that reminds me of the best modern fingerstyle artists, yet his voice feels uniquely personal.
Built by Hand, Played by Heart // Crafting Tone with a Luthier’s Ear
Vladimir’s music is inseparable from his craftsmanship. As a luthier and guitar technician, he possesses a relationship with the instrument that goes far beyond just performance.
His familiarity with instrument construction directly shapes his performance choices. As a result, his recorded and live tones exhibit consistent clarity, sustain, and articulation.His integration of mechanical knowledge with artistic intention yields a guitar sound that is both reliable and expressive—a clear advantage in both studio recordings and live performance.
Where East and West meet
His recent release “India” — which debuted on our YouTube Channel — marks significant evolution in his style. Replicating Jon Gomm’s style by using Keith banjo tuners — popularized by Jon — Vladimir transforms his guitar into a narrative tool which he uses as a master of his craft.
“India” weaves modal tonality with polyrhythmic phrasing, drawing influence from both Indian classical forms and Western harmonic progressions. There’s a meditative drone at the heart of the piece, anchored by low Bb string while the upper voice drifts through ambiguous intervals. Chernyshov uses the tuners not just as pitch manipulators, but as instruments of dynamics — swelling notes into and out of harmonic clusters in real time.
The composition’s strength lies in its restraint. Where some would rush to fill silence with speed, Vladimir leans into negative space. The pauses feel intentional. His use of time signature displacement evokes a raga-like cyclicality — Western meter undone by Eastern phrasing. It is in these moments that “India” transcends technique and becomes something immersive, almost devotional.
