Luis de Milán

El Maestro is the first collection of vihuela music, and was in part intended for students of the instrument, with scores presented in grades from simple to complex so that vihuelists could proceed from elementary to harder pieces.

The style of the compositions varies from simple homophony to polyphony and virtuoso passage-work; unusual chromaticism also occurs, including strange double-inflections which were quite rare in music from other parts of Europe at the time.

It appears that the book was prepared with great care; alternative passages are given for players who wish to avoid more virtuosic parts, sections of pieces are indicated as optional, and descriptive tempo indications are provided, for example, ni muy apriessa ni muy a espacio sino con un compás bien mesurado ("neither too quickly nor too slowly, but with a moderate measure").

Milán’s last publication, El cortesano (1561), modeled on Il Cortegiano by Baldassare Castiglione, gives a vivid and entertaining picture of life in the Valencian ducal court.

The music of Luis de Milán is popular with performers on the present-day classical guitar because it can be adapted very easily to their instrument.