The Music Master is a minor, dynamic character. As a boy, Knecht envisions the Master as a godlike figure because of the mysterious importance of his office. However, the Master is a humble old man with “penetrating, light-blue eyes” that are “filled with a calm, quietly radiant cheerfulness” (53). Despite his age and responsibility, the Master maintains a boyish smile in all situations that puts Knecht at ease. The Master in turn appreciates Knecht’s enthusiasm, innocent sense of duty, and willingness to learn, and he becomes both Knecht’s first mentor and his friend; through his formative years, Knecht goes to the Master for advice about personal problems. By the time Knecht becomes Magister, the Music Master views him as a son, and Knecht visits him frequently at his home in Monteport. The Master is a particularly key figure in Knecht’s spiritual journey, as he impresses the importance of meditation and contemplation on the boy. At the end of his life, the Master undergoes a spiritual transformation, achieving a saint-like state of serenity and inner perfection. Knecht sits with the Master in this radiance before his death, seeing in him an example of man’s highest achievement that contrasts with Castalia’s vision of harmony and thus pushes Knecht closer to his crisis of conscience.

Plinio Designori is a minor, dynamic character and Knecht’s friend. He is a guest “hospitant” student from the outside world who proudly proclaims his worldly attachments and criticizes Castalia’s “unnatural” lifestyle during his student days. Plinio and Knecht engage in famous debates, and each becomes symbolic of their respective home. This establishes Plinio’s role in Knecht’s life, as their meetings are critical for keeping Knecht aware of other countries’ plights and Castalia’s duty to these people. Knecht sees Plinio as his bridge to the outside world, and he is both drawn to Plinio’s charm and frightened by the truth of his criticisms. Plinio uses his rhetorical skills after graduation and becomes a left-wing politician in the capital, which puts him at odds with his conservative father. He marries and has a son, Tito, and sells off the traditional family home.

To Knecht, Plinio represents Castalia’s failure to communicate its ideals to the outside world, as Plinio’s Castalian education does him little good. Indeed, Plinio’s initial goal is to be a mediator between Castalia and the world, but he merely ends up feeling like a foreigner in both worlds and thus experiences incredible internal tension. He drinks and uses drugs to fit in with his colleagues, but this decision, which the novel frames as a surrender to worldly pleasures, only makes him suffer. Plinio’s renewed friendship with Knecht in their adulthood and his reintroduction to meditation ease some of this suffering. In exchange, Plinio helps Knecht find employment in the capital as his son’s tutor.

Fritz Tegularius is a minor, symbolic character and close friend of Knecht. Other Castalians view him as eccentric due to his melancholic temperament and antisociality: Knecht claims that Tegularius “adjusted to the system only enough to pass muster within the Order” (270), as he is determinately individualistic. Knecht is Tegularius’s closest friend, yet Tegularius is often jealous or morose about their relationship, especially when he isn’t receiving all his friend’s attention. He refuses to meditate, which only exacerbates his unpredictable behavior. 

However, under his tempestuous exterior, Tegularius is an extremely skilled Glass Bead Game player. He is one of the elite tutors in the Vicus Lusorum, and he frequently helps Knecht with his Game designs—a choice Knecht makes because he knows Tegularius enjoys pouring himself into the minutiae of scholarship. For Knecht, Tegularius is a symbol of Castalia’s future demise, as he encapsulates raw, unfettered genius that refuses discipline and service and that has lost all contact with physical reality. Tegularius helps Knecht leave the Order by writing a memorandum to the Board of Educators.

Father Jacobus is a minor, dynamic character and mentor for Knecht. Jacobus is a celebrated historian from the Benedictine monastery in Mariafels who has immense political sway in the Church, which is why the Board sends Knecht to befriend him. Knecht first overlooks Jacobus because his silent diligence makes him near-invisible. Unlike the other monks, who are unfailingly polite, Jacobus speaks with a “blending of superiority and mockery, of wisdom and obstinate ceremonial” that Knecht appreciates (163). The men from different worlds bond over music and a shared intellectual curiosity. 

Jacobus ultimately takes Knecht on as a pupil, and his history lessons shake Knecht’s worldview. Jacobus is a fervent critic of Castalia and is skeptical of its entire project. He views the Order as a heretical corruption of the Church and the Glass Bead Game as a false sacrament. In their years together, Knecht and Jacobus engage in lively debates, in which Knecht slowly softens Jacobus’s opinions on Castalia while absorbing some of his critiques. Knecht claims that his relationship with Jacobus makes him feel “intensely honored and abashed, rewarded and stimulated” (192), far more than any other friendship. Knecht keeps up to date with Jacobus through the man’s writings, and he learns of the man’s death decades after leaving Mariafels.

The narrator of the text is a collective, anonymous “we” who is writing the biography out of great respect for Knecht despite speaking from inside Castalia’s ranks. They explain that they feel compelled to compile the biography, even though it goes against Castalia’s ideal of anonymity, because they view Knecht as a heroic figure who “tragically sacrificed [himself] for the greater whole” (13). They frequently proclaim their dedication to truth and use extant documents, letters, and Knecht’s own writing to support their work. However, they also acknowledge that their project is based partially on legend and that aspects of it are thus necessarily literary invention. This historical remove from the subject matter renders the narrator unreliable, as does the narrator’s clear investment in Castalia’s goals, which they frequently laud, and its superiority, which they question mostly implicitly, via their exploration of Knecht himself. Ultimately, however, the narrator’s understanding of Knecht’s departure from Castalia—that is, as an act of deep love for Castalia and respect for its ideals—mirrors what is known of Knecht’s own attitude. The narrator thus emerges as someone seeking to understand themselves and their world through their choice of subject matter.

Carlo Ferromonte is a minor, static character and one of Knecht’s close friends. Ferromonte and Knecht meet in their early school days and bond over their love of music. Ferromonte goes on to have a musical career, becoming assistant to the Music Master. He remains one of Knecht’s confidants, and it is through his documentation that many anecdotes about Knecht’s life exist. Ferromonte and Knecht trust one another completely and share their opinions and fears freely. Ferromonte is a stable presence in Knecht’s life whom he goes to for advice and camaraderie.

Magister Ludi Thomas von der Trave is a minor, static character and one of Knecht’s mentors. Knecht looks up to Magister Thomas and the authority he commands in his post. Meanwhile, Magister Thomas notices Knecht’s innate abilities and tests him before admitting him into the Order’s ranks. He is a critical voice who helps shake Knecht out of his schoolboy perspective into one of maturity and service. While Knecht is away at Mariafels, Magister Thomas suddenly falls ill and dies, shortly after which Knecht succeeds Magister Thomas as Master of the Glass Bead Game.

Alexander is a minor, static character and one of Knecht’s friends in the Order. Alexander is Knecht’s meditation master early in his magistracy and ascends to the role of President years later. As a meditation master, Alexander has a composed temperament, and in the rare times when he is shocked—like when Knecht suddenly resigns—he has techniques to regain his calmness. He impresses the importance of meditation on Knecht, who keeps these lessons with him for life. Knecht’s departure deeply pains Alexander, as he must act cold and distant—as President and representative of the Order—and not like Knecht’s friend.