Zen Guitar

I cannot fully put into words how much this book means to me and my life. I am a military veteran and have had one hell of ride getting out of service and trying to find my way in the world. This book was such a beacon of light in my life. This is a book I read multiple times throughout the year and always gain new perspectives on how to handle life. I now run a company where I teach guitarists music production and run a successful YouTube channel. This book has been my compass while building all of this. It is the book I recommend to everyone who loves what I do. I wish I could have a cup of coffee with Philip and tell him how much his works has made my life better. Since I cannot, I will continue his work with my students and teach them the ways of Zen Guitar. Remember, we all start with white belts. When we sit still and learn to hear the sound of the one handed clap, we can do the real work.

Philip Toshio Sudo really created something special in this book. As others have mentioned, you will not find any guitar course material whatsoever. There are no scales, lessons on theory, etc. Instead, Philip teaches you "the way" of Zen philosophy through guitar playing and musicianship. The book is sectioned off in different belt colors, like in martial arts, and as you progress from white to black, and then back to white, each chapter is a lesson in life and how you can relate this lesson to guitar playing. I have found this book so enlightening and eloquently worded that I am astounded it hasn't gotten more attention. This is a book I've read three times over the past few years and it is still a joy to read. This isn't a book you'll want to read from cover to cover in one sitting. I find it most helpful to read one chapter per day (the chapters are on average only 2 pages). This allows you to contemplate the information and let it sink in. Philip includes a phrase or word from Zen philosophy to associate with each chapter and lesson, and centers the information around this word and how you can apply it to your own life to become the strongest version of yourself. This is a book you'll keep around for a very long time, I promise. My favorite book.

To start, although this book comes across as a guitar-only book at first glance, musicians of any instrument can benefit from this title. The book does assume that the reader is a guitar player, but it really does not delve into any guitar-specific content other than "pick up your guitar, tune, and play." Replace any instance of the word "guitar" with your own instrument, and you'll be all set.Zen Guitar is one of a handful of books regarding the intersection of music and spirituality that have come to my attention in recent years. As a music student who is sometimes in need of a refresher amidst the chaos of my curriculum, books that tackle the "why?" aspect of music-making - books that seek to expose the truth behind why we do what we do as musicians - have been of interest to me. To this end, Zen Guitar does not disappoint. The book contains no technical exercises, chord charts, or arpeggios, simply because it is not that type of book. Rather, this is more of an analysis of the type of mindset one must cultivate to become more in tune with their inner voice. Nearly everything the author says is backed up in supplemental anecdotes/quotes that come from various well-known musicians of all instruments and idioms, including such contrasting musical acts as George Harrison and Miles Davis.It is, by all counts, a good starter text for books of its kind. I gave it only four stars because I thought it could offer some more specific examples on how to cultivate the type of mindset that the book speaks of; anyone who has experience practicing meditation or mindfulness exercises will see exactly what the author is trying to go for here, as what he is promoting is essentially a meditative, focused & full state when you make music - he leaves us on our own when it comes to finding this state. Some of us may already naturally embody some of the traits Sudo describes in the book, but to abide by all of them without much direct guidance is a quest indeed.A really great book in a similar vein to this one is Victor Wooten's The Music Lesson, which also deals with philosophical concepts relating to the connection between ourselves and Music - in his instance, through an extended allegory. Because I read Wooten's book first and practiced meditation for a number of months prior to reading this title, I didn't feel like I read anything particularly groundbreaking; but, I will definitely keep it around as a handy reference. I think some of the connections between the author's native Japanese culture and our own are valuable, and there's a nifty glossary of specifically Zen-Guitar terms in the back. So in closing, a great book to devour if this is the first of its kind you've encountered; if not, a good book to have in your collection for reference as needed.

Philip Toshio Sudo is not Mel Bay--if you buy Zen Guitar looking for scales and chord charts, then yes, you will be disappointed. But the book's concept--the "path of Zen Guitar"--is not how to play, but _how_ to play and, depending on your interpretation, _why_. It's about motivation and fulfillment, not technique.What the book does--or did for me, at any rate--is help you evaluate why you play guitar in the first place and gives you some food for thought as you go about achieving your guitar goals. I am a sloppy, self-taught player, I have no experience with Zen teachings, and I'm not big on books that offer fun new dogma--but I found the book's focus on the spiritual and emotional aspects of creating music on a guitar as well as the musician's unique and personal relationship with the instrument both fascinating and extremely valuable. I feel I'm a better player now, practicing with sharper goals and better intentions; the book's advice has helped both broaden my outlook and focus my efforts. At no time does Zen Guitar neglect the importance of practice; it is, in fact, at the heart of the book (its First Point Of Focus: "Don't ask, practice"). Many of its concepts are direct from Zen teachings and beliefs, but the book neither preaches nor drags.Zen Guitar is a difficult book to describe, but I didn't find it difficult to comprehend--and I was able to apply its wisdoms to my playing immediately. As long as you *want* to explore the spiritual aspect of playing guitar, the book can be an invaluable tool.

Architectonic - Across its five primary sections Sudo develops variations on multiple themes each possessing its own uniquenesses and orientation while similarly resonating one with another. I never heard Sudo perform, but I imagine him to have improvised wonderfully - pressing themes hard in different directions but never wandering beyond the point of no return.And of course as with most wonderfully written works there are two subjects - the nominal one (guitar playing) and the more expansive one (the "Zen philosophy of living".) My own work (numerical analysis) is far afield from Sudo's nominal subject but his comment on page 94 - "Ready, fire, aim" - is true in so my many other disparate contexts. We often hardly know even in what direction the solution lies, but we "fire", assess the goodness of our miss and now aim and repeat, understanding at each iteration a bit more as to where the better solutions lie.In short, lessons for guitar playing and so very much more...

No, you don't need to know anything about music or play an instrument to enjoy (and learn from) this book. Yes, this book will provide plenty of encouragement and mental energy to pick up your instrument and become a better person through music. I read this book from cover to cover and now I keep it by my bed to read individual sections whenever I need to. I think this book will furnish your mind to create the necessary mental space you need to practice or, as it turns out, focus your brain power in anything you do in life. Yes, this book has made me find joy in my bass practice and learning process, but it has also made me re-examine my reading habits, my attitudes in relationships, and my teaching philosophy, and has even helped me cope with the recent death of a very important person in my life. No, it's not a motivational book; it's a serious mental practice to learn through difficulties and find joy in the things that you do.

What can I say. The other guitarist in my band gave it to me. Gives such a deeper perspective on what we do as musicians.

I bought this book because I was moving further and further away from conventional playing. Riffing on the same scales as everyone else gets boring after awhile so I started trying alternative tunings to force myself out of old playing habits. This book gave me the mental language to the direction I was already heading in, prioritizing clearing one's mind and just playing from a place within that existed before we learned language to explain away everything.Even if you're a conventional player, this book is great for redefining your approach to music so every note you play and how you play it and when you play it has meaning and emotional content. It's how you can escape that masturbatory competition of trying to be the world's fastest shredder to actually making a statement with your music that is a creative expression of who you are. This book is the path to becoming a master in your own right, not the master your ego thinks you should be, but the master your soul needs to be.

This is not a book about "Zen". It is about someone who really understood the way. He translated the Zen spirit for those who want learn more than music, but use it to raise a great mind.

Zen Guitar sollte man nicht nur als Gitarrennerd in die Hand nehmen, eigentlich ist es für alle, die das Wesen einer Leidenschaft erkunden wollen. Essentielle Fragen werden gestellt, die das eigene Handeln sowie das Künstler bzw. Musikerdasein reflektieren. Dieses Buch zeigt einem was wirklich wichtig ist wenn man den Weg eines Künstlers geht, vielleicht auch wenn man den Weg eines Menschen geht: Es geht um Authentizität, Disziplin, Rücksichtsnahme, Fokus und viele weitere spannende Themen.Ich bin dankbar dieses weise Buch gelesen zu haben - auf Empfehlung meines Lieblingsgitarristen Mark Speer :)

I have always been a kind of Zen guy, consequently I have played guitar for half my life. Never have I thought of guitar with a zen philosophy. That has all changed for me.

Es un libro que recomendaríaa músicos serios en donde aprenderás de manera filosófica y casi espiritual el como llevar tu desarrollo como músico independiente de que seas guitarrista o no

"Paths cannot be taught, they can only be taken". So it is with Zen guitar.My first guitar, as for so many, was a 3/4 size classical, nylon strings, cheap laquered plywood and 2-inch wide fretboard - bought by my mother after months of my 13 year old nagging. She didn't know. She wasn't to know that this guitar was fine if I wanted to learn flamenco, or pick out the notes of 'Greensleeves'...but not really effective if I wanted to become the next Springsteen."Anything you set out to make - music, love, a bookshelf, a meal - make as well as you can. To do otherwise is spiritless"Nonetheless, I persevered, got chord books of Dylan, Bowie and Dire Straits songs and by the time I was 14 I had a pretty good rhythm technique going, knew my major from minors and the odd sus 7...and had the beginning of some lead playing. By then I wanted to make some noise. I wanted to go electric, Newport '65 style. I had a Saturday job (remember those?) in Woolworths (remember that?) and would go to this music shop in my lunch break and look at guitars I couldn't afford. But I saved up, and one day went in and proudly chose a black Les Paul copy (origin unknown, but probably Japan), took it home and just held it. And held it some more. It's curves and contour fitted me just like a lover, and I suddenly found chords so much easier to make on a fretboard at least half the width of my old classical. And the sound..well..it was at that point I realised that I need some amplification. It hadn't occurred to me at all that electric guitars didn't just make a sound on their own. I just didn't know."Once we understand our limits, we can begin to work around them"So, I put in a few more Saturday shifts on the "record bar" at Woolies and saved up again, and got a little 15w Champ practice amp. Loved it. Now I was cooking. The guitar, in truth, was a hunk of factory made s***, known technically as a "right bastard" to keep in tune and only had one effective pickup. But with the Champ turned up to 11 and me banging out the power chords of "Summer of '69", none of that seemed to matter."In a hundred-mile march, ninety is about the halfway point"I was playing in bands by the time I was 16, and had progressed to an authentic American Telecaster and a full on 120w Marshall amp. For over 30 years now I've been close to an instrument every day of my life, and I just have to play. My body doesn't feel right if I haven't held a guitar that day.Like any true act of creation it's an endless journey. Key moments along the path still resonate - someone showing me 12 bar blues and suddenly unlocking rock and roll..discovering open and alternative tunings..slide..double stops..half barres and bends..the wah pedal and I'm Hendrix..open G I'm Keith..open D I'm Ry Cooder..dropped D I'm Neil Young..or Richard Thompson..and on it goes..always something new to discover.And that's the wonder and beauty of this book. This is not a "how to" guide. There isn't a single chord shape, tablature or scale in it. It is about the "why". Find the right soil to plant your seeds and the best nutrients to help them grow. Think substance, not technique. Mojo in the dojo. True beauty comes from the inside out, not the outside in. A noble, holistic, human approach...a life guide.. to help the mind and spirit focus. Tune in, to the instrument, yourself, to others. This is about attitude, mental space, belief, internal chemistry connecting with external physics. Emptying one's cup to allow space for new experience. You can apply the ways of the zen to anything. Anything at all. Zen baking next, for me, I think."Learn a chord, then a second and a third. If you can play three chords with maximum spirit, you have all the elements you need to make real music. The guitar has shown us again and again: Three chords can rock the world."It was hard work, learning; blistered fingers, aching wrists (though at the age of 14 I can't honestly say that would have all been down to the guitar playing). It's harder work to learn how to be in a band..how to listen to others..to feel what they're doing..to give space and freedom..to allow the ego to subsume..stagecraft..to lock in to a rhythm and energy that flows between you all. You know when you get there, because you're all smiling."When the right people get together, be it in music or sports or business or marriage or sex or whatever, a kind of spiritual fusion takes place".This is also a beautiful book physically - a publishers dream..soft back and tactile, wonderfully illustrated, and balanced in the hand. Very Zen. Perfectly right."Do not trudge along your path. Your spirit shows in every step"For anyone interested in the journey of discovery, learning, wisdom and grace.