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    Zen Guitar
    Zen Guitar
    Zen Guitar
    Ebook191 pages2 hours

    Zen Guitar

    By Philip Toshio Sudo

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Unleash the song of your soul with Zen Guitar, a contemplative handbook that draws on ancient Eastern wisdom and applies it to music and performance.

    Each of us carries a song inside us, the song that makes us human. Zen Guitar provides the key to unlocking this song—a series of life lessons presented through the metaphor of music.

    Philip Sudo offers his own experiences with music to enable us to rediscover the harmony in each of our lives and open ourselves to Zen awareness uniquely suited to the Western Mind. Through fifty-eight lessons that provide focus and a guide, the reader is led through to Zen awareness. This harmony is further illuminated through quotes from sources ranging from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Miles Davis. From those who have never strummed a guitar to the more experienced, Zen Guitar shows how the path of music offers fulfillment in all aspects of life—a winning idea and an instant classic.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateAug 27, 2013
    ISBN9781439126486
    Author

    Philip Toshio Sudo

    Philip Toshio Sudo (1959–2002) was the eldest son of Japanese-American parents. He attended Macalester College in St. Paul Minnesota, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a Liberal Arts degree. He then went on to Columbia University, where he received his Master’s Degree in journalism. He is the author of Zen Guitar, Zen 24/7, Zen Sex, and The Book of Six Strings.

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    Reviews for Zen Guitar

    4/5

    101 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A year ago when I tried to read this, I rolled my eyes and tossed it back in the shelf.

      This time, I found it I be a witty and creative approach to any creative craft - guitar, sure; painting, writing, singing, all would benefit from this approach to lifelong learning.
    • 4/5
      This is a very useful book to every guitar player. The author's approach is one that pleases the more experienced musicians, who look for their own unique voice in their instrument.
      Many of the shared knowledge might not be of academic importance, but are certainly helpful in our pursue of a deeper sense of expression and life. I really recommend this book!
    • 2/5
      I'm not sure I took away anything of substance from this. Honestly this book is basically taking the most generic aspects of a self help book, compiling it, and making it guitar themed. You could take out the word "guitar" from the book and replace it with anything and the book would still make sense. It's generic garbage, honestly.

      Super easy to read though, so at least there's that.
    • 1/5
      This is not a book on playing guitar. It’s silly New Agey garbage for those looking for a hidden “silver bullet” to propel them forward in their ability. Hey, how about you spend more time practicing/playing and stop looking for the lazy, easy way out?…
    • 5/5
      One of the most important, enjoyable books I've ever had the good fortune to read. The concept of zen is familiar to many, and this book is certainly laden with familiar concepts, but it manages to relate those concepts incredibly well to the art of learning, practicing, and playing an instrument (not necessarily guitar; this book applies to any instrument... it is not an exercise book), all the while reminding you that those very same concepts seamlessly overlap into everyday life, and stretch far beyond the scope of playing an instrument. I really can't say enough good things about this book. If you play any instrument at all... or hell, even if you don't... I highly recommend it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Wonderful read! Insightful and straight forward advice for any guitarist.
    • 3/5
      Interesting perspective on how to approach guitar playing, many of the teachings in this book can be applied not only to music but any other endeavor in life. This is the kind of book that I would probably carry with my guitar, since reading any of the chapters at any given time can be enlightening and bring refreshing inspiration.The quotes that open each chapter are really nice, I believe this book is an interesting read for anyone in music, let it be professionally, hobbyist, or just a beginner.
    • 4/5
      This book doesn't teach any specific guitar playing technique. Rather, it looks at the spiritual side of making music; if you will, the zen of playing guitar.Everyone carries a song inside themselves, it's what makes us human. This book offers a key to letting out that song. Once you have picked up a guitar and properly tuned it, don't worry if you don't know any songs. Play just one note on one string and give it every bit of your heart and soul. Then repeat the process.When you start regular practice, start with one new habit: Do one thing the right way one time. In the next moment, make the same commitment. On the other hand, there are potholes along the way that must be avoided at all costs. It's easy to skip practice "just once," a year later, the guitar is covered with dust and cobwebs.Some feel that learning a certain technique is the most important thing in guitar playing. It's certainly important, but the more complicated the technique, the more brainpower that must be devoted to it. The aim is to play with the proper spirit, to play without having to consider technique. A person must have something to say, first.To progress down the path of Zen Guitar, you need to love guitar playing and commit your heart to training. If it isn't fun for you, then there is a big problem. Don't be halfhearted about it. Overearnestness is just as bad. Some guitarists force themselves on an audience through excess volume or pyrotechnics. Learn self-control. A measure of mastery is through what you hold back, not what you show.Another important part of guitar playing is responsibility. You must develop your talent to the fullest capacity, with no excuses. You must respect those who come to you with open ears and foster a feeling of community. Also, act as teacher to those who are seeking their own way along the path of Zen Guitar.If there is a single rule to Zen Guitar, it might be this: Do what has to be done, when it has to be done, as well as it can be done, and do it that way every time.This is a fine piece of writing. It certainly gives a new perspective to guitar playing, whether it's folk music or heavy metal. I'm sure much of this book could apply to any instrument. For musicians and music lovers, this is very much worth reading.
    • 5/5
      A terrific book that is about more than just guitar playing -- although you do learn a lot about the right attitudes to playing a guitar. Can be used for any instrument, can be used for other activities in life.
    • 5/5
      Even though I'm a bassist, there's still so much to take from this book. Less strident than Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft but sharing some ideas here and there, it gets players to set aside the technique (that they should be learning, nonetheless) and concentrate on what they're trying to say.

    Book preview

    Zen Guitar - Philip Toshio Sudo

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    Contents

    ICHIGO ICHIE

    foreword by ben sherman

    THE DOJO

    welcome

    BEGINNER’S MIND

    white belt

    Wear the White Belt

    Pick Up Your Guitar

    Tune

    Play

    PRACTICE

    white belt to black belt

    The Twelve Points of Focus

    Spirit

    Rhythm

    Technique

    Feel

    Perfection

    Mistakes

    Stages and Plateaus

    Discipline

    Limits

    Follow-Through

    Taste

    Collabration

    The Twelve Common Missteps

    Self-Doubt

    Instant Gratification

    Ego

    Halfheartedness

    Overearnestness

    Speed

    Competition

    Obsession

    Mishandled Criticism

    Failure to Adjust

    Loss of Focus

    Overthinking

    RESPONSIBILITY

    black belt

    Black Belt Head

    Know One Thing

    Make a Statement

    Decide

    Prepare the Mind

    Establish the Context

    Play the Changes

    Draw the Frame

    Zoom In, Zoom Out

    Trust the Tale

    Attend to Detail

    Thought: Process

    Black Belt Hand

    Carriage

    Sound Painting

    Tone

    Intuition

    Energy

    Yin-Yang

    Two Hands are as One

    Balance

    Black Belt Heart

    True Self

    Conviction

    Jamming

    Recording

    First Take

    Virtuosity

    Mastery

    BARRIER

    black belt to white belt

    Entrance and Exit

    Perfection and Imperfection

    I and Thou

    Holding On and Letting

    Sound and Silence

    Teacher and Student

    THE WAY OF ZEN GUITAR

    white belt

    Glossary

    Acknowledgments

    About Philip Toshio Sudo

    Author Contact

    Select Bibliography

    Foreword by Ben Sherman

    ichigo ichie

    The first time you heard Hendrix. Your first look at a Dalí painting. Your first glimpse of the stars through a telescope. We all have had those pivotal moments. Before, you thought you had a clear picture of your world, but after, you realize you need a bigger frame. If this is your first time reading Zen Guitar, you are about to experience a before/after moment—one that changes everything.

    When I read ZG for the first time back in the late 1990s, I had already spent twenty years as a guitarist and full-time professional musician. The thing I remember most is feeling a sense of recognition. I found myself saying over and over, Yes, yes, yes! Phil was expressing some deep philosophical wisdom, and showing how it connected to making music. It was profound, and yet in a way it seemed so obvious. Until Phil, no one had found the means to express it in such a concise, downto- earth way. So it’s worth asking, how did he do it? How did this book come to be?

    Phil Sudo was Japanese-American, and during his youth lived for years in both Japan and the United States. He has spoken about how he grew up fully immersed in and influenced by Western pop culture, while at the same time deeply absorbing traditional Eastern philosophy. He clearly enjoyed exploring many divergent paths. Fortunately for us, he eventually gravitated to journalism, and took up guitar. Two callings, and both became passions for this brilliant and intense young man. The seeds of Zen Guitar were planted.

    One of Phil’s favorite books was The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, a renowned Japanese samurai of the 1600s. Phil saw that Musashi was writing about swordsmanship not just as a tutorial, but also as a metaphor, a way to teach a Zen philosophy of living. It occurred to Phil that you could talk about guitar playing in the same way, and he started writing a book that merged his love of rock guitar with his devotion to Zen philosophy. The result was a masterpiece.

    Phil intended that Zen Guitar be accessible to anyone, not just musicians; he once said that guitar was simply the point of entry to help the reader gain access to a greater understanding of Zen. (He employed a similar process in his next two books, Zen Computer and Zen Sex.) Nevertheless, the book is called Zen Guitar, and there’s no doubt that musicians, at whatever level of skill or professional experience they may have, will hear this book speaking to them. It’s a guide book on how to play music with honesty, integrity, passion, and humility. But ZG is also about how all the attributes of an admirable human being can be cultivated by applying Zen principles to whatever you are doing or experiencing—anywhere, anytime.

    So what is this book really about: understanding Zen or becoming a better musician? Well, whenever Zen is involved, one must be prepared to encounter contradiction and paradox. I advise you to just go with the flow and decide for yourself.

    In this brilliant collection of short essays, Phil covers many qualities and attributes that a follower of Zen would strive for, and describes exactly how they would apply to playing music. Here’s a key quote that gets right to the heart of it: Zen Guitar is nothing more than playing the song we’re all born with inside— the one that makes us human. He also offers many superb examples of well-known musicians who have these qualities, and quotes from them to show their perspectives. For example, this great quote from Jimi Hendrix: My own thing is in my head. I hear sounds and if I don’t get them together nobody else will.

    It is hard for me to imagine that it’s been twenty years since ZG was first published, because for me it’s like no time has passed. I carry it in my mind and heart every day. I too am passionate about guitar, and have also been drawn to the meeting points of Western and Eastern culture and philosophy, so I immediately connected with what Phil was saying at many levels. But he inspired me to go further. ZG helped me to see how being a working musician, performing in public on a regular basis, was more than just gigging—it was actually an opportunity to learn and practice the art of being fully human.

    I think Phil wanted to help people throw off the notion that philosophy and spirituality are systems of thought best studied in lofty monasteries by people who are utterly serious and detached from real life. I had a chance to meet and talk with Phil after the ZG book first came out, and he was anything but that. The man I met was funny, smart, worldly, generous, empathetic, and most of all, fully engaged. It was very heartwarming to meet someone who had inspired me so much but at the same time made me feel like a comrade, a brother.

    One concept Phil talks about in Zen Guitar is ichigo ichie. It’s a Japanese phrase meaning, literally, one time, one meeting. It comes from Zen Buddhism and is particularly associated with the Japanese tea ceremony. In the ceremony, the host invites the guest into his home and offers the tea with great care, preparation, and consideration, with all the generosity of his heart, with no expectation of reciprocity. The underlying meanings of the ceremony are deep and have many layers. Ichigo ichie reminds the participants to treat each ceremony as a unique and special event, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is a teaching that has great relevance to the relationship between musician and audience, as Phil so elegantly explains.

    Phil was practicing ichigo ichie when he met with me. Your encounter with this book is also one of those moments. Phil prepared Zen Guitar with the utmost thoughtfulness and care, and invested it with his wisdom, heart, and soul. I hope you will read it, take it to heart, live it, and share its joy with others who haven’t yet discovered this gem of a book.

    welcome

    the dojo

    Welcome to the Zen Guitar Dojo. Please leave the door open.

    My name is Philip Toshio Sudo, and I have established this dojo for anyone who wants to make music. It makes no difference to me whether you’re a musician. You’re welcome here if you’re of the spirit to make a sound.

    I began playing the guitar as a child in Japan, the land of my ancestors, and have continued playing in the United States, the land of my birth. Over the years I’ve learned from many different teachers, both Japanese and American. As the product of these two cultures, I’ve sought a way to blend the wisdom of East and West into a universal philosophy of life.

    The way I’ve found is Zen Guitar.

    Zen Guitar is nothing more than playing the song we’re all born with inside—the song that makes us human. Any one of us can do it. The music is waiting there to be unlocked.

    This dojo will give you the key.

    My intention here is to share what I’ve learned in the hope it might encourage you to strum a new song in the world.

    As the name implies, Zen Guitar is based largely on the principles of zen philosophy. Zen is most easily understood as a commonsense approach to all things. Some people come to know zen through meditation, others through the martial arts, or archery, or flower arranging. All these are paths to the same wisdom.

    Zen

    Here we seek to know zen through music.

    I named this the Zen Guitar Dojo because it is a place of work and contemplation. Dojo is a Japanese word meaning, literally, Place of the Way—the ultimate Way of life and death that governs

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