Welcome to the Zen Dojo, please leave the door open:
“Combining the ancient wisdom of the East with the most popular Western Instrument, Zen Guitar presents a path to spiritual fulfillment for music lovers of all kinds.” – Philip Toshio Sudo (author)
I picked this book up last week whilst browsing in Waterstone’s book store in Leeds. It’s an interesting book in that it doesn’t provide a single bit of sheet music, a single exercise or really instruct you to do anything specific with a guitar. Rather, it gives you a method of how to approach playing the guitar based upon aspects of Zen philosophy, asking that you focus more on how you think when playing guitar.
The first thing that the book does is explain the attitude that you are now a white belt. The concept is similar than that of the path of enlightenment: to move forward you need to admit that you don’t know and then you’ll be ready for learning. The book then discusses several attitudes, missteps and approaches when playing guitar; relating them to the way of Zen.
As a continually learning guitarist, I find that it is always good to learn from as many sources as possible which is what makes this book very appealing in its non-method approach to teaching. Whilst this won’t directly improve my playing, what it will do is change my approach to learning and my attitude to playing which can be equally valuable.
A quick lesson from the book:
“Pick up your Guitar” Means two things in this Dojo. First, for those of you who do not yet have a guitar, it means to go into the world and find the instrument that’s waiting for you, the one you are meant to play. The second thing I mean by “pickup your guitar” concerns the way you phyiscally take it in to your hands. Don’t pick up your guitar aimlessly. Act with a sense of purpose. Be of the mind that you’re going to do something – even if you know what that is yet , prepare yourself to play. Maybe you want to noodle on it while watching TV. Remember the guitar is an instrument – a thing by means of which something is done. Keep this in mind every times you reach for it. When you pick it up, pick it up.
It will be a while before I fully understand some of the concepts proposed throughout the book, but I’m sure that some of these ideas will become valuable in changing my approach to learning. It’s only a short book but definitely a recommended read.
What could be more suited for an aspiring Ninja Guitarist?
Phil
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