Zen Guitar [Paperback]

Philip Toshio Sudo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 1998

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Philip Toshio Sudo a student of Eastern philosphy and martial arts and a lifetime guitar player he developed the Zen guitar philosophy performing in the streets, parks, and subways of New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 24, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068483877X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684838779
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're open, you'll learn how--and why--to play guitar., December 10, 1998

By 

Dan Amrich (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zen Guitar (Paperback)

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.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is an approach to anything you do in life in this book, November 4, 2003

By 

Sasha "S" (Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Guitar (Paperback)

Someone who is a great guitar player recommended this book to me. I study art and very interested in philosophical interpretation of music, art, life etc.

Once I started to read it, I could not believe how many great thoughts it had. This book has SO many valuable sayings written in such a simple language! Take for instance couple of these, "if you can't play what you hear, then hear what you play" or "do it [practice] as much as needs to be done, as well as it needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and do it this way every time."
I don't like to read it too fast though because I need to put it through my own "filter", well, I just like to chew on :).

I would say that "Zen Guitar" is for anyone who is interested in philosophy or/and any kind of art. I play some music instruments as well, and I think this book will help you depending on what you are looking for. For some it is strictly for that specific instrument (read: GUITAR) and will put some more soul in their sound but for others it just can be a starting point to many exciting discoveries in LIFE... enjoy!

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To the spirit of guitar playing, July 6, 2004

By 

isala "Isabel and Lars" (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zen Guitar (Paperback)

If you can only play one string - then play it! That is the spirit of this book. it connects the basics of guitar playing to spiritual development. Start with the basics, play what you enjoy, do what you are good at. Such easy advice, yet so difficult to embrace. To really understand the book the reader needs to go through it several times, and really ponder what the author means. All chapters start with a quote from famous guitarists, people who know, and is worth listening to.