Reddit reviews Zen Guitar

Zen Guitar is a great guitar philosophy book that is an easy read.

I was prepared not to like this guy .. for several reasons .. most of them with your interpretation/flavoring of your opinion about the guy and "if" I learn his stuff I'll be liberating myself. It felt a little pretentious and put me on-guard.

However having given it a listen - I do like it - and I thank you for pointing him out.

I will say that I don't think the only avenue to liberating yourself as a guitar player is to learn to play this guys stuff.

For me there were two keys to liberating myself on guitar .. the first was when I was a teen my mother would come home drunk/stoned at 3 AM with whomever she had picked up at the bar and blast her stereo .. on a school night.

I had a Peavey Bandit 65 and a low endTokai japanese $100 guitar but I would open it all the way up and just play whatever my rage spoke to me - and at the end I would yell "BIIIIIIITTTTCCCHHHHHHHH!" at the top of my lungs.

Usually after 2-3 verses of my rage inspired performance the music from the stereo downstairs would stop.

The other key came much later (perhaps 25 years or so later) which was getting a book called Zen Guitar. I had been in a bit of a rut, and I being older and self sufficient I was no longer "inspired" by my mother's antics I was looking to expand my skills and stumbled on that book and bought it on impulse. I personally think it did a lot more for me than any music theory book I could have purchased.

See to me - the music that impresses me the most .. is the music that has an incredibly unique voice.

The opposite of that of course is "pop music" - which, to me, often sounds formulaic and vapid.

So in Zen Guitar I finally forgot entirely about chords and progressions and what sounded right and started playing in a completely exploratory way .. and that's how I liberated myself the second time. Which has stuck with me as it doesn't depend on someone else to exist :-)

Anyhow .. thanks for the recommend - sorry for the long winded reply.

I really found zen guitar helpful with the more philosophical aspects of being a musician

I've been playing for 17 years, and had my share of plateaus, but these days I can't wait to get home and practice, and I feel like I get better every time I pick up a guitar, even if its in a very small way.


I think this is partly because I am in a band again, and writing riffs and songs that will actually get played live. So I'm eager to make these songs awesome, then to take a break from working on songs, I'll just solo over something for a while for fun/technique.


Also, I recently quit drinking and smoking, so I have been channeling a lot of restless energy into the guitar.


I still feel the thrill, but I feel it more often when I have a sick drummer behind me and strangers in front of me.


I highly recommend the book Zen Guitar , it may sound a bit cheesy at times, but it really helps you to have a positive and practical attitude, and to forget about competitiveness and wankery and gear lust and other things that get in the way of you getting better. It also helped me realize that there is no such thing as 'the best'. He describes playing as a path with no end, and our goal is to always walk forward on it. Some people sit down on the path, others lose the way...

zen guitar - more about a mindset then theory...

Don't give up man. There's many ways to improve.


1.) My best advice, is find a good teacher that you like and feel comfortable around. Once you do you'll really begin to improve and like your sound.


2.) If you can't find a teacher there's plenty of online resources


3.) This is probably the best and hardest way to improve; it's very slow but the pay off is amazing. Transcribe everything. Start with the Beatles or CCR and transcribe simple chord songs and slowly (I mean after several months of doing this) move on to harder material.
This method is not recommended as it's hard, but it'll make you damn good.


Don't give up bro, I've played guitar for 5 years. I sucked for the first two, was mediocre the last 2 years and it's only recently that I've begun to get good. Just like anyone can learn algebra or learn to read anyone can play guitar.

Two Books to Recommend (On the Mental Aspect of Music):

Effortless Mastery - Liberating the Master Musician Within
by Kenny Werner. This book is simply awesome.

• Download it here (It's a safe download, I uploaded it myself. Shhh!)
  
  Zen Guitar - Philip Sudo
  
  
  don't click me! :)
  
  
• Even more awesome, it not only changed how I view music but also my life. This is personally better than Effortless Mastery, as what you read in the book not only affects your music mindset but spreads into your life. Buy It
  
  Two Final Tips
  
  

1. Just get into the habit of practicing, even if it's only for 5mins everyday. Make sure it's at the same time.
   
   
   
2. There's a cycle. Practice -> Improvement -> Motivation -> Practice -> Improvement - Motivation ->
   
   
   Occasionally you'll hit walls or plateaus at which point, watch Crossroads or listen to Zeppelin and remind yourself why you started playing, then go and practice.
   (-> = leads to)

Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo. After years of getting stuck on trying to learn songs note for note, Zen Guitar taught me the importance of playing with feeling. Not so much a book of technique as a guide to forgetting everything you've learned and just playing.

EDIT: fixed link.

Your frustration is perfectly natural. The same questions and doubts arise in all of us at all levels. The standard answers you noted are true, but only in your context and when you are at the right place in your journey.

A few things come to mind that might be of use.

Seek out a mentor. We all need guidance and teachers. Find someone who has had the type of succeses you are looking for. Ask questions and learn from the wisdom of their experience.

Seek out a collaborator. One of the most rewarding aspects of what we do is sharing it with others. Sharing the creative process and bouncing around new ideas with someone else is fun and creates an environment where new ideas and avenues can flourish.

Take time to be introspective without being reactive. Be real with yourself. What are your goals. Really think about the why and the outcome you hope see. Successful people are not successful by accident. They work incredibly hard to achieve their success - we are only seeing the end result.

Sometimes the best thing to do is take a break. Walk away from it and give your mind and spirit a rest so when you return it is with renewed exuberance. As odd as this may sound, when I take a break, my brain tells my it's time to come back through dreaming about playing and being on stage or jamming with others.

Something else you might consider is [Zen Guitar] (https://amzn.to/2IO4IfU) or [Victor Wooten's The Music Lesson] (https://amzn.to/2GbuyJf), both of which are fantastic and inspirational reads.

I hope this helps my friend!

Thanks!

Over the years it's faded a bit, but the artist did such a great job. It was supposed to be a Japanese-calligraphy style. Originally it looked like it had very detailed brush strokes that were cool. I really should get it touched up after 15 years.

I got the design from the book 'Zen Guitar' by Philip Sudo. Do yourself a huge favor and get the book. It's a must-have for guitar players. It totally changed the way that I approach music back then.

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X

I was about to reply with the same response. lol

I'm curious how someone can rate themselves beginning/intermediate/advance, I mean is there some magical guideline I haven't found somewhere?

OP might want to start here.

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X

Try this book, it really helped me to look at my instrument and my music in a new way.

Different approach then you’ll find here. But after 15 years of playing, it’s the one that spoke to me most.

Zen Guitar:
https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X

I second the jazz piano book, jazzadvice.com, and all the rest of this advice.

My two favorite music books are Victor Wooten's The Music Lesson and Philip Toshio Sudo's Zen Guitar. They contain wisdom that a lot of other music education misses.

As far as playing the piano goes, I recommend really exploring the piano as an instrument. Find the piano's strong and unique points, and be pianistly (in this sense). Conversely, target the piano's weak points, and learn to imitate other instruments: playing long unbroken lines like a sax will make you "light on your fingers" and help you to decompartmentalize fingering patterns you have learned.

I'm a big fan of this video right now. Download the pdf too, and practice the scales listed. The idea of chords being fragments of larger scale families (and being able to hear the entire scale families going by) is important. This is easiest to wrap your head around by playing modal chords on a C major scale. Allan holdsworth explains it better. This also ties into the "find which notes can be added to round out the standard chords" thing- if you hear the entire scale, then extrapolating which notes can be added is fairly intuitive.

Also, listen to great players. I like powell, monk, tatum, george shearing, and marian mcpartland, Mccoy Tyner, Kenny Barron, Esjborn Svensson Trio, Keith Jarrett, and Bill Evans. These are just a few mainstream examples. Also, learn from other instrumental traditions. If you like something, try to extrapolate a principle or lesson that you can bring with you from that song, and likewise if you dislike something, articulate what it is you dislike, then you can learn to play the opposite. John Hartford says "style is based on limitations", so choose carefully how you learn to play. If you don't like something, don't learn to play like that just because it's part of the jazz aesthetic cannon or some nonsense.

Also, play with someone. Play with bandinabox, which is easy to steal and fairly cheap to buy, and has many many many song files freely available online. Play with a metronome, at least.

Learn to adjust your technique to different pianos. Not every piano you play on will be good or even fair, so being able to get a feel for a new instrument and its limitations quickly is a great skill. On your home instrument, focus all the more strongly on finding technique compatible with that instrument. On a related note, let your mind step back and lead with your hands, letting fingerings and reflexes show you the way forward. On the other hand, let your technique fade into the foreground and practice bringing out the ideas in your ear, even if they navigate unfamiliar territory (do this slowly or it won't work and you'll revert to reflex) Both modes have their merits, and the more you get comfy with both, the less of a distinction there is between them.

Also, practice singing and playing. Meld your understanding of harmony on the piano with your ear and voice. Also, practice thinking big (long musical fragments, specific complex voicings, etc, etc) at & away from the instrument. If you can't think big, your creativity will never have good macro structure & flow. I really believe that our creative impulse is a divine gift, but it often builds on our existing experience and abilities.

The books I recommend for guitarists and musicians aren't so much instructional as they are tomes of wisdom.

The first is Zen Guitar, which is helpful in shaping your attitude towards playing guitar, improving, and interacting with others.

The other is The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten. Kind of new-agey, but also a ton of advice that isn't really taught in instruction books.

If you're just looking for instructional books, however, William Leavitt's books are good, as are Troy Stetina's books.

A lot of most excellent recommendations here, BUT before you even get started on technique, I highly recommend you have a read of this:

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1375205950&sr=1-1&keywords=zen+guitar

This reminds me of a book I read recently called Zen Guitar. At first it seems kind of hokey but then you realize that there is some really good ideas there.

I started at 19, but came from a musical family and came off of tinkering with guitar for 13 years prior and a steady gig in school on the trumpet. Got my first bass at 19 as it was the mid 90's and grunge was hot and there were so many opportunities to be in a band but nobody wanted to play bass.

Don't get discouraged! Ask anyone here; playing bass is not only a lot of work but it's a "growing" experience. Unless you're Mozart people just don't pick up the unwieldy instrument and become proficient over night. Notwithstanding the muscle training just to get past that awkward stage where you have to stop and think about where you put a single finger on a string, there's the whole emotional aspect, as well as the mental, academic and spiritual components of bringing music to life. The only way to become an "experienced players" and gain "experience" is to experience the journey; if you can get into a band quickly do it. Your playing will advance exponentially.

Check out the book called Zen Guitar. It's very easy, short and enlightening as well as watch some of Victor Wootens teaching vids. He has some great concepts that will change how you look at bass and music.

Good fortune to you.

I read this book when I was in high school, over a decade ago. I really dug it then. Seems to fit here.

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X

I think I know what you mean. I have been playing for 3 months, for the past month I have played maybe 2 or 3 days of the week for less than an hour a day. It's not because I don't have the time, I could play 6+ hours if I really wanted to. I sure did when I first started playing.

I don't think I'm losing interest in guitar because I have been reading books, watching videos and browsing forums related to guitar. I think I'm just feeling down and downright lazy as fuck right now. It might be that I'm afraid of playing because I know I'll put myself down when I can't play something right.

That said, I have been reading the book Zen Guitar. It gives an interesting outlook on how you should approach playing guitar.

You need to consider why you want to learn guitar. That will answer some of your questions in itself.

For instance, do you intend to become a professional, virtuoso concert guitarist? If not, what difference does it make if you won't be as good as you could have been if you'd started earlier?

If you're like me, and you play for the pleasure of playing, for the joy of making music, how good you are doesn't really matter. I play because I love playing and I always have, even when I was just starting out and awkwardly struggling through my first chords. Practicing is never work for me because it's fun.

That's not to say that I'm not constantly trying to get better -- I certainly am. But this isn't a job or competition for me, it's something I do for fun and enjoyment. Let yourself have fun with it and the rest just doesn't matter. So if you're having a hard time learning to play something, but you're enjoying the learning process, it's all good. If playing the guitar is a chore for you, why bother? It's supposed to be fun.

So I say to you, go try it. Try to enjoy it. Find your way of making music with a guitar. If you love playing, keep it up. If it's just drudgery to you, let it go. There are no guitar police out there who will throw you in jail if you "aren't good enough" or you don't learn the "right way". There is no "right way". If you are enjoying making your own music then you are good enough and you're doing it the right way!

This is a wonderful book on the subject.

this book changed my life

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318347960&sr=8-1

Buy this book.

Read it once a year.

Read Zen Guitar.


Listen to OnBeing with Krista Tippett and Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend .


Dig into your Why? with gentleness and love.

Read this book https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X