Offering a contemplative approach to playing the guitar, this book covers all levels of experience from professional musicians and amateur guitar players to uninitiated music lovers. The author offers his own experiences with music to show how to rediscover harmony and become open to Zen awareness. Through 58 lessons which provide a focus and guide, the reader is led through to Zen awareness. Quotations from sources ranging from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Miles Davis are used to enhance the lessons. The book seeks to show how the path of music offers fulfilment in all aspects of life.

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.

Reviews

In a charming book that combines the mastery of the guitar with the mastery of Zen, Sudo introduces the Zen concept of Shyguo, according to which the spiritual journey, the Way, and the practice of art become one and the same. His explanation of Shyguo in conjunction with the 12 points of focusDspirit, rhythm, technique, feel, perfection, mistakes, stages, plateaus, limits, follow through, taste and collaborationDexplains the transformation of Zen practice into artistic savvy. In Zen Sudo finds a cohesive and insightful way of thinking about playing the guitar, or, for that matter, any musical instrument. His instructive little book teaches that mastery of Zen, as well as mastery of art, requires concentrated practice rather than simple instruction. For the student of guitar, Sudo's book offers important insights into what separates adequate musicianship from mastery; and, for the student of Zen, it illuminates a side of Zen practice not often discussed clearly and practically. (Feb.)