The Best Guitar Book...Ever?

[@Jimbob-hp6ud]

Wonderful book, and wonderful author, who now sadly passed continues to be remembered for helping people become a bit more zen, and a bit more kinder to ourselves and others

[@8greateight8]

I don’t play guitar but this book has changed my life in a short period of time. I know the journey goes on for as long as I’m dedicated to it, but it really has taught me so much.

[@rockstarterguitar]

That's fantastic 👍

[@skibeatz]

Just picked up this amazing book again!! Thanks great video

[@steveward3927]

Good video mate. I have the book, half way through but didn’t really pay attention to what I was reading ! I’ll be reading it differently now.

[@rockstarterguitar]

Cheers Steve! It's definitely worth reading all the way through - changed the way I approached my guitar playing

[@gratefuldev23]

Hopefully this video will get more folks to read that magnificent book. I'm now inspired to read it again.

[@rockstarterguitar]

Hey, thanks for watching, and I hope so too. I often dip into it when I'm needing a bit of inspiration, always does the trick 👍🏼

[@gratefuldev23]

Just re-read the intro and first chapter. Pure gold.

[@stxphxnbeats555]

thank you dan i’m a young kid, started playing guitar a couple of years ago right when i came to missouri and this is what i was always wanting to find; a good book to motivate me and keep me going. i’m going to always look back on this book. also this video was posted on my birthday :p

[@rockstarterguitar]

Hey - great to hear about your guitar journey and this book will definitely help. Spooky about your birthday too! :D

[@humblegeorge]

Hello Im you'r new subscriber :>) I enjoyed you'r on target no BS visit this morning.Been playing now for 57 years.Yup,,,,,,,and just now beginning to learn why cords contain the notes they do.I have recorded many cd's and some are very good to this day.I played cello as an upright Bass lap style with a jazz band in 1996 ( never knowing a single note name ) and got a good write up in the paper too. But deep inside me I longed to understand what I am doing ! So now at 67 here goes :>)

[@EyesFoward]

I thought that was a load of old Excellent quotes. I really enjoyed that and probably the best guitar lesson out there. Quite therapeutic actually.

[@varin5749]

Thanks for this video, I enjoyed it a lot, along with your presentation.

[@rockstarterguitar]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it :)

[@rasmusmerten9840]

nice message, love it

[@martinmcevoy4376]

I’m re reading this book after many years. Great insights!

[@rockstarterguitar]

Thanks Martin! It's a book I'm always dipping into for inspiration - glad you enjoyed the video 👍🏼

[@tammanaq]

I've read that book. It's good. You're great on video - very easy to understand and very authentic. I wonder why you only have so few subscribers. Best of luck with your channel.

[@rockstarterguitar]

Thanks so much and that's really kind of you to say - glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@GTsuji]

Sudo’s book is excellent.

[@dustynuts4sale]

You were great on Breaking Bad!

[@rockstarterguitar]

Haha, love it! And thanks 😂

[@Bumblebee71121]

Great review! I've not read this book, but I might just swing on over to Amazon and grab a copy. + Subscribed as well!

[@rockstarterguitar]

Thanks for the kind words, appreciate it! And definitely pick up a copy of Zen, it'll really get you thinking about the guitar 👍

[@Dad-Gad]

What about good old " Burt Weedon Play In A Day " 👏

[@kevc-69-]

Luxury, i didn't have a record player.

[@accentontheoff]

Right. Ok.

[@evangoodrow]

This book is a motivational zen talk, and not even a good one at that. There's literally nothing in it about actually playing guitar. All the dojo, combat analogies and inner discipline talk is great, and it will help you with your actual playing and music....zero %.

[@rockstarterguitar]

I found it immensely useful and enabled me to think about and approach the guitar in a different way, and as a result it worked wonders for my playing. Buy hey, each to their own - makes the world go round 👍

[@redmed10]

It's an ego thing. It's hard to accept you're crap at anything never mind guitar which is such an iconic instrument. The guitar looks like an easy instrument to play. It's only when you try it you find how difficult it is. Once you get in the frame of mind that there is nothing else you'd rather be doing other than playing guitar. When you don't even think about putting it down, then nothing can stop you from getting better.

[@rockstarterguitar]

Absolutely, couldn't agree more. I've been playing for over 30 years and still only feel like I'm scratching the surface. Which makes this guitar journey all the more exciting, because I know it'll never end 👍🏼

[@ianbraganza3065]

Skip the first 2 min

[@vauxhall908]

Half A Chicken

[@JonTheNativeSpeaker]

Thanks for nothing. 😆

[@Big_Bag_of_Pus]

I'm maybe the only person on Earth who doesn't love this book. It's not because I think it's a load of bollocks -- not at all. I agree with nearly everything in the book. But nevertheless, I'm not a fan because I find it frustrating as hell. I had trouble finding it useful because it spends its time telling you how to be, without spending much time at all on *how* to change. It tells you the the qualities you should adopt in your approach to the guitar; but it tells you very little in how to internalize those qualities. For example, the book starts by telling you that having the beginner's mind, even when you no longer seem like a beginner by the opinion of outsiders, is of absolute paramount importance. It tells you that you should try to approach the guitar with no preconceptions, as if you've never played before so that what you've learned in the past isn't a barrier to learning more now. I like this philosophy; indeed, as I understand it, many authors have suggested that this is the central precept to following the path of Zen (and, for that matter, to learning anything else, not just guitar). And when I came across those passages, I looked forward to reading some advice on how to learn to be this way, how to change my mindset. But there wasn't any. As another example, the "White Belt to Black Belt" section gives you "The Twelve Points of Focus" -- things you should do -- and "Twelve Common Missteps" -- things you should not do. From this, we learn (among other things) that we should be disciplined in how we practice and play, and that we should put aside ego or the need for immediate gratification. And all of that sounds right to me: there's not a bit of it that seems like bad advice. But *how do you do it* ? How do you shut aside the intrusive thoughts of the day and focus? How do you put aside your ego? How do suppress the interference of the desire for instant gratification? Telling you 'these are good things to do' isn't that useful, especially when some of them are obvious. Helping you to learn to do these things or be that way *would* be useful. But the book doesn't seem to do that. The overwhelming popularity of this book makes me think that there are some people out there for which this isn't an issue. Some people, I guess, can be told to put aside self-doubt, and are just able to do that. But some of us see that advice and think: "HOW do I put aside self-doubt?" Without such guidance, the book can actually seem very frustrating, like someone is telling you to prove the Riemann hypothesis when you don't know any advanced math. I wish the book came with a companion volume that contained meditations or exercises or whatever to help you develop the ability to adopt the mindsets and attitudes described in the book. Without that, the book feels like a list of places one must go without any guidance at all of how to get there.

[@Disqualified_Identity]

The book is basically a reminder to keep yourself in tune. It isn't really a step by step guide. There are other resources that will help you with the more practical questions you have.