Re: Great Books That Have Changed Our Musical Lives

["Christo Jota" <chris@christojota.de>]

thatīs a very interesting view on music, Rick.
I am practising Zazen for quite some time, and I am sure it has influenced
my
playing over the years in a way. But I never watched it in this radical way
you do it.
I have to read Suzukiīs book again and replace the word Zazen with
Musical Practise. Funny to imagine having an instrument in every room, even
in the
bathroom and playing my loops.
What I can recommend anyway is, that it is very helpful to be open-minded
and have a still mind if you are playing your music. There is a big
difference
if my mind is in a calm mood or if I finished my daily work and are
stressed and then playing guitar. If Iīm relaxed and really into it, 
playing
guitar
for me is like meditation.
Somebody should write a book - or is there already one? - "Zen and 
Music"...

I also like musicians/artists biographies a lot. Recently read the bio of
the
great british DJ John Peel. Very funny and entertaining.

Christo
www.christojota.de


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Walker" <looppool@cruzio.com>
To: "LOOPERS DELIGHT (posting)" <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 12:21 PM
Subject: Great Books That Have Changed Our Musical Lives


> A friend of mine asked me, recently,  what books have truly and deeply
> influenced my music
> in my life and, amongst other titles,  I sang him  the praises of
> Shinryu Suzuki's book called,
> "Zen Mind , Beginners' Mind".
>
> Though not as famous a D T Suzuki who was the great popularizer of
> Japanese Zen Buddhism in the
> west,  I prefer Shunryu Suzuki,  the head of the San Francisco Zen
> Center who
> wrote perhaps the best single book on practicing a musical instrument,
> "Zen Mind, Beginners' Mind".
>
> He never actually wrote a book and certainly not on praciticing a
> musical instrument.....he was too zen for that...lol,
> but his students recorded his answers to a public question and answer
> seminar where everyone asked him how
> he was able to master  meditating successfully considering that it is so
> difficult to still the human mind when
> trying to do such an extremely simple, non-intellectual and repetitive
> practice.
>
> If you take that book and substitute the word 'Zazen'  (the Buddhistic
> practice of
> meditating only on your breath and how we breathe,  in and out) and put
> musical "practice", it's an incredibly
> wise book about how to still the mind so that one can play something
> over and over
> and over until one's technique improves significantly.
>
> I'd try to paraphrase his philosophy and his understanding of how to
> get around the projecting and over identifying/attached nature of the
> human mind, particularly
> viz a vis the practice of repetitive musical playing  but I just
> wouldn't come close to
> how profound that book is.
>
> I actually ritualistically purchase a copy of  it and give it as a
> present to all of my advanced students
> when they first develop the desire to really woodshed their instrument
> deeply and are having troubles
> stilling their minds doing so.
>
> It was my bible when I finally was able to master double stroke bouncing
> exercises on trapset many years ago
> At that time,  I had a practice pad on a stand with two identical
> drumsticks in every single room of the house
> (including the kitchen and the bathroom)  so that if I ever looked down,
> I could just pick the sticks up and continue
> practicing.
>
> I can't more highly recommend it.   It has changed my life and the life
> of dozens of my really good students over the
> last three decades.
>