007 Chords, Zen Guitar

DEC GUITAR NEWSLETTER, issue no. 7

2009 Apr 26
Hello fellow guitar enthusiasts!  It's time for another installment of the infamous newsletter.  Here's what's in store:
    1.      News about me:  I'm going to be teaching for Mike's Master Classes!  It is a website where master teachers and players share their information in video format.  You can view these as they happen if you join us on the scheduled date or download the lesson later.  Very exciting!  http://www.mikesmasterclasses.com/
    2.      The latest paper:  The difference between chords!  Ever wondered exactly what the difference is between triads and seventh chords, and major/minor/diminished/augmented?  Now you can find out!
    3.      See below!

Wisdom from Zen Guitar, by Philip Toshio Sudo

In this bit of wisdom, I feel that it explains one very important reason why we play music.  Music not only allows us to express ourselves, but it is a discipline that strengthens the mind and body and allows us to find unity of mind and body, where it may otherwise be hard to find.  I call this unity Spirit.

Section II:  Practice - White Belt to Black Belt - 12 Points of Focus
Spirit

Guitar playing is a physical activity that demands training.  In that sense, it is no different than learning how to throw a discus, run the high hurdles, or swim the butterfly.  The body must acquire an intelligence of its own.  The muscles must learn to move in new, disciplined ways.
Physical challenges force the mind to confront obstacles:  pain, fatigue, self-doubt.  You can not make progress along the path without developing some kind of mental strength.  Use your training here (in the Zen Guitar dojo) to build a strong spirit.
When the body engages in something new, it forces the mind to pay attention - to acquire focus, direction, and resolve.  Conversely, when the body tires of an activity, the mind must forge discipline and endurance in the muscles.  Beginning guitar players, for example, often complain of painful fingertips from pressing down on the strings.  Right away, the mind must teach the hands to fight through this discomfort until calluses build.  As any jogger knows, when the body wants to quit, the mind has to step in and say no. 
Frustration results when the body will not perform as the mind directs, or the mind becomes confused about what it wants the body to do.  These confrontations between mind and body are an integral part of training.  They bring us face to face with our motivations and limitations:  Why are we putting in all these hours of practice?  Why do we desire what we desire?  Are we wiling to make the sacrifice necessary to progress?  Are we asking more of our body than it can do?  How we answer these questions determines our progress on the path of Zen Guitar. 
Your spirit here must be one of total resolution; as martial artists like to say, "Tighten the mind."  You may arrive here like a wild colt, scattered and unfocused.  Through training, learn to harness your raw energy and charge like a racehorse.  Other beginners will arrive here with the spirit of a tired, old soul.  Through training, they learn to build up their energy the way one strenthens a little-used muscle.
Here are three adages from the samurai on the spirit required to know the Way.  Fix these in your heart as you train:
1. Don't ask, practice.
Some questions, no one can anser but yourself.  Practice properly and answers will come to you in time.  The only route to understanding the Way is through your own experience.
2.  Seven times down, eight times up.
If you slip in your training, get up.  Even should you think defeatist thoughts - "I can't learn this," "My hands aren't strong enough," "I'll never be any good" - never voice them aloud.  Burn such thoughts from your mind before you make a single utterance.  The famed martial artist Bruce Lee was said to have done that exact thing:  whenever a negative thought came into his head, he would visualize writing the words down on a slip of paper and putting it to flames. Apply this thinking to your own training.
3.  The only opponent is within.
What matters on the path of Zen Guitar is not the obstacles we face, but how we respond to them.  Master your reaction to the unforeseen and unfortunate circumstance, and you will master the Way of Zen Guitar. 
When you are focused, every task, no matter how small, becomes part of your traning.  In even mundane things such as making the bed, mowing the lawn, and washing the dishes - keep your mind from laziness and wandering.  This will carry over into everything you do. 

Songs that are being worked on in lessons:
Kyle's Mom - from South Park
Metallica - Battery
Give It All - Rise Against
You Found Me, How To Save a Life - The Fray
Linkin Park - What I've Done
Candle - White Tie Affair
All That Remains - Chiron
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
Jackson Browne
So What - Miles Davis