hi, I am new and enjoying the service. For me, it would be helpful to have PDF attachments of the chords diagrams in the lessons. I would be willing to pay more for this. Thanks.
Someone correct me if I am wrong but I believe Tomo is against this concept. He suggests not to rely on these sort of diagrams bc they’re shortcuts that don’t actually embed the knowledge within you. But rather help you memorize the pictures of the diagram without actually learning the where they truly are on the fretboard
Danny Martinez
Robert W Williams jr
Tyler Fein
James E Jones
Sleepy head knows and understands rt. , 3rd , 5th , 7th ect. NO NEED FOR DIAGRAMS OR TABS OR MEMORIZING SHAPES AND PATTERNS!!!!
Guitar is a pattern based instruments everybody relies on patterns...
To a degree I would agree- especially when first starting out however since there are so many patterns (likely several hundred), it's important not to simply find one pattern e.g., 1st position of the minor pentatonic and play only that. The goal is to "eventually" learn (not memorize) all the tones on the fret board and really develop your ear. This way you are less dependent on memorized patterns and free to explore guitar based on what sounds and feels right. It is very much like a language- notes being like letters that make up words. If everyone had the same pattern, it would sound boring.
Many jazz tunes, will switch scales, modes mid piece. If you are only thinking in terms of patterns, you will get lost in the changes. If however you can recognize where the piece is going, you can better adapt and really play in the pocket. As Tomo says, it's the whole Level !, II, III thing. memorizing patterns, popular chords, etc. is helpful but likely level I. E.g.,. Watch a SRV or Jimmy Hendrix solo. I bet they couldn't tell you what pattern he was playing- and many notes probably would not fit perfectly in a scale- but you can feel it. Although they can very nicely compliment each other, there really is a difference between textbook theory, scales, patterns vs. feel.
Hey thanks for your answer. I agree with some of what you say; however I highly doubt that SRV (and to a lesser extent Hendrix) did not play by patterns. SRV playing is very pattern based, he rarely goes out of the pentatonic shapes, mainly box 1 actually, but mixes major and minor, with some 1st position E blues. Who knows if he called if pentatonic box 1? Probably not; but his playing developed after integrating tons of licks from other blues players into his own playing. We should never forget that these licks came before the pentatonic scale, not the other way around. Jazz players may very play with their ears, but the vast majority of them at some point learned and practised scale patterns extensively.
That being said I AGREE with you, in the sense that many people ONLY rely on patterns, they never learn the notes on the fretboard, the intervals and the sounds (ear training). Then they're stuck.
Sure and I agree- was just trying to make the point that you did which is to not rely on patterns and to basically discover your own patterns. Great point about the licks coming before the patterns. I think of blues notes and out of scale tones that are signatures of the greats. I've heard SRV play on a guitar with broken strings and he made it sound better than I could play on all six. There are no rules in rock n roll. Patterns are indeed everywhere. But ike words in a dictionary, the genius lies within the interpretation and styles applied to them.
I see. That's interesting considering there are so many ways to learn which vary person to person. Tomo does often times make up his own chords which I like, but I end up taking lots of screen capture shots and rewinding. It just seems like it would be another tool and would in fact help with the theory if labeled accordingly. Thanks for feedback.
Hello,
Honestly I may have wasted months trying to learn the "chord shapes" and follow them on a chart.
You can find Maj7, m7, m7b5, dim7, sus2, sus4, 6, 9, 11, 13 or 6/9 chord shapes elsewhere online, but trying to memorize them all may be a waste of time for you as well, as it is for most.
Tomo's method is about learning the fretboard so that you don't have to memorize hundreds of shapes!
Tomo's method is about learning the triads first, and learning where they are everywhere on the fretboard. That is, learning where the Root, 3rd and 5th of every chord are. Once you have mastered that, (it's only 9 chord shapes in total) I can assure you that building the extended chords and making up your own chords will be surprisingly easy.
You won't be needing to look at Tomo's hand - or at anybody else's left hand - after that :)
Robert W Williams jr
I see both sides of it. I too would like diagrams but I have been finding a lot of value in practicing the major scale and playing all the notes on one string as a warm up. In another post someone mentioned a tonedear website that looks excellent for ear training. I am finding that it is the combination of all the puzzle pieces that make playing take shape. Some like diagrams- clearly without them, progress is slower but as the name implies, Tomo is instilling real "wisdom" with his approach so I'm giving that a shot too. I think having the charts/diagrams would simply make it a lot easier to follow for some of us. He runs through the names of the chords quickly so I can easily get lost....also lost trying to figure out what his right strumming hand is doing. Diagrams with those strumming patterns would be hugely helpful. I was also recently practicing More than Words by Extrem* The online tab has the strumming pattern and chords- it's slow and easy and fun. Without those guides, I would be lost. I was not picking up on the strumming pattern which was really throwing me off. It is also tuned down each string 1/2 step.
Tomo-san's guitar wisdom is definitely a departure from 'the norm' of laying everything out in a highly structured assembly.
By watching each video and trying as best as I can to emulate what he's doing, I have been able to make tremendous progress in a short amount of time.
Sometimes I have to practice one video's worth of techniques for a week or two. Other times, I've got it in just a day or two.
The important part is to keep visiting the lessons until you can play each one successfully.
All the knowledge in the world won't do you any good until you can put that knowledge into action.
Action is the key to progress.
Self-discipline is the key to consistent and persistent action.
I hope this helps.
This is so true; so many websites simply tell you ''this is how you play this song note for note'' or ''this is the 1st box of the pentatonic scale''; This website is the missing link; it doesn't teach you songs note for note for the sake of it, but doesn't teach dry theory either. It teaches you theory through pedagogical examples (ie etudes). This method is actually standard in classical music. While classical students learn scales etc, until they reach a high level of proficiency they spend most of their time playing etudes. It's unfortunate that this method is not more popular in non classical music, it's as if people either learn dry theory or actual songs. This website is the missing link and is amazing.
George Mattingly
Adam R Stritenberger