Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

In the past few months, I have incorporated a lot of phrasing into my daily practice routine.

I really think this is the way to improve my overall playing and knowledge of the guitar, and I really enjoy these parts of my training.

But I'm left with one big question; is it enough to think in terms of each chord, or should I also learn the notes?

As an example, consider the chord Bb7 and the phrase CR M3 5 13 R.

I'd look for the Bb note and then find: CR M3 5 13 R (without really going over those note names).

I feel my knowledge of the fretboard is more than enough to find the phrase on the guitar. Is this the correct way?

Grts Thomas, thank you.

Is it really an either /or question? the chord interval -- OR -- the note name? Learning has many steps and which step you take first isn't as important as long as you eventually take ALL the steps.

When you're comfortable with what a "phrase" is, you're going to notice more details about it, as you play it more. One of those details will naturally be the note name. Not just because of it's relationship to the chord you're on, Bb your example, but other chords that you will be moving through.

What if someone says go up a 5th and play a new phrase over that chord? Well, you know where the 5th is in your original phrase ... so what is name of new chord they're probably asking you to play over?

It will become natural know the 5th of Bb is F the more you do it, and it will help you think of what triads to play over the new chord and trigger many other connections to the fretboard, including the shapes, intervals, key signature, and other note names.

So whenever you're learning, always try to make all the connections, names, scale degrees, chord intervals. It's ok if it takes a while and it's okay to take a break and work on making music instead of forcing yourself to memorize everything before you allow yourself to have fun.

As Tomo says, don't worry. Go slow, one step follows the other, and you can fix mistakes and go back and review after a break if you need to. It's a lot to absorb. Just don't omit steps in the journey. Always circle back and visit all of them, as often as needed.

I'm not a teacher, so I can't tell you when to move on. It seems like you've worked many hours on it and you probably have seen a lot of improvement and have it completely memorized.

In self-study, you have to set your goals and decide what criteria you are going to be satisfied with. Tomo is pretty good about saying what he expects for each part of the beginner techniques. Chromatic scale, shuffle rhythm, triads. Clean, playing with dynamics and good muting.

I think that all applies here. He has a video on 2 levels of proficiency and using GW to learn and learning solo improvisation. You should watch all the "QA and Proficiency" videos and get a feel for his expectations.

I can tell you when I would move on. I'd record myself playing that Bb blues with the metronome at first and then without it, all while playing and varying the phrases in different octaves and triad inversions.

Then, use the criteria Tomo sets out in the "QA and Proficiency" videos. Come back and listen to your recordings a day later and listen closely. Are you playing cleanly? Are you at a consistent tempo? Did you play the phrases in a couple of octaves with clean transitions? Did you change dynamics ?

If you answer is "I did pretty good on all these things". I would move to the next thing.

I set the bar very low for myself (mostly because I'm an old man, not a lot of time left, LOL!). If I was able to play through mistakes in time then not make the same mistakes the next few times going around then it's OK by me. If I'm forced to stop and restart, or consistently fluff a transition, then I probably need to review that part some more. If I feel I'm ok with the transitions, but making some unexpected finger noise, I might still move on to the next song or lesson --BUT, I'd go back and review the chromatic exercises and triads up and down the neck to fix my squeaky fingers. Those things keep your fingers in shape and your ear trained to hear the little things that can make a difference.

The final criteria is: would I upload it to instagram using the hashtag and @ Tomo so he could see it? If I felt good enough to do that, then I'd move along.

If you'd like to post an unlisted video on youtube, then join the Discord that was created over in the "Leavitt Study Group" forum, you could leave the link there and show just a few other students how you're doing and ask for suggestions. That way you wouldn't expose yourself to public instagram comments before you're ready.

However you decide to do it, enjoy the journey and have fun with the instrument. You'll never be bored again!