Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Our pleasure Jeff!! Thank you so much!

Great review! Thank you!

R 3 7 Swing = Always wide strumming!
This way you really need to hold your pick lighter and once you can do this importamt technique then you can strum smaller very easy!

Most people… prefer to jam with YouTube backingtracks… most of them are not great…. so if someone can play over that… means “Not listening” No conversation.

Tomo

Good Wisdom = "YouTube backing tracks means 'not listening, no conversation'.

Man - I practiced today trying to do lightest touch possible. It wrecked everything! Which is great! So much to work on.

Thank you Linda. Most backing tracks on YouTube is one way... Better to imagine (free!)

Tomo

Thank you Clay! Good job! That's what I do everyday with Chromatic scale & R 3 7 swing groove. So I can play music smoothly. This is one of reasons that I don't play songs when I am very busy. But I can hear songs in my head all the times where I can cook music with my imagination.

Tomo

Thank you! You can catch it up!

Tomo

Watching it live hits diff
(Or so i would assume)
Ill make sure i catch the next one!

The next one is Saturday, December 6th, at 11 AM EST!

I love long rambling stories maaan!
I think you are on to something Richard,
this makes a lot if sense to me man.
Listening and feeling is key.

lol- thanks Sunil!

Cool refresh and insights Rich - please do post how it goes.

Thank you Rich for sharing your experience on "How to transcribe music” Like most people that trying to mimic the original playing part so fast that focusing on "What To Play" instead of "How to play that feel” So even you find what to play…. deciding too fast where to play. One phrase can have 4-5 different strings/fingerings. This part is super fun imagining and a lot of reward to find “the one” right position from your intense listening. That’s why “Listeing” deeply is the most important part becoming a great musician. So please take your time! I am very happy to hear your new discovery and George, Sammi and I are so happy to hear this so much! So glad to hear that. This is real Guitar Wisdom and our livestream effort and effect.

Tomo

Rich, do not use slow down divice. Be patient! Listen more and don't play guitar too much! You need to internalize music to your body and soul first so you need to be a great listener first.

Listen more music and less playing guitar. Guitar playing part.. you need to focus on more foundation. When I am busy... I don't play any songs. I only practice my foundation parts.

Tomo

Civil Defense sirens actually do save lives. Once, the sirens were the first thing we heard before we dove into the basement moments before a tornado demolished the building I was working in. A giant brink chimney landed on my workstation. So, I think the sirens are a bargain.

Whoa! That was close.
Glad you made it Linda!
I just want them to settle on a solution that does that for as many people as possible.

Also not suggesting the alarms are frivolous. They save lives. But, the confusion they can (like in the Maui fire) contribute to many preventable deaths,
it seems.
I was legitimately frighted above, meant 'hilarious' as sarcasm. It didn't translate well, I apologize. What you went through sounds legitimately frightening as well.
I wonder if I would have just stood there dumbfounded by the siren, if I were in your place.

No worries, Sunil. Indeed we were somewhat dumbfounded. A couple guys ran into our store yelling "Funnel cloud right over your building!" Naturally we all ran to the parking lot, and said "Yep, that thing is headed our way!". Got to the basement just in time. Had to push away wreckage to climb back out. Today when I hear the civil defense sirens, I always feel like I did that day.

Apologies for getting off-topic. Just something that came up.

That's the truth!!

I can kind of!

Pretty cool!

Great insight, Sammi.

Thank you Sammi ❤️
I haven’t looked ahead in the book so I didn’t even realize there was that chapter.
I’ve only gotten to chapter four and have been working on hitting my knees and accentuating different beats.
I’m going to jump ahead and read the chapter on listening like a musician.
This place is amazing!

Thank you Sammi for sharing Rich's insight and his efforts! You are a great teacher yourself! I am so proud of you!

Tomo

Love this place guys. Love the love, also guitar haha. Im sitting at a park looking at trees.

I was going to say the same as Rich!
Adding, it's very helpful when you guys --Sammi, George, Tomo, are coming together to point out the golden notes.
Thank you.

Linda is always first with the golden notes though, imho. :)

Maybe…
How to go from playing learned phrases to actually improvising?

That's not a bad suggestion, Richard.

Thanks Linda 😊

I like that idea too. And if a part of that could be some specific "how to's" on using triad knowledge to build solos / melodies over chords, that would be awesome.

Thank you Rich for sharing your request. One suggestion in general for transcribing solo.

1) Learn chord progressions on that song first.
2) When you transcribe a solo / phrasing. Do not decide positions too fast. Keep it open for other positions.
3) For improvisation, work on Blues (simple 145 blues) first.
4) For jazz improvisation, work on Jazz Blues first.

You can apply these ideas now.

Tomo

Thank you Jeff for your comment. A few ideas for that case.

1) Understand that style of music really well.
2) "Listen" each others deeply.,,,this part is the most important!!
3) Play with rhythm section. Not play over rhythm section.
4) Make more space while you are playing something simple.

Tomo

This would be a cool live stream topic too, Jeff. A non-expert addition to Tomo's list:
One of the things we've found when we're making songs in our jam sessions - not for the drummer, but for bass and keys - is to stay out of each other's octave. We'll work out a song that sounds OK, but we can't hear individual playing that well. So we'll spend some time shifting guitar / bass / keys up or down an octave or two so that we are playing in different ranges. That also lets us use individual dynamics better because we're not all fighting for volume.

But what if you guys play triads instead of fighting for the same note (or octave range)?

meant what if each of you play one note each from a triad.

Thank you Clay! I am looking forward to next GW Livestrewam. I have many ideas and choices.

For jam sessions - You don't know what bass player's habit of bassline or piano player's habits so first I don't play anything and listen!
So listening is very important. Don't worry about octave range too much. I don't think that much. I think about overall arrangement and harmony as a band. So I recommend to have a few choices with other player's performance. I have prepared ideas from my live performance experiences. I can demo those sometimes.

1) Listen and do not play anything. Especially someone's solo (beginning) More space is great.
2) 3rd and 7th comping
3) V- and VI- triads
4) 6ths (following bassline) and 3rds fills too.

Tomo

My pleasure!

Tomo

whew, made it!
got my tea, ready to go!
almost slept in haha
thank you for the reminders as usual sammi