Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Amazing Tomo! I've been making R37 swing a larger part of my 2025 goals and want to do it well. Great timing for this video! Cheers Tomo! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

So happy to hear that! I taught John Mayer ....a lot of depths on R 3 7 Swing Groove!
Each week... correcting... This takes many weeks! Thank you!

Tomo

Thanks Tomo for this lesson. The hard part for me is when playing 4 and 5 chords if I mute the 6 string with my thumb then the 1 and 2 strings are not properly muted and I heard (noises) harmonics or sometimes I'm slightly muting the 4 string note (the third) of the chord if I mute the 1,2 strings. When playing a medium or fast tempo it sounds let's say "good enough", but when playing slooooowly, you go from a " fantasy" to the "real world". You know what I mean. I'm going to test your "chicken wing" technique to see if I get better results.

You're very welcome Christian!

This technique is not easy! You can not do in a few days!
Takes make days and you need to make some efforts to fit your playing case.

Maybe change key to F or Eb so that you can focus on 5th string root more.

First no tempo! Tempo is not important at all!
First it's all about muting technique!

You want to practice super slow so you can gain this technique!
If you want to improve more then you need to be very honest to yourself about your playing.

Good job!
Please keep going!

Thank you.
Tomo

Thank you so much! This camera angle: I set iPhone holder on a stool! So each time I get this angle for special additional videos for GW members! Very special stool!

Oh! You should get my funkmaster TL set! Amazing tone!
https://greenst.net/home/gallery.cgi?id=904354&code=60&action=gallery&category=&pline=16

Yes. My grandmother gave me a 1978 Fender Mustang (now Fiesta Red by Kanji Kawabata)
After that, my mother suggested me not ask anything to my grandmother again!
That was when I started working my newspaper route everyday....from age 13 to 17.
4 years. That was how I paid my gear.

I love Franz Metronome!
I have 7 of those!

Thank you.

Tomo

You're very welcome! My pleasure! Great timing! His pickups are so amazing! I have tried many brands and I love the Grinning Dog Pickups the best! Awesome! You did too. I was in Japan so I use my bicycle to carry those newspapers to a few location then I walk to deliver newspapers. I think about 300 houses in 40 minutes. I use to run! Then practice guitar before dinner time.

Thank you.
Tomo

I'm laughing at picturing this. One thing about Tomo is the man walks very fast. But once he sits down and holds a guitar, he is zen.

Ha ha! You don't know yourself?

Sammi talks very fast!

I love guitar so much!

You're very welcome Sergio!
It is not easy at all so I keep practicing in my life time!

Thank you.

Tomo

So good!
Thank you!

Tomo

Yes! Very deep and full sound. A bit loose yer very clear. It took us for a while to find the right formula. This is not all about right material & how many turns... A little bit more. You're very welcome! The Grinning Dog Pickups are the best! I have so many pickups (tried!)

Thank you.

Tomo

Agree with this johno! That's so great have an empty strat pick plate , because the sound in the Tomo's video is so delicious!

Yes johno! I agree. This is deep. My lightbulbs are getting warmed up too. :-)
All of it is important, but 3:00 to 4:30 is pure gold. I really see the difference in how it sounds by HOW TIGHT WE HOLD THE PICK. He said 3 to 4 weeks to get it and that is for Berklee students!!
I keep revisiting this lesson, and not just for the dance moves. He does make me hungry when he starts talking about food though. Oh, and he is not perfect. I guess if he says so. Hard to tell from watching him.
Kurt

Thank you Johno! So happy to hear that!
I love teaching simple techniques.
R 3 7 Swing groove is super important!

Leo Fender made amazing design!
I will tell you more details in video someday.
You're very welcome!

Tomo

Thank you Kurt!

This week is my first week teaching at Berklee. So much fun!
I just taught them ... I asked many simple questions and I ask them to answer "Yes or No"
So we will know clearly what to do! Everyone liked my idea.

Picking volume exercise with rhythm guitar. Not easy to do but once you have this technique..
More fun to play guitar! I did a lot of food analogy! I will share with you soon!
Many silly ones! Thank you.

Tomo

Have you ever been to Spain? They call tapa's "pinchos" in Basque country in Spain and France. Appetizers with simple ingredients! So yummy. San Sebastian and Basque people. My wife Lisa is one of them. She's from Idaho where the Basque's settled in USA.
Kurt

Hey johno! Barcelona- too hot for me! Simple is great! For current spanishy music, that isn't classical music, I only know Rodrigo and Gabriela. Listen to their Stairway to Heaven sometime. Gabriella beats her acoustic like a drum- literally. You will like it.
So cool your girl likes to listen to music. Does she play anything? Even though my wife was in junior high orchestra on viola, she is really not that into music. She is normal. I'm not. She humors me and my obsession. It has been loud being with me for almost 45 years. She has other passions like sewing, gardening (cool greenhouse out there) and cooking. We mainly take care of her severely handicapped older brother. He's the last one left. It's 24/7. We've been caregiving for the last 20 years. I built this house to house everybody. It's getting big. My Mom's room is now my music room. That's why I have fancy curtains in my videos. My cat loved them. My Mom died on us just before the pandemic. Things have been unsettled lately. Our best cat ever just up and died on us. We don't have kids. Of course, no amount of self-medication will help when you suffer a loss. We've learned that by now luckily. Time seems to be the best remedy. Anyway, we are really thankful for all we have and everyday as we start feeling more like ourselves. This place has been a gift to me!
Kurt

Hi johno,
Right on! Yes, I'm eyeing those pickups too! Looking forward to hearing more about your next build!
Kurt

You must have been to some fun weddings! There was no dancing at our wedding. We scored half price night at the fancy mansion and we had to be out of there by 9:00 pm! I lived and worked in the Pike Place Market for 25 years so I was friends with a lot of street musicians. I knew a string quartet of street musicians and they played whatever they thought was nice for a wedding. It really worked out well letting them decide. Maybe we'll be dancing at our 50th coming up in a few years. I'll need a drummer,,,,
Kurt

i had a lot fun at weddings, Mardi Gras balls and cocktail parties. I played with one of the longest running bands in New Orleans history. I did the last 5 years after the original drummer was forced into retirement by a stroke. My Dad had been with them for about 35 years. The guys were all older than me and i had looked up to most of them since i was a kid. 9 piece band with horns. We did a little bit of everything.They retired the band in 2012 after 53 years.We were paid pretty well and got to eat and drink as much as we wanted.We didn't have a drug problem. We had a FOOD problem. :-D Best thing was I got to play with my Dad. He asked me if i was tired of playing gigs for free trying to "make it" and ready to actually make money!

Thanks Allan! So unbelievably cool that you played with your Dad! 9-piece band with horns. Wow!
New Orleans is a place everyone should experience at least once. The music. The food. The people!

Food? Yes! Drugs? NO!!
Never hurts to be reminded.

Thanks again for sharing! Have a great weekend.
Kurt

Hi johno! Ha-ha! No! We don't touch the guitar unless we are tuning it! I bet that guitar of hers is sweeet! Classic acoustic! I see why she has bonded with it. Malaguena was first song learned by Keef Richard. She said learn it. Better get busy! 15 years ago, I found a 1948 Gibson L-50 in an abandoned storage unit after my Dad died. I put $1500 into it and love to look at. Rarely play it. It has flat wound strings always. Great neck somehow. DeArmond pickup, Sounds great with R37 swing. New tuners etc,
Yes the seeds! In little cups and spray them with a little sprayer bottle, I love to watch them grow!
Have a nice weekend!
Kurt

Thanks for the reminder to review this again 李jiayang!
Picking softly! I am practicing this every day and exploring Jazz Standards for more demonstrations of R37 swing.
So thankful to be able to see the details from Dr. Fujita here in the Blues and Funk Laboratory!
Let's keep going!
Kurt

Good job Jiayang!

Bb Blues R 3 7.... my favorite!

I hold my pick super soft!

Thank you Kurt!

Good job!

So happy to hear that!

So happy to hear the news of our chief scientist !
Oh you are do some research ! Really thanks Dr.Fujita , the video demonstrate was so amazing & helpful .
Seems our Blues and Funk Laboratory have lot work need to do ...
Ha! My item is research my 2&4 groove & muting technique !
These day I have some mistake , feel growth with the mistake & fix something !
Yes ! We're keep going and growing !
Jiayang

Thank you Jiayang!

I am so happy making additional lesson videos here at the forum.

We are humans so we need to make good mistakes so we can learn more.

Keep working!

Thank you.

Tomo

You're very welcome Christine!

Good job!