Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Ah, Sammi, you are too kind. Thank you!! Still getting used to chords where one finger does double-duty. But now finding other places where that can work for me. Thanks for all the encouragement.

Markos! You are fantastic! Beautiful music. I am so glad you posted this. This is the most that I've gotten to listen to you since the Challenge.

Thank you so much Linda means alot to me from a great player like you. 😊

Thank you Markos for sharing this video!

Good job! So smooth! Lovely melody with your acoustic guitar.

You can make Kurt proud! (Thanks to Kurt for making this thread!)

Between chord... you can mute with your left hand. Play a little softer.

Melody first note and 2nd note... don't connect them. Please listen that part carefully.

Tomo

Thank you professor. Your song kyoto has one of the best melodies that i have ever heard! 😅. I will try and the second part of the melodie with the nice chords in the end when i became a bit more fluent in this! First two notes more staccato no legato! Got it! So much nuances in this song! I want to try Coral sky after so smooth song!

Wow Markos! This is great. Really enjoyed that - thanks for sharing. I haven't tried Kyoto yet. Just curious, what gauge strings are you using?

Oh yeah! ~ I love this markos!
So good! Love your acoustic sound!
Thank you for inspiring us to keep going so we can keep learning this great tune!
Kurt

Thank you so much Kurt. Your thread inspired me to do that and i love to read your comments. Have a great day. 🙂 🙏

Thank you Markos for watching YouTube Live!

Tomo

Thank you Kurt for encouragement!

Tomo

Yes, Tomo, I like! Thanks for sharing this. I really appreciate it.

These exercises are so important to do every day.
Shaving- not as important:-)

Lisa said she likes that look!
I think it is very cool, but a bit intimidating.
If you had that beard and your nun chucks, and I saw you in an alley,-- I'd run!

Kurt

Thanks so much for your reply! I made this....and I really felt like... same thing! But it's supposed to be same thing!

Ha ha! I was slighly lazy days! Special thanks to Lisa!
That's funny!

Tomo

Great video Tomo. Oh man. I need to back up a bit and know triads better.
That’s why I’m having difficulty making a video with the “Hotel California” progression.

Yeah good look Tomo! Maybe just a French beard or goatee?
Kind of reminds me…hahaha…of that episode from the original series Star Trek where Spock has a transporter accident and is split into two people, “good” Spock and “evil” Spock. They were identical but evil Spock had a goatee.
So I only want to see good maestro, not evil maestro haha.

For me, I hate shaving…i also hate beards, too itchy. I have to shave now…but I need to practice… :)

Ok back to practice. Having too much fun on the forums.

Thanks so much Sunil! Always better to go slow as you can. Great forum! Too much fun! I need to go back to work!

Tomo

From your gray beard era!

My new favorite lesson. Open that door!
Kurt

Great title Kurt! Thank you!

I schedule post this lesson tomorrow morning 8:30 EST!

Tomo

Now it's LIVE! You can watch this video!

Thank you.

Tomo

Thanks so much Kurt for giving me that video title and description. That video got more than 15,000 views! Amazing!

I made this video today. What do you think? I just played some and talked a little.... very casual. Would you like to decide the title & description on this video? It's very hard to decide it myself!

Tomo

It's LIVE now!

Kurt’s description is an accurate synopsis.
I would call it:

learn how to play,
before learning what to play.

Thank you Kurt for your feedback! Funny part is I could not find a great title so I could not post this video. It was sitting in since 8/8! So happy to hear your reaction! I love that phrase! Funny! That's a sub-title!

As you know I love how you write....your writing is so amazing! By the way, if you have another title...now I can post two titles and YouTube will decide the better one. I am not sure "Don't be a Dumb-ass and rely on YouTube! Join Guitar Wisdom NOW"....

Thank you!

Tomo

HaHa! Let YouTube decide. Lord, save us from our own machines!
It is hard, super-duper hard, to title these! I also thought of, ""Where to Begin your Guitar Journey".
So glad I don't have to do all the social media like you need to as a professional
I am on ZERO social media. I've NEVER had a Facebook/Instagram/twitcher, etc. account. I save my energy for GW!

We need Sammi.
Kurt

Thank you! This video is just extra fun for us! Yes it is! It's so hard to make a good title. Yes! I like that "Where to Begin your Guitar Journey" That's better not to know social media side. I wish I didn't know. My Berklee students recommended me to do those! Good job Kurt! Thank you so much for your energy for GW!

Yes! Where is Sammi? Looking forwrad to next our GW Live Stream!

Tomo

Thank you Kurt for sharing this video!

I love the way you introducing this!
Very similar section....A & B... only last 4 bars are slighly different!

Good job! I should have played only solo part with a little slower tempo.
Thank you Kurt! So good!

Tomo

Thank you! Yes, it is cookin'! I practice MUCH slower :-)
I forgot about the different ending 4 measures for A and B parts.
The A part stays on Bb7 for 2 measures, then Eb7 for 2 measures,
the B part ends with Bb7 one measure, Eb7 1 measure and then Ab for 2 measures.
Thanks for exposing us to this song. I love my Charlie C. vinyl!
Kutt

So good Kurt - thanks!

Thank you Kurt! You got it!

You're very welcome Kurt! Great with vinyl!

Tomo

Kurt, I'm away from the computer for a few days but I couldn't resist dipping in to tell you how much I love this. Great job! Makin' that Ibanez sound great!

Thanks, markos!
It is challenging at any speed for me for sure!
Hope you have a nice weekend!

Kurt

Thank you very much Kurt you are the coolest! Your right hand strumming technique and the muting and the changes and chromatic passage to the chords everything was very clean and sounded very good it will be anyone's pleasure to Jam with you!
Have a great weekend. 🙂 🙏

Good job Markos!

You can watch this video for reviewing Blue Monk Melody.

Melody ideas here....

Thank you.

Tomo

Love this markos!
Way to keep it going for almost 4 minutes. So fun to practice with Tomo!
Your guitar always sounds so good.
Thanks for sharing your playing with us.
Kurt

Nice job Markos - thanks for sharing!

Good job Markos!

For R 3 7 Swing Groove.... down beat... make it longer sustain. This part is very difficult.
You can make it a llitle softer picking volume.

Tomo

Thank you Kurt for encourgment!

This way is much better than practicing with no reaction backing track (One Way Conversation)

So happy to hear this! Thanks so much!

Tomo

Great idea markos!
That is an important song. Challenging and fun!
Kurt

Thank you Markos. Next time you can play solo etude first then rhythm guitar.

Tomo

I will try professor thank you very much. I just play blue monk melodie for only 2 days! It was difficult but you have great material so i made it! First I saw you play the melodie once then I try my best to listen and transcribe after few tries i saw the melodie some times. But the most helpful part was at your jazz standard lesson at the 5th minute approximately that you played the chords and whistle the melodie! It was very helpful to understand where each part of the melodie belongs!

Wow! That is fun to hear and see!
I love that big reverb sound and the spaciousness of the great playing.
Fun to hear the difference between single coil and humbuckers and with the Tube screamer or without it.
I'm sure you or Sammi or someone else here could title it really well.
My attempt might be kind of boring.
Kurt

Title:
What if someone says, "Play something. Show me what you can play."

Description:
Tomo shows how he practices Jazz, Blues and Funk, reminding everyone that you should try to have fun and enjoy playing your guitar.

Thank you Kurt! It was like my normal practice session (performance side)

Actually that's a great title about what it is.... Very simple! Thanks so much for those!

Tomo

What a great video from beginning to end. I like Kurt's title idea. And my new north star is that someday someone will ask me "what can you play?" and I will bust out with something half as good as that. Now I need to start looking at Just Funky - been in that kind of mood anyway. Also love the closing message on ancestry / lineage. Btw, my next guitar will almost certainly be a hollow body. Was thinking about either Gretsch (Setzer influence) or Ibanez (Benson influence), but that Orangewood is nice!

I agree clay! Me too, One day will learn just funky. Saving it. Like training for Mount Everest.

Agree with my fellow hikers :)

I loved the last video, also this video.

Yeah. After all the words, something different about my playing yesterday…felt like something unlocked. Playing happened during the “not practice” part of my day…

Title:
how to play something and not something
subtitle:
by accessing the truth…and having fun.

Love it too Jeff.
It's like having Tomo over for a house concert!
I like that he was in C this time. I tried playing along and it was weird because it wasn't in Bb. I'll need a horn before long
Kurt

Thank you Jeff! I just played C blues... almost I was going to play a slower blues... then I started to play it in tempo... then it turned into Jazz Blues. It's in C! I don't really play jazz blues in C... but it was very refreshing. Then a little Just Funky then E blues funk (You guys can jam with that part!)

Tomo

I was chair dancing to it!
Felt it, loved it.

Thank you Sunil.

Tomo

Thank you Kurt for joining with me! Lovely guitar & lovely parts! I love that tremolo effect comping & your support melodic phrase too! Great listening! Music, guitar... so amazing! Bring people together! So powerful! I am so happy to be helpful! The trelolo effect guitar is so cool!
You caught my melody and you did a great "Call & Response" phrase!

Yes! It's pretty long! I never ever thought I would play this jam for 10 minutes!

Tomo

Thanks, Tomo. You sound amazing. I was trying to stay out of the way and not ruin it.
I didn't know it was 10 minutes long when I started recording and playing. I started to wonder how long it was going to go right before it ended.
That effect is called "Slow Churn" (Strymon Mobius). Fun to try to play solo to "Something" using that sound :-)
Kurt

Nice melody and cool effect on the comping Kurt!

Thank you, Clay!
Tomo really creates a mood when he plays.
Love those 2 chords. I tried to just play in 2 positions.
Kurt
.

Kurt, that is just beautiful. And thank you Tomo for the video. I will spend time with this.