Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Very excited for the week to come. Thank you for sharing.

Great guidance, but also much Guitar Wisdom: "Understand with your fingers"

Thank you Linda!

“Understand with your fingers”
Learn with the sounds!

Tomo

I love this challenge. Yesterday I was playing the three triads on one string approach without looking at the fretboard and when playing D, something was wrong; then I realised that I was playing the G triad starting at the 5th not the D triad so i mixed both: the D triad starting on the root and G starting on the fifth just for fun. I'm definitely improving my ear skills with this new challenge.

Love to hear it, Christian! Thanks so much for sharing

You’re welcome Suzanne!

Muisc Theory with the sound is good! Just reading theory book is not good enough. That’s why I made “Essential Music Theory” section (all new lessons since?)

Yes! Foundations are super duper important!

Tomo

Yes, Matt! Great job!
It is so much fun when we cannot deny the gains.
Little by little. Slowly. We are building a mighty foundation.
Kurt

"Don't Be Denied" - Neil Young

Thank you Matt!
So happy to hear that!

I love triads! This will open up many area.
Easy to understand the fretboard with triads.

Good job! Name of notes. Singing. Intervals. Ear Training.
No diagrams & no tabs! You save papers and disk space!

Tomo

Thank you Kurt!

So lovely to see everyone is working hard and moving foward!

Most regular guitar players are learning song mainly and google how to play it or go to YouTube lessons. It seems good… but gain more songs and sounds are same in years.

Learning foundations. A lot of hardwork and need to be so patient. It seems not going anywhere for 3 months…. but after a day after 3 months… you will see a huge difference in your guitar playing and your understanding about muisc theory.

Most people would stop at one day before 3 months… then that person will be at same level in 3 years! This so true! Then this person will buy more gear!

Just one example on how importrant about “Don’t expect too fast!”

Tomo

So true Tomo. Most people give up right before finding gold.

Thanks Sammi!

This can be applied to any fields and any topics.

One day short is almost there!

Don't doubt anything!
Believing yourself!

Don't worry!
Don't expect too fast!

Tomo

Thank you Johno!

You are so improving in July Challenge!

I introduced 3 chords in Key of G.
I didnot explain about … we are going to learn something in Key of G.

Week 1 = D Triad
Week 2 = C Triad
Week 3 = G Triad

Week 4 = G C D G = 1 4 5 1

Good job!

Tomo

That's really interesting Tadashi!
Sort of thinking out loud about your chart.

The note C is" FA" because it is the 4th degree in key of G. The note C is not "Do" even if it is in the root inversion position of the C Triad.

You are using the names from the G MAJ scale for the notes in the other two chords also.

Based on One String scale playing, I usually think of each of the three chord's ROOT inversions as "Do Mi So. Each of the three chords FIRST inversion is "Mi So Do. Each of the three chords SECOND inversions is So Do Mi.
I'm going to explore this way of looking at it too.
Learn everything :-)
Thank you!
Kurt

Tadashi - Wait till you hear about Larry Carlton's super arpeggio. In a nutshell (and I'm sure Tomo can elaborate) Larry uses triads from different scale tones to pull out different harmony. The way I understand it, is for example if playing over a C chord, if Larry wanted the harmony of a 9th chord, he'd play a G major triad over the C chord, so he'd be playing the 5th, 7th and 9th of the C.

I'm not nearly developed enough to bring this into my playing. I'm still working on just playing the changes. But when I first read about the super arpeggio, I had no idea what Larry was talking about. After studying with GW for a few months, it just hit me one day when I was just thinking about guitar. It was a lightbulb moment. Not because I could take advantage of the knowledge, but because I HAD the knowledge.

PS Just had this memory that's sort of related. I heard an interview once where Sting said that the bass is the most important instrument in the band because the bass controls the chord progression. His example was if the guitar Is playing a C major triad and the bass plays a C note, the chord is C. But if the guitar is playing a C Major triad and the bass plays an A, that means the chord is now an Am7 which is completely different.

That's cool Matt.
Reminded me of this important GW lesson where Tomo plays v minor (G minor) and vi minor (A minor) triads over C7(9), Using cool drop-2 7th chords with those minor triads.
C7(9), v minor and vi minor triads. G minor triad = (C) b7 9 5. A minor triad = (C) R M3 6.

FT31 (014-3) C7(9) - v minor, vi minor triads
https://tomovhxtv.vhx.tv/videos/tf-lesson-014-3-c7-9-v-minor-vi-minor-triads

Similar idea to Larry Carlton's GMAJ triad over C Chord you mentioned.

Kurt

Well, Tomo has said many times how big a fan he is of Larry Carlton.

Yes! Larry is amazing.
Larry's son Travis plays bass on Tomo's Blue Sky album!
Check out these pristine, clean triads!
This sounds killer cranked on my new computer speakers with sub.
Also when walking with headphones.
And especially thru some big Texas-sized stereo speakers :-)
Kurt

People Get Ready!

Thank you Ralph for your kind words!

So happy to hear that!

George, Sammi and I really happy with our members & love the GW forum.

Let’s keep going!

Tomo

I also enjoy the updates and discussions, Ralph. Thanks so much for being a part of it!

Right on Jeffery. Quite the workout. Good start to week 4.

Thank you Jeffrey!

Good job! G C D G chord progresion. Great to hear that! Very important to sustain each chord for a long time and relaxed your left hand. Do not press the frets. Just touching the strings and when strings are touching the frets…. relax your left hand.

Yes. You can practice G Blues: 1 4 1 1 4 4 1 1 5 4 1 5 etc. Slowly. Slower is better! Once you hurry.. no matter how long you practice them… not effective so when you practice, think about the quality than amount of time.

Tomo

Nice practice, Jeffrey! You must be thrilled we are focusing on ascending ;)
"Going slower I was able to do more"

I guess now is a good time to order Pickboy picks. Thanks Richard.
You had a focused practice today!
Inspiring (me to shop :-)
Kurt

Finally placed my order. Yay!

TOMO FUJITA Signature PicK 2
Style: Teardrop
Material: Celluloid
Quantity: 1 pack (20 picks)
Price: $19.00

TOMO FUJITA Signature Wisdom Picks (USA Limited Edition)
Style: Teardrop
Material: Celluloid
Quantity: 1 pack (20 picks)
Price: $23.00

🧾 Cost Summary
Subtotal for 2 items: $42.00
Automatic Discount: 10% off for orders over ¥5,000 (~$32 USD), resulting in a $4.20 deduction
Shipping Fee: $5.00
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Love it Richard. Just sharing what worked for me on R37 swing journey: just touch it every day. Everything about it was bad for me when I started the exercise. But I intentionally spent only a few minutes on it to avoid frustration, but made sure I hit it every day. Then as it started sounding better, I would spend a little more time until I could do 5 or 10 minutes without frustration. Not without mistakes, but without feeling bad about them.

Richard your statement of "it's happening no matter if it's as fast as I would like" stood out to me. Think of it like watching someone grow. If you're with them every day you don't notice the tiny details and changes in height and age, however if you go away for a week and come back you notice how tall they've grown. I tell you it's actually fast. I know when I went away on vacation my dog grew so much while I was away. It's crazy how much we don't notice while we are in the room. While you may not notice the little details the work we are putting in is huge. Big changes on its way. Good growth.

Thank you Richard for Week 4 / Day 1.

Good job on reviewing foundation exercises. Chromatic 1234 & 1212. R 3 7 Swing groove. Very important to sustain all 3 notes evenly with down stroke. Then you need to strum all 6 strings lightly (holding a pick so softly so that your pick is moving between your thumb and your 1st finger. A lot of details. 5 minutes is so good! 5-6 times through simple blues chord changes.

If you can practice 30 minutes on triad inversions, that’ so plently. Good job! All 3 inversions with G C D. So great to hear that! Sustain each chord for a long time. Mute all the strings before you move to next inversion. Slow is good. Light finger touch. Light soft picking volume. If you play your AZES31 without amp… you almost cannot hear any sound from the guitar itself because your picking is super light. Make this smooth… Practice more Chromatic 1234 & 1212 = these will make everything smooth!

Good job using your palm muting technique when you are playing triad arpeggios.
https://tomovhxtv.vhx.tv/videos/ftr-15-triad-arpeggios-level-1
https://tomovhxtv.vhx.tv/videos/ftr-16-triad-arpeggios-level-2
https://tomovhxtv.vhx.tv/videos/ftr-17-triad-arpeggios-level-3

Thank you for sharing about Pickboy TF Signature Picks.
The best quality in the world!

Tomo

Thank you Kurt for detail information on Pickboy picks.

Tomo

Thank you so much Jeffrey for my TF signature picks!

These picks really helped my dynamics.

Tomo

Picks in the dryer, Jeffrey? Is that for clean pickin'?

😂

I love mine too. I took Tomo's advice and go the 1mm is white picks with the specialty sayings on them.

Ha ha, love that Linda. Needed a laugh.

Thanks Kurt - the high R 341 is still a pain for me. One thing I can't work on without a guitar. It is something that I did slightly better standing, so that leads me to thinking posture and elbow / kneck / wrist orientation are components of the solution. Another strange thing I found is that I am actually better doing changes from nearby triads (eg high C/D 2nd inv) to high C root than going from further down the neck to it.

Beautiful work Kurt. And watching video twice. Well done.

Thank you Kurt for Week 4 / Day 1.

Great work ethic on Not Looking. No noise. Less Pressue, Insanely slow and play so clean!

Thanks for rewatching the Week 4 video for 2 times. Great way! Like a breakfast and a dinner!

Good job. Chromatic 1234 & 1212. Super soft pressure for better intonation. You can really hear it. Triad inversions on G C D. Mute all the strings before you move to bext inversion. Listen carrefully any string sliding noise. Boost button for louder volume. Cool function indeed. 341 fingerings. Do not press each string. Press 3 notes same time. Be fkexible on your thumb. Keep working. Eventualy your thumb will know where is the best place to be. That’s why you don’t want to unddrstand by exact words. The words are so dangerous to reach the answer so fast! Singing softly with confidence! Each triad inversions.

Great focus on this topic and depths around this tiopic.
July Challenge at the GW forum is going super strong!
No one can teach & learn at / from YouTube videos!

Good feeling!
Happy Tuesday!

Tomo

Thank you Clay for sharing your experience.

If I have a chance, let me make additional video.

Standing or sitting down.
Good technique is same.

Tomo

What a day, Kurt! Thank you for reminding us to go slow, eliminate noise, and use less pressure.

Good job!
See you tomorrow!

One of many grateful GW students

Thanks for your wonderful follow through.

Thank you Kurt & Serena!

There are so many lovely comments so I just wanted to reply as much as I can.
I read each comments over and over so it takes a little longer to wrire.

Tomo

Same here! I try to stay offline in the evenings. It's fun to open my email in the morning and catch up on all the updates. Then I reply later in the day when I have the time to respond thoughtfully. You all deserve the best!!

Always appreciate your responses, Sammi.