Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Hi All,

Had to share more of what I've read. So, everyone practices but not everyone improves at the same rate. Why?

Well its mostly due to how we practice.

Neuroscience so far supports these two types of practice (so far, as I've only gotten to chapter 3). Try them out.

1-Old way, new way

2-Amplification of error

One-Old Way-New Way is playing something wrong, and then play it right. The reason this works is that when we learn something wrong our brains make connections that are hard to change. So, when we learn new things our brains are not receptive to the new pathways as much as the error prone pathways that already exist. When we do the old way, new way, our brains start to notice what we are doing wrong as it becomes more conscious and we can then get our brains to do the new, correct ways gradually. The research show with this tactic alongside video recording of our sessions, then describe in great detail what we are doing wrong to really make our brains conscious of the errors, and then with a teacher or not describe in detail what the new, correct way is. Then alternate between old and new ways. Eventually, once you are conscious of the good way and can describe it in detail, make sure you repeat the correct way more often than the error prone way. This is critical because if you've done the bad way 100 times, you need to the correct way more than 100 times to start making the new pathways instead of the old. Or repeat the new way 5-10 times but not 1 is good, 2 is great, 3, made a mistake etc. If you make one small mistake on any repetition start over and diagnose and repeat the steps again and again. This type of training has been shown to greatly successful. Try it out.

2-Not as successful as Old Way-New Way is amplification. This is similar to the previous strategy in that you are trying to make your errors come out stronger. So, play a measure and say you can't time the triplet or open strings are ringing or hand posture is terrible, and then amplify this and exaggerate how bad it is for. This again helps the brain become conscious of the errors. Of course this also means knowing the correct way and cognitively being aware of this then working on it. Though not as successful as the previous strategy, according to research, this is still a solid way to train your brain for better practice.

Try them out and let us know how it goes!

Thank you Michael. I would like to know the author of this book if you could share it please.

Hi Michael,

I need to address a few concerns raised by this thread and a previous thread that you started.

1. If you are sincerely interested in engaging with Guitar Wisdom members, you really ought to use your full name in your posts. We have dozens or hundreds of members named Michael.

2. This is a business dedicated to guitar teaching and learning. It is not a platform for (a) promoting any of our competitors, or (b) debating whether Tomo's method is correct or ought to be revised in accordance with your experience -- in this case, the new insights you have gained from a few chapters of one book. Your previous thread violated (a) and (b) above, and without your full name, I was unable to contact you directly. Accordingly, that thread has been deleted.

3. There are many books by musicians on how to practice and how to become a better performer. The one written by Molly Gebrian is, on its face, just another book in this genre. The author does not have a degree in neuroscience, and her book is not endorsed as a breakthrough by anyone in the scientific community. Read the book and explore its insights with an open mind, but remember that it is not the last word on anything.

Every musician needs to learn (1) what to practice and (2) how to practice effectively. Meanwhile, each person has unique talent and musical taste. So, for example, learning jazz can be relatively easy for one person, while it is the most challenging of chores for another.

On this site, Tomo offers plenty of advice on what and how to practice. Of course, you may need to adapt his recommendations to your own needs and talent. Just don't get so caught up in neurotransmitters and myelinations that you spend too little time on practice!

Show us what works for you by posting your guitar-playing videos in these Forums!

GM