Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Tomo-sensei. Thank you very much for your advice. I will do this practice for a while to get used to it.
Eiji

Thank you LaVoy. Is Fletcher your lovely doggy?
Eiji

HAHAHA no a quote from whiplash. a jazz thriller.

-LaVoy

Conan is my lovely doggy.

-LaVoy

Thank you Johno. I need to relax more to do this exercise. My right hand is strained a bit.
Eiji

Great Eiji! I move my legs easier than upper body. I think it is good to just move something. Way to keep going! Sounds good too.

Thank you Clay. I found that sitting on a bed and moving my body is easier than sitting on a chair. You can use the bed's spring.
Eiji

Sounds great Eiji ! Good job!

Thank you Tobi. Yours sound good too.
Eiji

Putting it all together Eiji, that is a jazzy sound, parlor style. I like it :). That is a lot of practice and focus there man, be proud of that recording. To me it is very impressive on your technique too,very solid and direct with no stray noise. What a workout at your tempo. Very inspiring achievement Eiji. Let's keep going.
-johno

Good job Tobi! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you Clay!

I realized I wasn’t actually playing a swing. It sounded more like 16th notes — I was dividing each beat into four and playing the 1st and 3rd .

Hi Tobi! I love your video. Great timing and chord switching! I noticed that you vary the sound of each chord as it's repeated. I think you are right on target, though, because that's what the practice exposes. I have been experimenting with all my fingers, making sure I locate each one in the correct spot to get the correct sound. Sometimes, on Eb7, I will mute the 4th string with my middle finger. I am realizing that I need to keep both my second and third fingers more straight up and my index finger down, and that is just one example. I would encourage you to take time out and sit down, and explore these chords deeply. Hey, we're in this together. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Scott

Nice work Chris! Pretty guitar. I can't sing and play at the same time. Interestingly, I'm on the "counting 8th notes" section of Leavitt (pp18-19), and I think that is actually helping my ability to sing and play a bit.

Hi Chris! Great job! I love how well you switch chords in time. I'm still practicing that. One thing I might suggest? On Bb7, have you tried extending your forefinger across all six strings? I've had to practice lightly pressing the root, 7th, and 3rd while lightly extending my forefinger to correctly mute the 5th, 2nd, and 1st strings. So difficult for me to do. I'm still working on it. It's helping me to listen to what the actual chord sounds like. Sometimes, I inadvertently press the 1st string or buzz the 6th string, and I have to adjust, but it gets better every time I pick up the guitar. Know that you're not alone. Keep going. Nice work.

Thank you Chris for sharing this video. Your right hand should swing much wider so please check that part. You need to feel more triplet feel. It is very difficult! I think everyone should do as slow as you can. Maybe without a metronome is better first. Singing and playing is so important too. Can you try it around 48-50 bpm?

Tomo

Sunil! My MAIN MAN! I haven't been on it for a week or so, and I felt the need. I was going to post a video myself, but I want to practice some more first. I love R37. It's a plethora of things to grow into. I'm working on the consistency of the chord sounds and on my chord switching cleanly. I want to switch cleanly and in time. I'll get there.

Just got finished watching your Eric Gales with Rick Beato interview. The guy is BRILLIANT. Loved it so much. Thanks for the inspiration, my friend.

How's your guitar journey going, Sunil?

Thank you Scott, for your kind thoughts.
Props me up!

I am loving foundation practice my friend.
1212, triads, shuffle blues, mainly.
I'm just going to keep doing it, slowly, until I feel subjectively confident with it.

The more I practice, the more it all holds together, the deeper it goes. Just like Tomo says, infinite horizons.
Lots of solutions, I think, when I look around. Tomo usually already addressed it, somewhere.

Just going to keep being curious, and keep going, helps me to remove ego from it.

Agreed about Eric Gales.

I think of him like a Bernoulli or a Bach.
Child prodigy that grew up in an exceptional family.

Makes me wonder about human potential and how we educate our children today.

Oh also, I only know about Eric through Tomo. What I learned here from Tomo, really has changed everything I am perceiving. That blows me away every time I think of Tomo doing this for over three decades. Thank you sincerely Tomo.

This is awesome Tomo.
Slow is the way to go.
I just tried metronome at 40 today, just went back to slower tempo.
For some reason hearing the pick slide against pickguard or maybe I am just able to notice it now. It sounds so good to me actually...I kept imagining I am hearing a drummer with those wire brush sticks sliding around on a snare.

That is awesome about Juanes (apologies for misspelling his name). That quality of humility, being humble, as a instrumentalist seems to be common among the best.

Also reminds me of Eric Gales, and Matt Schofield. I want to look into Matt's music too man, also an amazing player, understatement...

Please have a great and safe clinic Tomo!
Say hi to Matt from all of us GW students!
Keep going Matt! That is how we learn where the horizon is! :)

Thank you Sunl! Slower is better! I practice very slow without a metronome first then I use a metronome. My pick is always moving back and forth too. Juanes! He is always so sweet! When I was in Florida... I texted him and he was a little far away! (He was in Argentina!) Please check out Matt Schofield! Thank you so much!

Tomo

Thank you Tomo!

I like slower to make sure everything is working. Slower is harder until I understand it. Keeping in mind how the pick is moving back and forth is very helpful.

That is cool Juanes is in Argentina! I have heard so much about South America but I have never gone, I hope to go one day.

I will check out Matt's work, too now. :)

My pleasure Sunil!

Slower is better! Yes. It is not easy. You can pay attention more.

Juanes is a great guy! Hope I can jam with him soon!

Tomo

Eiji, I think you got it!
Sounds great!
Very relaxed, fast improvement!
(I didn't notice the twice lost picks :))

Thank you Sunil. This time I tried to relax but I couldn't care details. I need more practice.
Eiji

That seemd to work.
Me too!
I think that is actually true for everyone, right? If you are breathing, you need more practice!
Haha!

Wow Eiji- you're really perfecting all of the elements. It's encouraging to see something that was already good get even better.

Ok Sunil. Practicing like breathing. I like that.
Eiji

Good job Eiji! I drop my pick many times!

Tomo

Thank you Tomo!
For me, I use metronome at 40, one beat per measure; I think on 2&4 will be twice as fast. It helps me get the triplet timing, then I go back to well, I keep saying Trip-pel-It to myself. I will use body movement too.

It seems to take me a few beats to figure out triplets also. I usually fold my wipe down cloth in thirds and roll up to put away. Always, first fold needs adjustment...that is the same feeling I have with time. Is that what everyone else is doing? I notice sometimes you get the timing by moving your right hand, then start. Sorry about the "weird ideas" I think I rely on visualization a lot.

I keep forgetting about Blue Monk. I will incorporate that melody.

Thanks for posting this video. Fearless. But I know there should be no fear, just like Eiji says, practice like breathing!
I love breathing!

Thank you Tomo and friends, I feel good, coming around the corner.

Also Tomo, that Kanji is mechanically suberb, and set up beautifully, I think. That is the only way to get that sound connected to the table and off the wall! Amazing.

superb! gah...

Thank you Sunil! My pleasure! I highly recommend not to use a metronome for one way to go more deeper and more details then use a metronome is good!

I love metronome at 40, 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50 too! Each one is very special for me. Don't worry! Blue Monk is super amazing melody! M3 4 CH 5! So good!

R 3 7 Swing Groove is so amazing! No end! I love this Kanji Guitar! So special!

Tomo

Ok Tomo, thank you!

Actually, starting to understand interval description of melody. That is cool! I was not thinking of where the melody is relative to the root.

(Triads key to understand intervals, realizing. I am having a lot of fun with C, F, Bb, Eb too. :)

My pleasure Eiji! I was stuck a few days in Florida so it was fun to make this video!

Tomo