Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Great question! There is no one correct answer. Like this " You just cannot focus" First thing, do not do anything and think about it for a while. You need to work hard but don't push is by just force. Great effort is not only your doing thing but also you need to use your passion and understanding a lot of details. For me, I really love to practice "Chromatic Scale" so slowly and I pay a lot of attention because I want to perform my guitar really well so i know I need that detail fingerings and picking techniques not just because someone told me what to do. No one told me that. I discoverd by doing "chromatic scale" with my curiosity and beyond. Same as R 3 7 swing groove. I really want to my rhythm skills as highest quality so I did choose to practice R 3 7 Swing Groove. I can think about this topic more.

Thank you Rich for sharing this. Very important topic for guitar practice and mental health.

Tomo

Hi Rich, I think you could also be getting more advanced with understanding what good looks like and you have a lot of guitar knowledge now. So when you have an off day you really feel it. A suggestion I thought is also to appreciate that you’re listening is getting more sensitive which is progress. Your body I think is going to catch up when you keep practicing with intention. Maybe that time you had a little more string noise than you wanted but was you back straight? Was your thumb towards the center? String noise shouldn’t be only thing. You might not get everything right but you can appreciate the things you do well and recognize those along with what you notice that needs more development. And whenever you need confidence you can sight read. You’re so great at sight reading I’m amazed at how you do that. I remember your video

Hello there, Rich. Such a thought provoking post. I have felt your frustration. FWIW, I've heard the advice "Practice so slowly that it's impossible for you to make a mistake".

I listened to an interview with musician Chris Thile, whom you've likely heard of. He talked about listening to his own previous recording of a piece of classical music. He reaction was "how much I hated it. It sounded plodding, choppy, and un-musical". Whoa! A guy of that caliber is unhappy with his own progress? What can that mean for the rest of us? I think it means that everyone can (and maybe should?) feel some dissatisfaction with their own playing. It may be part of what drives us. Certainly, I think it means sometimes we need to get off our own back. How about giving yourself some credit for even getting up at 4:30 in the morning and practicing at all? How many of your friends do that?

Rich said: "I tried to force myself to concentrate and practice with intention."

Stanley Kubrick: "The truth of a thing is the feel of it, not the think of it".

Just a thought.

Thanks for those suggestions Jeff.
I will see if I can try and focus on things that I can concentrate on (like keeping my back straight) the next time I have a practice session like that. I might try that the next time I try to meditate and my concentration is lacking. Just try and focus on what you can.

Thanks Linda -
I wasn’t really getting DOWN on my playing yesterday.
I was getting frustrated by my inability to concentrate.
I know when I do go to the meditation center they emphasize trying to be ‘mindful’ of the sensations of your body for the entire day. It is much easier to do at the meditation center but there are still many hours that go by where my thoughts just run away and I am not being mindful. When I am at the center I have no where else to go and nothing else to do so all I can do is start again. When I am home I get frustrated and stop.
I don’t think I’ll ever stop playing guitar but I didn’t know how best to handle the times when I just can’t seem to be mindful.
It’s so wonderful to have a community that continues to inspire you to keep going!

Clay - that’s a good idea.
I think instead of focusing on technical exercises I would have been better served by trying to do something creative and then coming back to technique.
I will try that.
Thank you!

Thank you Clay for encouragement and share your own experience. I plan things very well I work very hard everyday. Stilll I don’t feel good about myself someday. This happens to everyone… no matter what levels. Don’t worry! = I don’t pay too much attention. Not to ignore (That thought will come back to you!) You need to undrstand that feeling but not pay too much attention. You feel different next day! When you are down (feeling not well) Don’t pay attention too much on social medias = Don’t compare! Not helping at all! Social Media is a little bit made up things so…. I don’t go too much on Social Medias.

Tomo

Scott - thank you for such a thoughtful post. I appreciate ALL your posts as they are very inspirational to me. I’m so glad to be going through this journey with you and everyone at GW.
I was just feeing this morning like this is a recurring issue for me because when my concentration fails everything seems to go wrong and I get discouraged and I stop. The problem is with certain things once I stop it’s hard to start again.
For instance I have gone on silent meditation retreats and found them to be so beneficial but when I try to keep up a daily practice if my concentration fails I stop because meditating without concentration seems like a waste of time. But then a few days in a row get missed and all of a sudden my practice is gone.
I don’t think that would happen with guitar playing but I was wondering what other people do to prevent this.
Thank you again for your posts.

Rich, thanks for explaining this in broader terms. How do you think you can grow in expanding your concentration? I simplify the way I do things. Focus on only one thing at a time. A large part of it for me is being content where I'm at and actively working toward the next one thing.

And I need help with that, too! Tomo is helping me balance that out because I'm like a kid in a candy store. I get too excited and then I get overwhelmed. Candy store: TRIADS, SCALES, FINGERPICKING, BLUES BASSLINE, R37, SLOW BLUES. It can get to be too much, and I cannot participate in everything. I take it day-by-day.

I appreciate you sharing all this. I don't have the answers, but I think you're on the right track. Guitar is meditation and concentration. I'm with you in your struggle against frustration and concentration. Know that you're not alone in your fight. I, too, am fighting it as many of us here are. Thanks for your sincerity.

Thank you Scott for encouragement and sharing your experience. Good job! Don’t worry! (As if your flight is cancelled by storm… nothing you can do about it! If you stuck in CA….. Enjoy it!) You need to understamd it clearly once then don’t worry!

I love slow down! Only one note…. all down stroke… now you can hear a few different dynamics (If you record it!) Only recording can teach you what to do! I don’t expect too fast, too much so I don’t disappoint anything. I don’t expect anything!

Intelligent people can think many things very well but it is easy to worry about things because so smart to notice many tiny things. When I was a student, I used to think lazy people is not good. But later I respect lazy people because they don’t worry about things so they don’t frustrate that easy!

Bottom line is having a Good Balance! Super hard! No one correct answer!
Guitar is so beautiful! Guitar will give you an amaizng journey! You can take a rest anytime!

Tomo

Thank you Scott! I totally agree with you! One at a time but you can have a list for fun!

Guitar is so deep! Day by day! Please enjoy now and each day!

Tomo

This is a beautiful post, Sammi. You are wise beyond your years! Thank you.

GM

Thank you Sammi - for such a thoughtful response. I think your analogy to Simone Biles is the most accurate as to what I was experiencing. I think putting the guitar down was the best thing I could do at that moment. If I continued to drive myself crazy by being MORE mindful and still made more mistakes (or noise) I would have wanted to smash my guitar.
I actually came home from work (I do 12 hour shifts) and tried playing chromatic exercises again and I had no issues.

I just don’t know what I would do if every time I picked up the guitar I couldn’t concentrate. But I don’t that would happen.

Very much Ditto to George! Sammi is my daughter who can really teach people so well! You are so smart and wise beyond your years! I really appreciate your words!

Tomo

Thank you Johno for encouragemnent and real talk! No matter what we do, we all have some degree of struggle and some pain. We just don’t say about that openly. You’re right about “Not always pretty….” We can change “choices” Maybe just practice one song is better. Then you can come back with Chromatic Scale or R 3 7 Swing Groove. New strings or play different guitar. Or just call Sweetwater! They send you anything in a few days! I go nuts with intonation sometimes.

Tomo

I love what Sammi said! Very true teacher!

Tomo

Thank you Tadashi for encouragement and sharing your experience.

Yes! I go super duper slowly! It always better for me. When I was teaching my Berklee students today (6 students).
I had to say “ Please play slowly” “Sustain a little longer” “No vibrato!” “Thumb position” “Palm Muting”

About disappoitment, frustration is something before “Guitar” thing. Mostly from high expectation and comparison. Too hurry! That’s why I had to say to my students. Don’t expect too fast! Don’t compare in any negative way.

Always be kind to yourself!
Everyone, let’s keep going slowly!

Tomo

That second paragraph is great Jonathan. Thank you.

Thank you Jonathan for encouragement and sharing your own experience. Definitely you don’t want to keep hitting a dead horse! Nothing you can do about it! Practicing with any doubt is 100% will not work! You need to have positive feeling with practice so switching to triad inversions is a great point. Learn C & F Major triads on vertical and side by side only top 123 set strings etc.

This choice is up to each person. Off day = Sunday! Take a rest. Do nothing is a part of life. Why Cat sleeps a lot? Preparing just in case something… I am learning something from my cats! So happy to hear that my Wisdom Words are helpful! We all have a bad day here and there. Don’t worry! Don’t expect too fast!

Tomo

That last point is really important, Tomo. Sometimes, we face too many obligations, commitments, and personal challenges at once, and these interfere with our playing, whether or not we are conscious of the interference.

On those days when I pick up the guitar and my playing is a disappointment, a workout or an outdoor walk can help to clear my mind for better playing . . . not Stevie Ray Vaughan, but a better version of me!

GM

Thank you George for your feedback. I love guitar playing so much but I think there are a few more fun / great things in my life.

Tomo

Thank you LaVoy! This thread and GW Forum is so amazing! I am always learning something!
I am very grateful to have you all here!

Tomo

Feel like I’m at my retreat 🧘