Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my notes on these lessons. I'll provide practice video later as my own "baseline" and to track progress regularly (due to allergies-induced hiatus for 3 - 4 weeks; still figuring solutions). Welcome any feedback/your own understanding/comments on how to approach this important topic. Thanks.

Referred lesson: FTR 01 Triads and Inversions for 5th, 4th, 3rd strings

Subtitle / Objective:
1. Triads on strings 5 4 3; also on strings 6 5 4 (as the "shapes" are the same)
2. "Transposing" the shapes to F and G chords
3. Practice of right-hand muting between chord transitions

Pre-requisites: C Major Scale learnt; understand that E~F, B~C are half-steps

1. “Basic” triads
a. Composed of Root, 3rd and 5th
b. Root, 1st and 2nd inversion versions (think about ordering Do, Me, So differently)
c. Memorization is OK BUT may lead to wrong direction when mixed with other (concepts)

2. Know the C Major Scale on 2nd string, 5th string – i) run the one finger test and ii) run:
a. 2nd string: C on 1st Fret
b. 5th string: C on 3rd Fret
c. Also, recognize the “distance”/intervals that/between C – E is Major 3rd; E – G is Minor 3rd; G – C is Perfect 4th (because of 2 whole step + 1 half step)

3. Traids and Inversions in String 5, 4, 3 and details on how to practise
a. [Overarching importance] fingerings; do not press too hard with fretting hand
b. 5th string:
i. Root position: x 3 2 0 x x | F: x 3 2 0 x x
ii. 1st inversion: x 7 5 5 x x | F: x 3 1 1 x x [Don’t press too hard.]
iii. 2nd inversion: x 10 10 9 x x | F: x 3 4 2 x x
iv. Root position (repeat, as 12th fret mirrors 0 fret): x 15 14 12 x x | F: x 4 3 1 x x [NOTE: fingering is different though.]
v. Details: Thumb does NOT need to go up and mute the 6th string, as we are only playing the 5th string onwards.
c. During practice
i. Right hand is used for muting all notes before the fretting hand’s shift to the next chord.
ii. Think about the individual notes (e.g. Me, So, Do) and how they form the 3 positions of the chord.
iii. It’s about the (good) sound, not the shape.
iv. Use less pressure on fretting hand
v. No fretting hand finger/string noise
vi. Play softly and be mindful of sustain
vii. Play softer starting from 7th fret
d. Application: Key of C with chord progression of C G F C (i.e. I V IV I)
i. G chord (G-B-D) | V Chord:
(1) 1st inversion: x 2 0 0 x x | F: x 2 O O x x
(2) 2nd inversion: x 5 5 4 x x | F: x 3 4 2 x x [Note: Fingering is the same as C chord.]
(3) Root position: x 10 9 7 x x | F: x 4 3 1(barre) x x
(4) 1st inversion (12th fret onwards): x 14 12 12 x x | F: 3 1(barre) 1(barre) x x
ii. F chord (F-A-C)
(1) 2nd inversion: x 3 3 2 x x | F: x 3 4 2 x x
(2) Root position: x 8 7 5 x x | F: x 4 3 1(barre) x x
(3) 1st inversion: x 12 10 10 x x | F: x 3 1(barre) 1(barre) x x
(4) 2nd inversion: x 15 15 14 x x | F: x 3 4 2 x x
iii. Now run the chord progression I V IV I of the C Key with all root and inversions.

4. Strings 6 5 4
a. Key: the “fingering” is the same as with 5 4 3 strings
b. C chord
i. 2nd inversion: 3 3 2 x x x
ii. Root position: 8 7 5 x x x
iii. 1st Inversion: 12 10 10 x x x
iv. 2nd Inversion: 15 15 14 x x x
c. G chord
i. Root position: 3 2 0 x x x
ii. 1st Inversion: 7 5 5 x x x
iii. 2nd inversion: 10 10 9 x x x
iv. Root position: 15 14 12 x x x [Note: Index finger barre]
d. F chord [Same as above, where Index finger needs to barre at places necessary.]
i. 1st Inversion: 5 3 3 x x x
ii. 2nd Inversion: 8 8 7 x x x
iii. Root position: 13 12 10 x x x
iv. 1st Inversion: 17 15 15 x x x

5. Bad example/reminder: NO finger/string noise; Should use right hand to mute between chords.

Referred lesson links:
FTR 01: https://tomovhxtv.vhx.tv/foundation-triads/videos/ftr-01-triads-on-strings-5-4-3-and-learning-the-fretboard

This is brilliant and very helpful, it got me to thinking if its possible to have a "notes" section under the lesson videos where students can post and share notes like these attached to the lessons for reference and study and review. great work Hugo

Hi all,
While practicing triads, I tried to hear the root at first for every inversion, then I target 3rd, 5th, is that a correct way?

Hi all,

Just another update. I've been working on triads for over a month. That's what I do daily now (25-min session): Practice of triads on all strings (654, 543, 432, 321) – follow C Major chord progression: 1 5 4 1 (C G F C); one octave. (Also, another session with one string one finger approach bundled with C Major scale in various positions.)

Current progress: around 3 full runs per session. Still have mistakes and sometimes take more than 2 seconds to transition to the next chord, but things are slowly getting better.

Referred lesson:
FTR 01 Triads and Inversions for 5th, 4th, 3rd strings;
FTR 02 Triads on Strings 3 2 1 and Learning the Fretboard;
FTR 04 Major Triads on Strings 4 3 2;
FTR 06 Major Triads on Strings 6 5 4

Next: adding one string do re (me) pattern bends into related session; maybe starting to explore the minor triads?

Sharing my notes: The “innate” / “symbolic” connection between CAGED, triads and beginner chords appear stronger

1. Main discovery:
a. The tuning of the guitar affects the triad “patterns” on strings 432 and 321 (also mentioned in Tomo's latest Youtube video).
b. For triads of strings 432, the B (2nd) string needs to move up 1 fret. There we will get 2 0 1 (1st inv.), 5 5 5 (2nd inv.), 10 9 8 (root pos.) for C chord.
c. For triads of strings 321, the interval between the B and high E string returns to being 5 frets, but it might be better not to rely on logical deduction for the pattern (understanding how things work is sufficient). Instead, it is always better to listen to the notes.
2. The “beginner” open C and full F barre chords, when broken down, are ALMOST exactly the first available triad in respective strings:
a. Open C chord: x 3 2 0 1 0 (except the low E string)
b. F barre chord: 1 3 3 2 1 1 (except the low E string)
c. For both chords, starting from the 5th string, they go with the R 3 5 / 3 5 R / 5 R 3 pattern without any repeated notes. We can then understand:- for C chord, there’s a reason not to play the 6th string (the lower 5th / G note is on the 3rd fret); for F chord, the lowest note is another F, which can opt not to be played for other reasons.
d. For “CAGED”, the open C chord is the part of the C shape and F barre chord is part of the E shape. I’m pretty sure that the 2nd inversion on strings 321 is part of the D shape too.

They are one and the same thing but it really takes time to digest everything. The goal is always making these become second nature.

Hope it helps fellow beginners and open to thoughts as always.

Hugo

Thank you Hugo! Great job learning triads. I think you got most string sets. And any inversions.

Now you can learn smoothness over triad inversions. Try this 1) C Major Triad on all vertical. Top to bottom. then 2) 123/234/345/456 on horiizontal and be careful around 7th to 13th fret (play softer) 3) All same inversions to play accross string sets. Root Pos, 1st Inv, 2nd Inv.

Once you can do above. You can try them in F. Then you can do combination.

Tomo