Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

I'm following up for your request from a recent Youtube video to learn more about your students.

I’m based in Jacksonville, Florida, and I’ve been playing guitar since 1995. Early on, I played in a band where we covered hundreds of songs and relied heavily on effects. I was comfortable with rhythm guitar, especially strumming parts, but I struggled with lead playing—solos, arpeggios, bends, and turnarounds exposed technical and theoretical gaps.

I taught myself tablature and later learned chords from books. That gave me independence, but not understanding. I could play shapes without really knowing how chords were built or how they functioned. Writing and improvising felt limited because I didn’t fully grasp harmony.

After studying for nine months with a strong local teacher, many of those gaps began to close. Discovering Guitar Wisdom accelerated that process. I now use triads across the neck regularly and incorporate diminished harmony into my playing. I’m developing a clearer understanding of modes and minor scales, and I maintain a weekly rotation of ten jazz standards from The Real Book, including “Anthropology,” which is my favorite. Before this phase of study, I hadn’t truly learned blues structure or any jazz language in a meaningful way. Those styles are now central to my practice.

My current goals are ear-based and musical. I want to hear a song and confidently determine the key, recognize common progressions (like I–IV–V or I–IV–vi–I), and know what language to use over it. I’m inspired by players like Steve Lukather who can elevate a song by adding parts that enhance rather than clutter it. I want my playing to improve the music, not just sit on top of it.

Transcribing is difficult for me. I can usually identify individual notes, but I struggle to hear chord quality. Distinguishing major from minor in context can be challenging, and extended or altered harmonies (minor 6, major 7, augmented, etc.) are even harder. I’m especially challenged by hearing interval differences such as minor 6ths versus minor 2nds strictly by ear.

I practice daily. I usually play straight into the amp with no effects. I don’t consistently use a metronome. I’ve tried recording myself, but I tend to tighten up and feel like I lose ability once I hit record.

Musically, I want to confidently outline chord changes, target 3rds and 7ths, use enclosures intentionally, and play over ii–V–I progressions without losing the form. I love playing blues and working through jazz standards.

Thank you for reading about my journey.

-Karl

Thank you Karl for sharing your guitar journey!

One of my former students Zack Gibs is from Jacksonville! Great experience on playing live bands and learned many songs. Are these songs, did you learn by ears? Like from cds etc.

Many can play many songs but it is hard to relate with harmony/theory/intervals. Tabs & videos are easy to teach, easy to learn but after a few years… no matter what you do.. your level will stay at same place even you practice guitar many hours a day for another 10 years.

Great! Now you have worked on those gaps! You filled important foundation! Good job! I am so happy to hear that. Rhythm Changes!

Your goal is great! Steve Lukather really understands music by listening and looking at basic jazz standard charts…but he hears more than what written because “Real Book” is not all correct! “Anthorpology” No jazz players play exactly those chords… not all correct! We all learn Jazz 1 6 2 5 and subs by listening many versions of that song.

Yes! Transcribing is not easy so you need to pick something simple.Charlie Christian “Rose Room” I taught that solo with John Mayer too! Great song. You don’t need to play that speed. You can play it a little slower. This will take some time but you can do it! Listen more jazz. Joe Pass “Vertuoso”
Joe Pass & Heab Ellis “Two for the road” Listen these two cds for 3-6 months evetday!

I love what you do! No effects! Direct your guitar to your amp! That is the best! Metronome is very important especially R 3 7 Swing Groove! You need to practice that everyday! Blues, Jazz Blues, Autumn Leaves, All of Me, There will never be another you and more!

Thanks so much for sharing your journey! Like this… I love to have a good communication!

You’re very welome! Please enjoy Guitar Wisdom and your guitar journey!

Tomo

Quite the journey Karl :) very cool, so many songs. Seems like tons of dedication to maintain all that music and a love of the instrument. Definitely hitting record is a thing to improve, helps out a lot. Been a learning process and understanding to create an easy no hassle recording setup. Anthropology is really a cool advanced song. There is an anthropology lesson that is fun even listen to. The Essential Theory (ET) section has all kinds of goods. I recommend the Metronome lesson too. Good to meet you at Guitar Wisdom.
-johno

Hi Karl,
Thank you for sharing your journey! There’s a lot of depth and intention in how you’re approaching your playing.

I wanted to help clarify a few of Tomo’s suggestions and turn them into something a bit more actionable, so it feels easier to approach day-to-day without getting overwhelmed.

When Tomo says to practice things like blues, jazz blues, Autumn Leaves, All of Me, etc. “every day,” he doesn’t mean all of those songs every single day. A good way to approach it is to pick just one or two tunes at a time and stay with them for a while. That way, you can really hear the harmony, internalize the form, and start applying things like targeting 3rds and 7ths without rushing.

For listening, when he suggests albums like Virtuoso or Two for the Road, think of that as long-term listening rather than something to analyze all at once. Even just having that sound in your ears consistently over weeks or months will start to shape how you hear phrasing, harmony, and feel. For example, listen to Side A (or first few songs, over and over) to limit the amount of information you receive by ear.

On the transcription side, his point about choosing something simpler (like Rose Room) is key. The goal isn’t speed or complexity... it’s to connect what you hear to what you play, even if that means working very slowly and with small sections.

And for the metronome and groove work: the R 3 7 swing groove exercise is so important that it should be part of your daily practice. It's something Tomo still practices like brushing your teeth every day - a few minutes is all you need, but consistency matters.

Overall, you’re already doing many of the right things. This is really about narrowing your focus so you can go deeper, rather than trying to cover more.
Hope this helps a bit, and really appreciate the way you’re thinking about your playing.

Sammi