Tomo Fujita Guitar Wisdom

Hello, teacher. I’m from China. I’m having trouble fully understanding the material you’re teaching in your videos because my English isn’t very good. Is there anything I can do about this? Since your videos don’t have subtitles, I can’t use translation software either, and I’m really frustrated right now.

Hello! Thank you for your message, and welcome from China!

I can understand why this feels frustrating. Learning guitar and learning in another language at the same time is not easy, and I really respect your effort and patience.

Tomo’s teaching style is also very deep and detailed, so even native English speakers often need to revisit lessons many times before things fully click.

A few things that may help:
• Slow the videos down to 0.75x or 0.5x (speaking parts)
• Watch small sections repeatedly instead of trying to absorb the whole lesson at once
• Pay close attention to the sounds, feel, and demonstrations on the guitar
• Ask questions here in the community anytime if something is unclear

We really appreciate your feedback about subtitles as well. That kind of feedback is helpful for us to hear.

The important thing is to keep going step by step and not rush the process. Even understanding a small part more deeply each time is real progress :)

Sammi

Hi LIU KAI JIE !

I’m also from China, and I totally understand the frustration of hitting a language barrier while trying to learn a complex skill like guitar. However, I’ve found that Tomo’s lessons are actually some of the best "Guitar English" courses available.

Here are a few tips from my own experience that might help you push through:

• Don't overthink the grammar: Tomo’s teaching is very visual and repetitive. Even if you don’t catch every word, the connection between what he says and what he plays is always right there on the guitar. Over time, your ears will start to "map" the sounds to the words naturally. It takes time to learn English just like learning guitar, so don’t worry!

• Embrace the original terminology: I highly recommend learning terms like "turnaround," "shuffle," and "swing" in English. These concepts don't always have perfect Chinese translations, and mastering them in English will make it much easier for you to jam with musicians from all over the world in the future.

• The "Immersion" Method: I improved my English (and Japanese) simply by consuming years of YouTube content, games, and anime. Try to watch more English-speaking guitar videos on YouTube. It might be blurry at first, but your brain will eventually pick it up.

Tobi

I am so happy to see these subscribers from China!

Thank you so much!

Tomo