"Accelerate Your Guitar Playing" by Tomo Fujita

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by jjboogie

Tomo,
Would love to see ya next time I am in Japan........my band comes every year usually in December.....we often perform at the Billboard which used to be The Blue Note!

I have been to Japan three times and absolutely LOVE IT!

The people there are so wonderful and it is a gorgeous country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please email me before you go! I may go back around late Nov or early Dec.

Great to hear that you enjoy being in Japan. I love Japanese culture... really different from here.

Have you been to Kyoto Japan? More quieter than Tokyo... more traditional... old capital of Japan.

Tomo

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by triviani

Cool.

it will take me a bit to read it all..

But I can go to your concert in Kyoto!

Did you?

Tomo

[John Hurtt]

Originally Posted by Tomo

I am back here.... John Mayer was in Kyoto Japan..

Tomo

Glad that you made it back. Can I assume you had a great trip?

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by John Hurtt

Glad that you made it back. Can I assume you had a great trip?

Hi John,

Thank you! It was a great trip.... it seems like... it's getting better every time I go there...

I posted several clips from this trip. I have more...

Now it's time to mix my upcoming cd!

Hope all is well with you and your family.


Tomo

[John Hurtt]

Originally Posted by Tomo

Hi John,

Thank you! It was a great trip.... it seems like... it's getting better every time I go there...

I posted several clips from this trip. I have more...

Now it's time to mix my upcoming cd!

Hope all is well with you and your family.


Tomo

Things kind of mixed here at home, my son has some continuing health problems but things will sort out. I'm looking forward to the new cd....any rough idea of the time frame when it will be available to buy?

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by John Hurtt

Things kind of mixed here at home, my son has some continuing health problems but things will sort out. I'm looking forward to the new cd....any rough idea of the time frame when it will be available to buy?

Hi John,

Sorry to hear that your son's health issue. My kids are doing ok.. but my son has back pain from sports....

Thanks for asking about my new cd. Basically I need to do a little by little (I make a fund myself each time...) so I am hoping that... 2010.

We are mixing a session of Steve Gadd & Will Lee right now.

Thanks,

Tomo

[John Hurtt]

Originally Posted by Tomo

Hi John,

Sorry to hear that your son's health issue. My kids are doing ok.. but my son has back pain from sports....

Thanks for asking about my new cd. Basically I need to do a little by little (I make a fund myself each time...) so I am hoping that... 2010.

We are mixing a session of Steve Gadd & Will Lee right now.

Thanks,

Tomo

Glad the family is doing well, and looking forward to hearing the new cd. Gadd and Will Lee on a tune....very cool!!

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by John Hurtt

Glad the family is doing well, and looking forward to hearing the new cd. Gadd and Will Lee on a tune....very cool!!

Hi John,

Thank you so much! My family is doing alright... I want to bring my daughter to China town in Boston...

So far... Steve Gadd & Will Lee session and Bernard Purdie & Will Lee session.. almost mixed ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3ZlB...e=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3_y...e=channel_page

...now we are working on Steve Jordan & Will Lee session..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQqAB...e=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Km9L...e=channel_page

Hope I can post a few tunes..

Tomo

[Tomo]

Thank you so much for your kind words and warm supports!

Tomo

[Tomo]

Thanks everyone! I enjoy reading all your emails!

Thank you.

Tomo

[Tomo]

Thank you very much!

Tomo

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by John Hurtt

I've had Tomo's instructional dvd now for a while and I thought I would post my impressions. First of all, this is a dvd/78 page booklet set. It's available through Hal Leonard, I found mine at a site linked through the HL website.

First of all, if you are looking for "licks from hell", this dvd is not for you. While Tomo's slap/pop funk technique is killer, this is more geared to working on your fundamentals and your overall musicality. I wish this would have been available 20 years ago, it would have kept me from developing many bad habits and lots of wasted time. Any beginner and intermediate player would really benefit from this, and more advanced players could definitely use this to clean up their technique and help develop their tone. Throughout the booklet you will find tips/pointers and directions from Tomo on how to make these exercises work for you.

"Accelerate" is broken down into four parts:

Part 1 focuses on fingering and picking exercises. Tomo goes throught the basics using chromatic scales to develop clean technique and facility on single string playing. From simple horizontal movement, crazy chromatics, string skipping, chromatic octaves and more, this section will really work out your fret/picking hand coordination.

Part 2 focuses on Intervals and Ear Training, really understanding the fretboard. Tomo advocates learning where all the notes are (it's amazing to me how many players need to really look to find where, say, all the C# are on their guitar). Tomo teaches simple ear training, and how a single note can have many colors.

Part 3 talks about Rhythm, Muting and Sight Reading. He works you through muting exercises for your fret hand, and how to apply them in different ways. This section is really where I found some issues with my own playing. I expect to really clean up my sound.

Part 4 is probably the most "fun" section of the course. Here Tomo works on blues changes and grooves. He teaches many different changes and grooves in many styles (swing, jazz, shuffles, R & B, funk). There are even a few exercises showcasing Tomo's incredible slap guitar technique.

One of the many things I liked about this instructional dvd is that the lessons logically build on each other. Plus, Tomo has lots of demo performances that are really beneficial to watch. And as a plus, Tomo is such an engaging and nice guy that even in the dvd he comes off as an instructor that you "want" to work for. This is more important than many people realize.

As you can tell I really like this dvd/booklet and would highly recommend it to anyone that is unhappy with their technique or tone.

Hey John,

Thank you so much! You wrote this .... four years ago? I have seen you many times at Winter NAMM. I feel like I have known you for long time!

Tomo

[Tomo]

Let's review on EX3 (1212 ....)

To go up (from 1st fret) 1212 3212 3432 1234 (up to 12 fret)

Then go down ...4343 2343 2123 4321

Play all 6 strings.

Try to concentrate : Timing, Tone, Touch...

Less movement.. less pressure from left hand.

Practice 3-5 minutes everyday for 2 weeks!

Enjoy!

Tomo

[GregoryL]

Hi Tomo,

I recently received my copy of your AYGP DVD and I'm really enjoying it. It's very well thought out.

I'm applying it to my mandolin playing as well - the fingering excercises work very well for mandolin.

Thanks for a great resource.

[Tomo]

Originally Posted by GregoryL

Hi Tomo,

I recently received my copy of your AYGP DVD and I'm really enjoying it. It's very well thought out.

I'm applying it to my mandolin playing as well - the fingering excercises work very well for mandolin.

Thanks for a great resource.

Thank you so much for your kind words!

Great to hear that.... for your Mandolin playing.

Hope everyone can build their self-confidence from these exercises.

PS, Before my tape lesson ... I have worked on my 1212.. fingerings and

Like EX19... Root 3rd 7th voice groove... with Blues, jazz blues and Donna Lee, Confirmation, Blues for Alice, cherokee changes... several tempo settings...

Important key is... don't expect too fast and too much!

Keep your pace.. review stuff well... play slow... and look for details..

Thank you!

Have a great day!

Tomo