Taught kids English for 4 years and this was so true. Students are basically people who challenge you on a constant basis. The constant out of left field questions that you get about things you never though of before really force you to reevaluate you own knowledge and teach you new things about yourself. I grew as a person so much being a teacher. I think it’s something everyone needs to experience (providing they are qualified...) Forces you to think about stuff from someone else’s perspective. Something that seems to be lacking more and more as time goes on....
A teacher learns as it reinforces what you already know and that keeps you on your toes. I have taught people how to demonstrate products when trying to sell said products. It helps to own and use an item yourself just as Tomo does with the guitar.
Tomo is one of the best Guitar teachers on the Internet. I love his no bullshit approach. No effects , Dry tone. Purely focuses on the mechanics. The hard to learn stuff.
Recording yourself, cringing at yourself and improving little by little made me progress so much better than i thought i would. This is how i learnt to sing in 6 months. Even though i am not the greatest vocalist in the world, i can hit every single note properly in the song.
The more I hear from Tomo Fujita, the more I feel that he is really a sensei rather than a plain teacher; and even then much bigger than the many instructors available in TH-cam. Thanks for sharing your conversation...
"Narrowing down is hard work"....this is one of the most powerful sentence ever spoken in musicianship and academia. Great interview and great job always Mary
TOMO I have heard him speak many times. His love for music and playing the guitar is amazing. He can’t help but to drop little pearls of wisdom and knowledge about music and playing the guitar. Truly a amazing teacher.
I am enrolled on Tomo's guitar wisdom site and he is one of the best teachers around. He is a wonderful person and makes you not feel intimdated or overwhelmed by learning from him.
As an older beginner, I needed to focus on my strengths. I will never be an all-around CGP... but I can play fingerstyle and sing. It is so important to focus on the best that YOU can be, rather than be distracted by the best in others. Social media is someone's highlight reel. It isn't ALL real because of the magic of editing. Be you. Choose the songs that people want to hear from YOU.
Im a beginning guitar player. I feel so lucky that i stumbled on to Tomo and his You Tube videos. Even before i knew his background i could tell he was special. Thank You .
Great man !!! I always thought... Start slim (technique, scales, melodies) Get wide (try everything, follow your whim, experience it all) End up thin (find what really resonates with your musical spirit and become a master of that. 🤘🤩🤘
i am so annoyed right now, i wish this video was like many hours longer. So much information especially for self-taught guitarist like me. I didnt even realise when this video ended so soon. I wish i could learn more from you guys. Thanks anyways for this wonderful conversation and knowledge.
I am a big fan of Mary Spender. She is an outstanding singer song writer but also I am a fan because I love to listen to her speak, enjoy her sense of humor and appreciate her clarity of thought. Tomo Fujita- my best teachers are always from Japan.
Two beautiful individuals from different parts of the world who show vulnerability, enthusiasm, and a true dedication to the connection of people through music.
I consider myself very lucky to have grown up playing guitar when i did, rather than now, because then, you had a record, and your ears. You didn’t have tabs, you didn’t have slower speeds, you didn’t have step by step videos walking you through every single song you could imagine. You had to memorize every note, and play the songs as you could hear them. It wasn’t always right, and it taught you to learn as closely, and as economically as you could for yourself. Now, when i use the internet for learning songs, that foundation serves me well, making it much easier to pick up any song faster, because my ear knows pretty much where to go before the video shows me.
Records and ears was the way every kid learned when I was a young man in the 70s. The internet would have ruined generations of players. I do like it for learning new tunes and seeing/hearing the artist playing a live rendition of it for realism. A studio recording is static whereas a live performance is dynamic.
I like that both Mary here and Michael Palmisano used the same sentence in their thumbnail/title for their videos of interviews with Tomo. You can see how they would both have felt the same urge to say: "every guitarrist must hear this" even if it is kind of a cliche/clickbait. They mus have thought "OMG this is amazing, people should listen to this man!" The guy is giving us real education and its so diferent from cliche guitar learning advice. Such great, useful stuff! Thank you Tomo and Mary!!
5:57 literally me right now. i want to be ultimate shredder, i want to play funk, i want to play blues, and i want to play neosoul too. and i have soo many favorite guitarist. and this makes me confused which one i should focus. thanks to tomo for the great advice:)
recording myself was the best thing ive ever done. I would always play my electric guitar unplugged and late at night in my room with the door closed because i was so shy and didnt want anyone to hear me. LIttle did i know i wasnt projecting any sound and my playing had zero confidence and it definitely wasn't something i enjoyed hearing. After recording myself I started playing my acoustic guitar to make my hands stronger from the thicker strings and it taught me to press down hard on the strings and to strum and pick as loud as possible.
This was a fascinating discussion. I really enjoyed it! Thanks so much Mary for bringing this conversation with Tomo to your channel. Several quotes struck me. Most notable, "Less is better", "Narrowing down is hard work", most noble and humbling words, "Teacher is great student who learn anything we can but our job is to help others. " 💖
I actually stumbled onto Tomo's TH-cam channel independently. That is very cool! I really can understand all the things he is saying. With a cassette tape or anything long-form, it trains the mind to have a longer attention, longer stream of consciousness and concentration. The problem with the modern world is we have developed lazy attention spans... short chunking of stimuli. Fascinating concepts. I love both your TH-cam channels. So much great content. Thanks to both of you. :-)
Mary ... Your idea of watching your channel while practicing our instrument(s) is such an awesome idea ! I've been looking forward to my daily practice even more ... you inspire me Mary, more than you know. Thank you for sharing all you hard work, you are so very talented and beautiful my dear. I appreciate you, thank you ! Sincerely, Michael your #1 fan 😍
Thank you for sharing this. We are lucky to live in a time of youtube guitar community folks. As a slow and self taught person... I have learned so much in the last couple of years just from these videos
@@Epicionx it means if the students don't become better than the teacher, that's not a good teacher Students are supposed to build on top of what already exists. If they can't innovate, perhaps they haven't been taught well enough.
This video is the exact reason why I subscribe to you Mary, You are intriguing not for the way you play, but the way you get me to think about the way I play music and the way you convey that message. Thanks again for encouraging me to play daily, my fingers and playing are immeasurably better for it.
I have been a member of Guitar Wisdom for about 3 months now and I have learned so much. I wish I would have been smart and joined years ago. I love it so much my favorite is NO WORRIES!
means he doesn't think in computer-eeze.. I am a retired programmer.. I just can't help myself.. I love computers.. my girlfriend is the Google babe 😘 💕
I'm so glad for people who are smarter than me, half way in I had an ah ha moment. Mr. Fujita has been with me since my beginning a year and a half ago. Old starter 48..... now 50! This was a great video Mary... Thanks Teach!! lol
God this guy is amazing , so truthful and smart this guy , i have done one of his YT lessons for a few weeks and I already am improved , like he says, " make effort " great video BTW , Peace Moda
I used to listen to myself on tape and recordings often albeit 27 years ago while listening to 102.2 jazz fm...some awesome music. It made me realise how so very far I had to go at the time and become my best critic. Playing live regularly is also a different beast and learn a lot about performance, gear, tone..you get one take
Glad he mentioned record yourself, as well as the importance of playing beginning to end, the whole song, recording myself is what I used to do with bass as a substitute for an instructor, there's a benefit to hearing yourself, I have my kids do this
the world is really small, a few years ago i saw you in that sultans of swing metal cover wich i only just remembered i thought like i have seen this woman before and then it came to my mind. and tomo i have been following him for a while now and its interesting how you two are now together in one video
“I teach people limitations” ..... “Narrow down”...... a two pieces of advice that will help me focus on the knowledge and skill I need rather than the things I want.. 🙏🏻🇦🇺
Mary, thanks so much for having me at your show!!
Just watched the extended interview. Amazing! Thanks for your wisdom and experience.
Thanks for your wisdom =)
You are a legend Tomo
You are a legend Tomo
I loved your whole concept of guitar exploration...very clear and inspiring. Thank you!
Favorite Tomo quote: “Triads are good for you. Like a vegetable!”
The best vegetable triad is celery, carrot, onion.
@@HigherPlanes the only problem there is that carrot and onions are both roots
@@himeshchauhan9843 LOL. Good point!
Time stamp?
As a schoolteacher myself, Tomo just nailed what it takes. “A teacher is just a great student who learns anything.” Brilliant. Just brilliant.
Taught kids English for 4 years and this was so true. Students are basically people who challenge you on a constant basis. The constant out of left field questions that you get about things you never though of before really force you to reevaluate you own knowledge and teach you new things about yourself. I grew as a person so much being a teacher. I think it’s something everyone needs to experience (providing they are qualified...) Forces you to think about stuff from someone else’s perspective. Something that seems to be lacking more and more as time goes on....
A teacher learns as it reinforces what you already know and that keeps you on your toes. I have taught people how to demonstrate products when trying to sell said products. It helps to own and use an item yourself just as Tomo does with the guitar.
Get off with him then.
Tomo is one of the best Guitar teachers on the Internet. I love his no bullshit approach. No effects , Dry tone. Purely focuses on the mechanics. The hard to learn stuff.
He’s good
Tomo is amazing!
Thanks so much Jens!!!
Tomo and Jens are amazing
Whoa small world I’ve been studying both of y’all’s stuff!
Tomo!!!
Best guitar teacher on TH-cam!
"Don't worry. Don't compare. Don't expect too fast. Be kind to yourself". Tomo Fujita
Recording yourself, cringing at yourself and improving little by little made me progress so much better than i thought i would. This is how i learnt to sing in 6 months. Even though i am not the greatest vocalist in the world, i can hit every single note properly in the song.
Tomo is a blessed soul
What a brilliant video! By giving ourselves limitations, we learn discipline. By listening to ourselves we see our faults and where we are improving.
The more I hear from Tomo Fujita, the more I feel that he is really a sensei rather than a plain teacher; and even then much bigger than the many instructors available in TH-cam. Thanks for sharing your conversation...
"Narrowing down is hard work"....this is one of the most powerful sentence ever spoken in musicianship and academia.
Great interview and great job always Mary
"Art is about subtraction" (I paraphrase...)
TOMO
I have heard him speak many times. His love for music and playing the guitar is amazing. He can’t help but to drop little pearls of wisdom and knowledge about music and playing the guitar.
Truly a amazing teacher.
I am enrolled on Tomo's guitar wisdom site and he is one of the best teachers around. He is a wonderful person and makes you not feel intimdated or overwhelmed by learning from him.
Tomo is a great, great guitarist and a great teacher, but most of all Tomo is a great human being.
As an older beginner, I needed to focus on my strengths. I will never be an all-around CGP... but I can play fingerstyle and sing. It is so important to focus on the best that YOU can be, rather than be distracted by the best in others. Social media is someone's highlight reel. It isn't ALL real because of the magic of editing. Be you. Choose the songs that people want to hear from YOU.
This is profound. I agree as an older beginner trying to do all the things only hurts progress. And it plays with your mindset and confidence.
Cheers to all the older beginners, me one as well 😀
Im a beginning guitar player. I feel so lucky that i stumbled on to Tomo and his You Tube videos. Even before i knew his background i could tell he was special. Thank You .
Mary Spender is beautiful inside and out...what a voice! The voice of an angel.
Two of my FAVE youtube stars in one video - wow
Life doesn't get any better :))
It does when U get to watch it again 🎸🎶🎶
Such a wonderful conversation... so many lightbulb moments for me. Thank you Mary and Tomo!
Hey, just wanna say I'm really loving the daily uploads and they're helping me get through lockdown. Good job :) and thank you!
Yes these are so good for the soul!
Thank you for introducing us to Mr. Fujita! Blessings 😊
I think I learn more than music from this man, and I cant put my finger on it. He is a true gem.
Thanks a lot for this video! Gave me a lot to think about. Thanks
Narrow down is great advice.
I'm sticking to that.
Love this guy, such down to earth, has a spiritual divine about him.
This is such a wonderful conversation! In times of unlimited excess, less really is more! ❤️
Incredible teacher and player. Thanks
Thank you. Both Yomo and you are great learning resources. Very nice sweater too, Mary.
Great man !!!
I always thought...
Start slim (technique, scales, melodies)
Get wide (try everything, follow your whim, experience it all)
End up thin (find what really resonates with your musical spirit and become a master of that.
🤘🤩🤘
i am so annoyed right now, i wish this video was like many hours longer. So much information especially for self-taught guitarist like me. I didnt even realise when this video ended so soon. I wish i could learn more from you guys. Thanks anyways for this wonderful conversation and knowledge.
Love Tomo. Great discussion. Thank you.
Thank you Miss Spender for sharing this. Excellent ! 🗺🎸🎶
I am a big fan of Mary Spender. She is an outstanding singer song writer but also I am a fan because I love to listen to her speak, enjoy her sense of humor and appreciate her clarity of thought.
Tomo Fujita- my best teachers are always from Japan.
Two beautiful individuals from different parts of the world who show vulnerability, enthusiasm, and a true dedication to the connection of people through music.
Tomo is the Yoda of guitar! incredible insight and such a different approach to what you usually hear around 👌🏼 thanks for this Mary
Lowell George is my favorite player/singer. He was a great song writer also. RIP Lowell.
Mary the song you made for the ending feels so good!! ☀️
Tomo!!!!!!!!!!
He is brilliant! Thanks.
Tomo is such a wonderful human being, he has touched so many lives, simply amazing.
I love Tomo’s emphasis on ear training, triads, keeping things simple and using theory to figure out what you did, not what you should do.
I consider myself very lucky to have grown up playing guitar when i did, rather than now, because then, you had a record, and your ears. You didn’t have tabs, you didn’t have slower speeds, you didn’t have step by step videos walking you through every single song you could imagine. You had to memorize every note, and play the songs as you could hear them. It wasn’t always right, and it taught you to learn as closely, and as economically as you could for yourself.
Now, when i use the internet for learning songs, that foundation serves me well, making it much easier to pick up any song faster, because my ear knows pretty much where to go before the video shows me.
@AntiComm holy crap! I never did! I wish I’d known that!! Did it work?
Records and ears was the way every kid learned when I was a young man in the 70s. The internet would have ruined generations of players. I do like it for learning new tunes and seeing/hearing the artist playing a live rendition of it for realism.
A studio recording is static whereas a live performance is dynamic.
I like that both Mary here and Michael Palmisano used the same sentence in their thumbnail/title for their videos of interviews with Tomo. You can see how they would both have felt the same urge to say: "every guitarrist must hear this" even if it is kind of a cliche/clickbait. They mus have thought "OMG this is amazing, people should listen to this man!" The guy is giving us real education and its so diferent from cliche guitar learning advice. Such great, useful stuff! Thank you Tomo and Mary!!
very smart guy and thinks about how to learn fantastic teacher !!!!
5:57 literally me right now.
i want to be ultimate shredder, i want to play funk, i want to play blues, and i want to play neosoul too. and i have soo many favorite guitarist. and this makes me confused which one i should focus.
thanks to tomo for the great advice:)
so what you gonna choose?!
@@Dadaadad268 blues rock!!🤟
I want to be myself.
recording myself was the best thing ive ever done. I would always play my electric guitar unplugged and late at night in my room with the door closed because i was so shy and didnt want anyone to hear me. LIttle did i know i wasnt projecting any sound and my playing had zero confidence and it definitely wasn't something i enjoyed hearing. After recording myself I started playing my acoustic guitar to make my hands stronger from the thicker strings and it taught me to press down hard on the strings and to strum and pick as loud as possible.
Best advice I ever got was to turn my amp louder than I wanted it, then try to play as quietly as possible. That teaches control.
Recording yourself also reveals if you need to learn proper muting
Playing as loud as you possibly can is usually not a good thing to do.
@@lo-filogic there is a happy medium
playing unplugged with electric guitar is great for practice, you can har all the flaws in your playing and can learn to control dynamics.
Excellent guest and discussion. Really enjoyed this. Love this guy. Thank you.
Thanks Mary you r wise beyond your years, I appreciate you thanks for sharing.
Start
Develop
Finish
Thank you for this advice Mr Fujita
Tomo is one of the greatest souls i have come across. This world needs more Tomo's😊
"narrow down is hard work -- easy to write more things" so true, important and well put, amazing moment of the interview
This was a fascinating discussion. I really enjoyed it! Thanks so much Mary for bringing this conversation with Tomo to your channel. Several quotes struck me. Most notable, "Less is better", "Narrowing down is hard work", most noble and humbling words, "Teacher is great student who learn anything we can but our job is to help others. " 💖
Tomo is such an awesome instructor, so humble!
The teacher is the great student! Absolutely Tomo!
I actually stumbled onto Tomo's TH-cam channel independently. That is very cool! I really can understand all the things he is saying. With a cassette tape or anything long-form, it trains the mind to have a longer attention, longer stream of consciousness and concentration. The problem with the modern world is we have developed lazy attention spans... short chunking of stimuli. Fascinating concepts. I love both your TH-cam channels. So much great content. Thanks to both of you. :-)
Mary ...
Your idea of watching your channel while practicing our instrument(s) is such an awesome idea !
I've been looking forward to my daily practice even more ... you inspire me Mary, more than you know.
Thank you for sharing all you hard work, you are so very talented and beautiful my dear.
I appreciate you, thank you !
Sincerely,
Michael your #1 fan 😍
Thank you for sharing this. We are lucky to live in a time of youtube guitar community folks. As a slow and self taught person... I have learned so much in the last couple of years just from these videos
"A teacher is not a good teacher, if he is not excelled by his students."
but what does this quote mean. Like, do the students push the teacher forward to become better?
It means,If the teacher knows how to get along with the students in a good way,he's a good teacher
@@Epicionx it means if the students don't become better than the teacher, that's not a good teacher
Students are supposed to build on top of what already exists. If they can't innovate, perhaps they haven't been taught well enough.
And the way to learn something is to be good at it enough to teach it to someone else.
@@Epicionx Aren't they both becoming better, each in there own journeying, both learners?
What a genuine personality, and a genius !!
This video is the exact reason why I subscribe to you Mary, You are intriguing not for the way you play, but the way you get me to think about the way I play music and the way you convey that message. Thanks again for encouraging me to play daily, my fingers and playing are immeasurably better for it.
One of the best videos I've ever seen on TH-cam about playing the guitar. Genuinely inspiring stuff, thank you.
Very interesting and helpful. Thank you!
Lovely and very useful video, thank you Mary and Tomo
The Casette- thing is the very best , you could chose. Charlie Banacos did it years ago. These were my best lesson, i ever had.
Wonderful video, Mary, truly wonderful. Thank you.
I have been a member of Guitar Wisdom for about 3 months now and I have learned so much. I wish I would have been smart and joined years ago. I love it so much my favorite is NO WORRIES!
So great Tomo is getting more recognized on TH-cam! He's amazing!
Your voice is so soothing....
That was excellent! Thank you, Mary, and thank you, Maestro Fujita!
Tomo!!! Great to see you and even better to hear your wisdom. All the best to you. And thank you Mary for doing these great interviews.
He uses casettes, that means he's trustworthy and cool.
also he's an older gentleman of asian descent so his words are Words Of Wisdom...
means he doesn't think in computer-eeze.. I am a retired programmer.. I just can't help myself.. I love computers.. my girlfriend is the Google babe 😘 💕
@@samlee2562 older... than whom?
Tomo say ~man look like strumming in long grass not always play guitar!
@@Hare_deLune how many?
thanks for sharing your thoughts and heart so honestly
I'm so glad for people who are smarter than me, half way in I had an ah ha moment. Mr. Fujita has been with me since my beginning a year and a half ago. Old starter 48..... now 50! This was a great video Mary... Thanks Teach!! lol
Thank you Mary....I'm about to go down the Tomo rabbit hole.....you have chosen a wonderful teacher
Indeed, real advice from a real teacher!
"A teacher is just a great student..." love it!
God this guy is amazing , so truthful and smart this guy , i have done one of his YT lessons for a few weeks and I already am improved , like he says, " make effort " great video BTW , Peace Moda
Thank you for the conversation with Fujita-san. Appreciate it very much!
I really enjoyed this conversation, very informal.
I love Tomo so much and this advice about narrowing it down is exactly what I needed hear today. Thank you so much.
Very strong choice of jumper Mary. Love the channel, keep up the good work!
Thanks Mary and Tomo! Play on...
I used to listen to myself on tape and recordings often albeit 27 years ago while listening to 102.2 jazz fm...some awesome music. It made me realise how so very far I had to go at the time and become my best critic. Playing live regularly is also a different beast and learn a lot about performance, gear, tone..you get one take
Glad he mentioned record yourself, as well as the importance of playing beginning to end, the whole song, recording myself is what I used to do with bass as a substitute for an instructor, there's a benefit to hearing yourself, I have my kids do this
thanks Mary, I love your playing and learning about tomo
the world is really small, a few years ago i saw you in that sultans of swing metal cover wich i only just remembered i thought like i have seen this woman before and then it came to my mind. and tomo i have been following him for a while now and its interesting how you two are now together in one video
Many valuable life lessons! Thank you for guitar lessons that are teaching us how to think and how to learn.
I need to hear this interview over and over again. Thank you so much for making this interview possible!! 🙏🏼❤️
For anyone that hasn’t; watch Tomo play “just funky” live here on youtube. Amazing.
Thank you so much
Such great, unique advice. It's refreshing to learn tips that haven't been regurgitated by dozens of other guitar teachers.
“I teach people limitations” ..... “Narrow down”...... a two pieces of advice that will help me focus on the knowledge and skill I need rather than the things I want.. 🙏🏻🇦🇺
so much infomation to learn from this video!!!
Tomo is a great player and his free videos he releases regularly are quite good. Great guest speaker for Mary's channel.
Hi Mary-thanks for sharing Tomo!
Can we just have a moment to thank Mary for asking beyond the obvious questions.
Greetings from India!!!!.
I saw Tomo F. recently for the first time and I was blown away by his incredible knowledge and passion for the instrument.
Thanks Mary, Tomo is really a gift for every musician!
And Thank you for sharing the experiences !
I miss my high school guitar teacher! Ive flown solo since my 2000- 2001 last 2 CD's great experiences 1st CD '83? Lol Thanks Mary!