Learning from Tomoyasu Hotei, How to use your right hand for cutting [Guitar Hero Posture Analysis]

Hello!
My name is Fujioka Takuto and I am a "guitarist who can also perform therapy".

It has been hot lately, but how are you doing?
As for me, I recently bought a new air circulator. It's quite different with and without this. I'm very satisfied with the purchase and it is definitely one of the best pieces of equipment that I’ve bought these days.

Now. Following up on the latest column, I would like to analyze the posture of the guitar hero focusing on cutting!
In the previous article, I analyzed Abe Futoshi’s guitar playing posture, but this time I will analyze Tomoyasu Hotei's cutting posture (゜∀゜).

Speaking of Mr. Hotei’s cutting, I think many people think of BAD FEELING.
I believe many guitarists have heard the famous riff somewhere.

This cutting riff has already been explained by Hotei himself, so there is nothing I can say about the technique.
However, if you compare the video which explains how to play and the video in which he is playing live, the way he plays is very different.
He was sitting when he played in the lesson video, but when I watched the live video, how he used his right hand was fairly unique, when he was playing the riff, it was different from the way Abe Futoshi played as well

Please look up for the live video on YouTube!
Search for “Tomoyasu Hotei BAD FEELING”.

First of all, Mr. Hotei's greatest feature is that he performs cutting movements "using the shoulder joints, focusing on the movements of the elbow joints."

First, I would like to look at the movement of the elbow joint.
As with any part of the body, joints cannot move quickly when they tense.
If you look at Mr. Hotei's movements, you can see that his entire arm is moving quickly, flexibly, and accurately like a whip. It is conceivable that this is done by applying power when bending the elbow for up-picking, and when down-picking, relaxing the arm, and use the weight of the arm.

If you don't know this and you are told to play BAD FEELING just your elbows, I think most people will have their arms tensed up, and the movement will be awkward. It is absolutely impossible.

The next important thing is the movement of the shoulder joint.
If you look closely at the video, the shoulders move in tandem with the movement of the elbows, and the arm move as if it was a spring. Especially during up-picking, the movement of the shoulder joint is used to support the speed and stability of the performance, which cannot be compensated by the movement of the elbow joint alone.

As a side note, please note the shoulder includes the shoulder blades, and you can have more powerful, dynamic picking.

However, as a drawback, I think it takes a lot of practice to get used to this movement because how to use the arm is fundamentally different from the general cutting method. (In the general cutting method, the movement of "elbow joint + forearm + wrist" is the key.)

I think it's very difficult to control because it's a movement that you don't usually do. I also practiced, but it didn't quite go as well as Hotei.
It’s more like dancing than playing guitar. In fact, Hotei plays the guitar as if he was dancing.

But there are also benefits.
You can get the unique groove and rhythm that can only be obtained with this playing method. Even if you watch the videos and session videos played by other guitarists, Hotei's nuances and other guitarists’ nuances are completely different.
Of course, I think that the technique, such as how to catch the groove and where to put accents occupy a large proportion, but I think that the playing method is also important to consider.

How was it!?
Guitarists with unique playing styles, such as Abe Futoshi and Tomoyasu Hotei, have their own playing styles and I think they are really cool (^ ω ^). It is very fun to find your own playing style! See you soon!