Hide Takemoto Masterclass

A few months ago, we were delighted to host the fingerstyle magician himself, Mr Hide Takemoto! A Kyoto native originally, Takemoto moved to London in the early 2000s for his studies and has remained there ever since.

Hide also happens to be a close friend of mine and was instrumental (no pun intended!) in starting me on my Japanese language journey, so it was a pleasure to host him for a masterclass when he returned to Japan for a run of shows from Tokyo, through Shizuoka to Kyoto – something he hasn’t done for over six years!

What Did He Do?

Much of Hide’s music is expertly crafted and well thought out, though he is not afraid to stretch his improvisational legs. It was the latter that informed the masterclass, owing to the mixture of abilities and ages of those in attendance. From an instructor point of view, it would be unfair to leave people behind, or oversimplify the content for others.

Performance

There was a selection of pieces played throughout the evening from the vast repertoire that he has, starting with his unique arrangement of Tommy Emmanuel’s classic ‘Mombasa’, to his famous original composition aptly titled ‘Magic Fingers’.

Those in attendance will have also seen Hide and myself perform together, playing my guitar duo arrangement of the Bee Gees classic ‘How Deep Is Your Love?’ – unfortunately there is no video of this one!

Technique

Aside from his flamboyant, tornado of fingerstyle prowess he is known for amongst others, Hide also presented some more conventional fingerstyle approaches that got every person in room strumming along.

One of the most important parts of the masterclass, at least in my honest opinion, is the emphasis that he put on dynamics and expressing emotion through the guitar. Too many people overlook this when they play, and not enough teachers teach the idea. The attendees have their own specific background and preferences when it comes to playing the guitar, but these lessons are infinitely useful for applying to any genre.

Interactive

Some students brought along an electric guitar, which is perfectly fine, but thankfully the American Guitar Academy has an ample collection of classical style acoustic guitars that Hide prefers, so everyone could be on a level playing field. This gave the event more of a community feel. As there were only seven in attendance, it meant that everyone had a little one on one time with Hide – a rare opportunity for sure!

Everything But The Playing

This is one of my favourite phrases, and once again it proves to be true. Due to his playing style, Hide has long nails on his left hand, especially his thumb. One student asked a question about nails and mentioned that her nails always seemed to break when she tried this herself. Of course, Hide had an answer!

He has done much research, including but not limited to using fake nails, using glue and many others. Recently, there is a specific Japanese brand of super glue that he uses to strengthen his nail as well as a specific filing regimen.

You will quickly realise from these pictures, and any video you watch of him online that above all the fancy tricks and everything else, there is one endearing quality that Hide Takemoto has – he is always smiling! He simply loves what he does, and he can’t help but show it!

What’s Next?

There are always shows and performances that fill up his calendar, as well as a small number of private lessons. One cool event coming up is definitely a special one, after being invited for a second time to play in Jimi Hendrix’s old apartment in London – what a great opportunity! There are some other great events with traditional Japanese instrumentalists that I would love to attend… if only they were in Tokyo instead!

Final Thoughts

Holding masterclasses such as this one help strengthen the community and provide extra bonuses for students that study with us. Sometimes the masterclasses are presented by TAGA staff, like Michael’s Pentatonic workshop or my own Metal Masterclass, and sometimes we will have guest speakers – keep an eye out for any upcoming events!

Until then, keep rocking!