Tuning: Standard
Intro e|---------------------------| B|---------------------------| G|---------------------------| D|-----2-0---0---------------| A|---0-----2---2-0-----------| E|-0-----------3---0---------|
Verse e|--------------------------------------------------| B|--------------------------------------------------| G|-----4-2-0-----0-2-4-2-0---------------------------| D|---2-------2-------------2-0-----------------------| A|-0---------------------------3-2-0-----------------| E|-----------------------------------3-0-------------|
Chorus e|--------------------------------------------------| B|-------0-1-3-1-0----------------------------------| G|-----2-----------2-0------------------------------| D|---2---------------2-0----------------------------| A|-0---------------------3-2-0----------------------| E|---------------------------3-0--------------------|
Bridge (fingerstyle) e|-------0-------0-------0-------0-------------------| B|-----1---1---1---1---1---1---1---1-----------------| G|---0-------0-------0-------0-------0---------------| D|--------------------------------------------------| A|--------------------------------------------------| E|-3---------------2---------------0----------------| hiroshi masuda guitar tabs full
Solo (tabbed) e|-------------------------------------------12-10----| B|-----------------------10-12-13-12-10-12-13-----13--| G|-------------9-11-12--------------------------------| D|---9-11-12-----------------------------------------| A|-12-----------------------------------------------| E|---------------------------------------------------|
If you’re serious about supporting the artist (and getting the most reliable material), buying the official PDFs is the recommended route.
Yes. Learning a single Hiroshi Masuda phrase from a proper tab will improve your chord melody more than ten generic jazz standards. The scarcity of tabs is not a bug—it’s a filter. Those who seek out the Rittor Music book or meticulously decode the Songsterr drafts will emerge with a harmonic vocabulary few guitarists possess.
Final recommendation: Start with the first 8 bars of “Nagisa Moderato” from the Guitar Magazine excerpt. Master those four chords and the single-note response. When you can play it at 70% tempo without rushing the second beat, you will hear what the fuss is about. Have a rare Masuda tab
Have a rare Masuda tab? The community is waiting. Share your findings on the /r/japaneseguitar subreddit.
Hiroshi Masuda (sometimes romanised as “Masuda Hiroshi”) is a Japanese guitarist best known for:
| Period | Notable Projects | Style / Influences | |--------|------------------|--------------------| | Early‑2000s | Session work for J‑rock bands, indie collaborations | Hard‑rock, melodic metal, occasional jazz‑fusion | | 2008–2012 | Solo instrumental albums (“Shimmering Edge”, “Neon Skyline”) | Technical shredding, sweep‑picked arpeggios, progressive structures | | 2015‑present | YouTube tutorials & “Masuda Guitar School” | Pedagogical focus, breakdown of his own compositions, gear reviews |
His tab books are essentially transcriptions of his own recorded material, often supplemented with “performance notes” that explain fingerings, picking patterns, and tonal choices. odd‑time signatures (7/8
e|--------------------|----------------------||
B|--------------------|----------------------||
G|--------------------|----------------------||
D|--------------------|--4-5-(bend)-5--4-----||
A|--------------------|--4-5-(bend)-5--4-----||
E|--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0---|--0-0-0-------------||
(Use microtonal bends on A and D strings to mimic koto sliding sounds.)
Here lies the crux of the frustration for many guitarists: Hiroshi Masuda is notoriously private about his official transcriptions. Unlike many modern YouTubers who monetize by selling tab books, Masuda has historically kept his arrangements close to the chest.
This scarcity has created a unique micro-economy within the guitar community.
| Skill Level | How the Tabs Serve You | |-------------|------------------------| | Beginner | Not ideal. The pieces assume solid alternate picking, basic sweep‑picking, and familiarity with 7‑string concepts (Masuda occasionally uses a low B). However, the “Foundations” volume includes a 10‑page “Getting Started” primer that covers reading dual‑staff notation, which can be a helpful bridge. | | Intermediate | This is the sweet spot. Most songs fall into the 120‑180 BPM range and combine melodic phrasing with technical passages that push finger‑independence without being outright “shred‑only.” The practice‑tip sections (tempo ramps, metronome subdivisions) are spot‑on for this group. | | Advanced / Pro | The “Advanced Concepts” volume offers genuine challenges: multi‑string sweep arpeggios at 200 BPM, odd‑time signatures (7/8, 5/4), and hybrid picking sequences that require precise synchronization. For a pro player, these tabs become a reference for stylistic analysis rather than a step‑by‑step tutorial. |
Here is the hard truth: Even the best Hiroshi Masuda guitar tabs full cannot capture his micro-timing. Masuda plays slightly behind the beat on the bass and ahead on the melody—a technique called "Rhythmic Displacement."
Solution: Use the full tab as a reference, not a law. Download a slow-downer app (like Transcribe! or Amazing Slow Downer). Watch his live performance video at 50% speed. You will see that his finger often touches the string 3 frames before the tab says it should.