Victor Wooten sermonizes on 'what is music'

[Denim n Leather]

An excerpt from Victor Wooten's Groove Workshop DVD. You don't have to be a bass player to appreciate this; it really transcends the instrument.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H66K9eugZZM&feature=fvst

[noodleplugerine]

I find it very ironic that Victor Wooten, the king of musicless slap shred, can do a bit on "What is music"

Good anyway though.

[Philly Q]

What he says is very interesting, and listening to just that little clip I'm sure he must be a very inspiring teacher.

(I really like that Fodera Yin Yang bass of his, too)

Would I have the imagination to go away and apply those ideas?  No chance.  :lol:

[Davey]

Exactly the same school of thought as Marty Friedman ... so what if you hit a 'wrong' note here and there.. you're always only a half step away from the right one, and in most cases that wrong note might give you that special flair, expression or individuality and 'thinking outside the box' that will give your playing a special feel to it.

[Mr.Coneman]

Seemed a little self righteous, but good advise none the less.

[indysmith]

The guy's talking absolute wank, playing absolute wank, but clearly living by his wank philosophy that the 'right note' is only a half step away...
The 'right note' is not always a half step away! it depends entirely on what you're trying to express - it's a lot more complicated that playing random notes and getting them in key some of the time, and not in key the rest of the time, as you can tell by the awful horrible noises he's making with that bass!

When the video first started up and came up with the quote
"There's more to making music than just playing the right notes..."
I didn't expect it to end with
"...sometimes play the $%&#ing wrong notes, it's cool, nobody will mind". :roll:

[Afghan Dave]

I think that is my problem with Jazz... The right note is only a half step away...

That sounded awful IMHO... Sorry.

[Afghan Dave]

WTF is going on here?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vdJvHE8qxA

[_tom_]

haha what a load of bollocks.

[nfe]

Pretentious, self indulgent nonsense. Soundtracked with horrendous drivel. Not to mention a bit paradoxical. "Music is a language, a way of communicating, so just play whatever, who cares!" It's kinda like saying English is a language, nobody will care if you spell the as sif. The right letters are only one step away, after all.

This is why I hate bassist's bassists. And why Guy Pratt is great.

[38thBeatle]

That is the exact type of bass playing that I hate.Undoubtedly he has a great deal of skill but all that slapping is, to me, an unpleasant noise. Give me Ronnie Lane any day of the week.
This video explains a lot- I think our bass player may have been taking this philosophy to heart as he specializes in hitting a note close to the one that he should be going for.   

[MDV]

I think the linguistic version of his message would be 'its not what you say but how you say it'. Which is obviously also bollocks. For example, theres no way to say "What a load of bollocks" and have it not mean that what you just saw is bollocks. You can sugar it with your tone of voice, soften the blow of the meaning of the words, or make it vicious, but it means the same thing.

Yes, the way you say something (expression, feeling, tone, vocally and musically) is extremely important, but not the neglect of the words (notes and beats).

And it is very ironic, and he does seem to mainly be saying "I'm stoned".

[Philly Q]

I'm a little surprised by all the Wootten-antipathy here!  :lol:  I can't stand (most) shred guitar, but somehow I find shred bass a lot more listenable.

I don't think he's saying "the right note is only a half step away, therefore you can play any old wank and call it music".   I think he's saying "the right note is only a half step away, so don't be afraid of getting out of your depth or making a mistake".  Which seems quite modest and down-to-earth to me, not pretentious at all.

But I don't feel all that strongly about it, not in the mood for an argument or anything!  :P
 

[Denim n Leather]

But I don't feel all that strongly about it, not in the mood for an argument or anything!  :P
 

Then you shoulda known better than to post in one of my threads. PDT_008

[Lew]

Knew I'd seen him before, it's Cleavland from Family Guy.