Hangin' With Victor

It's not everyday that you get to meet one of the world's greatest musicians, but I got to today!

Victor Wooten held a bass clinic in Catonsville this afternoon. It was way cool!

He started off playing some stuff for about ten or fifteen minutes, then took questions for over an hour. He's really into the idea of the bass being a means by which to express yourself rather than an instrument to be labored over. He said, "You don't think of how your mouth works when you speak, you just express yourself. The bass should be no different. Don't worry about playing the wrong note, just worry about expressing what you feel."

He also spoke a lot about how so many players worry about technique and being flashy. When asked to demonstrate a tapping technique, he showed an easy exercise and then asked everyone in the audience who wasn't a bass player to raise their hands.

"When you're looking for a bass player for your band, what do you look for?" he asked.

"Groove!"
"Someone who can play in the pocket."
"Solid tempo."

After a few responses, Victor continued, "Notice how none of them said, a bass player who can tap." The point being that the flashy stuff is cool but not what's gonna get you a job.

Another cool moment was when someone asked if it was really important to be able to read music.

"You don't have to be able to read to be a great player, but imagine if The Rolling Stones rolled into town today and their bass player, Darryl Jones, got sick. So, they come here because they hear I'm doing a clinic so they know there will be tons of bass players here. Since the gig is in three hours they're not gonna hire the best player; they're gonna hire they player who can read music the best, because you won't have time to learn the stuff. Now you may be the best player in the room but the best reader is gonna be gettin' paid!"

After the Q & A, he played one more tune and then hung out to sign autographs and stuff. It really changed my thinking some about how to approach playing. Although I did rush home and start practicing that tapping technique.