Expanding on the groundbreaking concepts he introduced in his book, The Music Lesson – A Spiritual Search For Growth Through Music (Penguin), master bassist Victor Wooten lays out his unique philosophy of teaching and learning music in Groove Workshop. The video features nearly five hours of material, including a complete master class where Victor along with bassist/educator Anthony Wellington and six bass students, uses his personal experience and expertise to delve deeper into rarely discussed, yet vitally important, aspects of music making.While traditional music education focuses primarily on developing technique and note-perfect performance, professional musicians like Victor know that there’s much more to making music than just playing the right notes.
On Groove Workshop, Victor redefines the essential elements of music and demonstrates how to apply them in fresh, creative, musically relevant ways.
Chapters and content include:
- Notes: Sometimes even the right notes can sound wrong. But applying chromatic scales and playing within the musical context can make “wrong” notes sound right.
- Grooving: Why feel and emotion are important in music and an explanation of the elements that need to be present for a good groove to happen.
- Articulation/Duration: How changes in articulation can affect the feel and help create a more professional sound.
- Dynamics: How to use dynamics to connect with your audience.
- Rhythm/Tempo: Victor’s suggested rhythmic exercises along with the creative use of metronomes and drum machines will improve a player’s sense of time.
- Tone: Understanding the role of tone quality and how to adjust it for different situations.
- Phrasing: Utilizing singing, breathing and imagination to create more natural, more musical phrases.
- Space/Rest: A discussion and demonstration of why space is such an integral part of playing music.
- Listening: Learning to trust your ears and why listening may well be the most essential aspect of playing music.
Also featured on Groove Workshop are several solo performances by Victor, as well as duets with Anthony Wellington.
