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Book Review: The Music Lesson
Written on
Thursday, September 4. 2008
in Reviews by Dan Christopher
I recently came across a book written by legendary musician Victor Wooten. I have been an admirer of Wooten for quite some time now, and I was instantly intrigued. The subtitle turned me off a little bit, promising a "Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music." The thought of more hippie/new-age/manifest-your-destiny spirituality made me a little uneasy, and unfortunately in that department the book does offer heavy doses yoda-style philosophizing. But what I did find valuable about this book is that it provides a unique point of view on the elements of music from a master musician, and plenty of thought provoking encouragement to inspire some new directions and confidence in your playing. For that I tip my hat off to Wooten, for sharing some insights that he has learned in his decades of performance.This book contains plenty of valuable information that every musician needs to hear. It is written from the point of view of a bass player, but the goal of the author is to give you a broader perspective on music, to try to stop you from looking at it through the narrow lens of your chosen instrument:
“I play music, not instruments... I am a musician!” he answered. He placed his hand on his chest to emphasize his point before gesturing at me. “You are just a bass player. That means that you play the bass guitar. A true musician, like me, plays Music and uses particular instruments as tools to do so. I know that Music is inside me and not inside the instrument.” .... “You have been trying to tell your story with a bass guitar, and not through it”
Is this book worth buying? Overall, I would say yes. It takes a bit of sifting to get to the real gold in this book, and much of what he says needs to be taken with a grain of salt. As the author says in the introduction, "I didn't want to have to defend what I wrote." That mentality seems to offer a cart-blanche to throw out any idea regardless of its merit or application in the real world. As he warns at the beginning "Everything in this book may be all wrong," and when he isn't talking about music, much of it is. But overall, I commend Wooten for taking a unique approach to conveying this information. Many musicians would just get down to business and write out a lesson/theory book, but the author here went the extra mile to wrap his ideas in an entertaining story. The author chose to show you his ideas using narrative rather than telling you flat out in textbook form. I also really enjoyed his connection to music and life. Its cool to think that you can live your whole life musically, using all the same elements in any situation.
Victor is a master musician, and this book is at its best when he is discussing music. He is not a theologian, scientist or other professional, and he puts forth many ideas that can not be experienced in real life. “You could have chosen to be born into a family of professional musicians,” the teacher explains to his student. Its statements like this that make me roll my eyes, and cast doubt on the credibility of any thing else the author has to say.
This book is chalk full of hippie new-aged bull...crap, that make for interesting thoughts but have no practical application in the real world. Wooten makes the bold statement that “All knowledge that ever existed, or ever will exist, is already out there in the air. All you need to do is tune in to what you want to know.” That's kind of a nice thought.... but I would love to see Wooten explaining to a would-be doctor that he really just needs put away his books and “tune in” to the proper way to perform a kidney transplant. Once the doctor has mastered this technique, it becomes natural to him and he doesn’t have to think about the individual steps any more, but you can’t neglect your studies until you reach that point. The same goes with music or any other pursuit in life.
There are enough musical insights in this book to warrant the price of admission. I don't feel "spiritually grown" as the subtitle offers, but I do feel like I learned a lot about music.
Victor is a master musician, and this book is at its best when he is discussing music. He is not a theologian, scientist or other professional, and he puts forth many ideas that can not be experienced in real life. “You could have chosen to be born into a family of professional musicians,” the teacher explains to his student. Its statements like this that make me roll my eyes, and cast doubt on the credibility of any thing else the author has to say.
This book is chalk full of hippie new-aged bull...crap, that make for interesting thoughts but have no practical application in the real world. Wooten makes the bold statement that “All knowledge that ever existed, or ever will exist, is already out there in the air. All you need to do is tune in to what you want to know.” That's kind of a nice thought.... but I would love to see Wooten explaining to a would-be doctor that he really just needs put away his books and “tune in” to the proper way to perform a kidney transplant. Once the doctor has mastered this technique, it becomes natural to him and he doesn’t have to think about the individual steps any more, but you can’t neglect your studies until you reach that point. The same goes with music or any other pursuit in life.
There are enough musical insights in this book to warrant the price of admission. I don't feel "spiritually grown" as the subtitle offers, but I do feel like I learned a lot about music.
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