How Victor Wooten Understands and Teaches Music 

He had me at "I can't talk to the baby until it learns the alphabet." Genius

Comparing it to babies learning to talk is brilliant 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I love one of his quotes, he said "You don't use music theory to make music, you use it when you're stuck" He's a treasure

Music theory is great for understanding what you're doing once you've already done something. Sometimes a little theory can help you get started, but you usually need to get started before you understand the theory.

Victor Wooten is a genius , the way he plays ,the way he speaks . The way he takes life

Victor is extraordinary, not just as a bass player but as a teacher and a person hes like a guru

I've heard him also talk about how adults change their language to match the baby. He says when a baby or toddler calls a blanket a "binkie," we don't say, "You're wrong! It's a blanket!" Instead, we start calling it a binkie as well.

As a language instructor and a lover of music, I concur 100% ~ Wooten has always made sense to me whether he's talkin' or thumpin' . . .

That mindset.... Is pure genius This NEEDS TO SPREAD... Across the world.... Thank you Mr Wooten.

This is a great way to explain music as a language. Thank you Victor, this is great!!!!!

I got to listen to Victor at a workshop held at Wooten Woods. Smiled when they talk about it!!! Such a fine guy, so smart, so kind. It is so fun to watch this.

He has such an incredible way of teaching and using wisdom.

Music is fun. It's amazing how many classically trained musicians don't seem to comprehend this. Some people are so top down in their approach to music that it makes me wonder why they ever had a desire to learn in the first place.

Wow. He is so right on on many things, but particularly near the end where he mentions playing first and THEN gradually learning more when you are up for it. Brilliant man 👍

Very interesting perspective. There are teachers who definitely focus more on the wrong than the good.

My favorite musician ever.....

Just recently watched some of his educational videos, just wish every teacher will be able to teach like him, make everything so simple, encouraging, building self confidence, make all so fun, looks easy, but extremely rare to have a teacher like him👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Mannn I got to shake his hand once... I was just shook man, first time I ever been star struck

Most punk guy in funk and jazz. The way I learned to play was in punk bands with no one with any formal training, but having fun and playing is how we all play jazz now!!!

Truth, I taught myself and learned alot by ear, than I took a year of theory and struggled so hard. I had to unlearn/relearn alot. I love the part about context which I felt was the issue for me...

That shirt is KILLER

Wow.....what a great approach....and so true... this opens minds and possibilities...as well as encouragement....I'm 56 and I'm ready to start this way of thinking....Thank you for posting this video.

Me also ,I don't know much music theorie, but I just like to play the Bassguitar.. But none the less, I have to work on, knowing the Notes on the Fredboard, Scales ,Chords, and all that stuff, by learning and practicing, we will come, to some understanding on our own level..

Victor is such a Godsend.

Never thought of learning this way , keep it simple . Respect.

I heard a jazz guitar player say one time in the old days they didn’t have names for the theory. They would say play one of these.

Yaay I'm the 1000 subscriber... Guess that merits some kind of reward right?

Mind blowing. Seriously.

Such an excellent way to look at learning music...or anything else for that matter!! This reminds me of my martial arts training!! So many similar concepts!! Well done!!

Victor is the MAN.

People clown on Dave Matthews but there is one Dave Matthews I'm a sucker for and it is when Victor Wooten joins him on stage to play #41

This fucking exactly ... EXACTLY... what I think of music. FUCKING EXACTLY.

so awesome !!!!! thank you so much for sharing this interview ;)

Man, for anyone who is wanting to teach music, this is so helpful for that! He’s amazing.

For those of you who didn't realize it, that was an AD for Victor's camp. But I'm not even mad at him.

This is such a very good idea. Thank you for this. 😊 👍

i knew i liked this dude for a reason.

0:55 - 2:20 AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREEEEEEEE - well, at least for me it did :)

That's right brother 💪 say it like it is baby!!!

Victor Wooten, Just Brilliant

My first bass was fretless.. played a while before I bought a fretted bass..and learned notes and the like..

Victor is super brilliant.

He's so right.

Freaking love this man.

I didn’t learn theory but theory learned me.

Wow. He's on point.

I feel lucky. My first music teacher showed me how to hold the bow and cello first, and the screech following was awful, but evolved eventually. The next one said, "Here, blow into that like this," easier than a bow. It was my piano and guitar teachers that said rules rules rules. After I learned how to hold the instrument I left the class. It's also rock music that said rules rules rules, and I've gotten bored with it. Now I can only call it jazz because it can't be called something else.

man how do i get a teacher like this

These are such great insights!

Absolutely love Vic's philosophy.... It really is a language. And it has enabled me to express that language through a multitude of instruments and in a multitude of styles. Because it *is* language - far more effective in fact than the ones using words.... Not for nothing it's called *playing* music.

Beautiful 🙏 Thanks for the pep talk. I just realized that one can be so hard on one's self. It's meant to be fun right? 💕

Victor gets it. It's not about "scales". It's about playing...........

My wife was in the room and thought I was watching Denzel Washington talking about music workshops...🤣

Fascinating insights to learning Excellent piece What an intelligent cool guy

Thank you for this- big wisdom here.

This is very similar how I teach music in my academy. I never went to music school.

I appreciate this man so so much!

Victor Wooten is one cool dude... a great guy.

A lesson for life

Grande craque neto!

Beautiful Human

I hope Victor will livestream some of the camps experiences.

Dig the ying-yang double bass t-shirt !

Refreshing

what a guy~~~ and the shirt 🎸☯

Victor is awsome!

Its all about learning with soul or with mind. I child learns the language with soul. Wooten method is with soul. Anything with soul is stronger and faster and pure.

Some of the best musicians really never "properly" learned music etc, most just picked it up and played and learned just by doing and practicing by what they feel is "right". Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eddie Van Halen, Beatles, Clapton for instance couldn't read music. I watched a video where Victor mentioned when playing, go by the "feel" rather than notes, etc.

True!

If you search for his camp berklee pops an ad

Waaaooo! This is true

So good!

Brilliant mind 💛

Parents spend much time correcting children in a speech and action even if they don't comprehend

Speak is music.

Haha “I don’t like the letter X, I hardly ever use it” and 1 minute later “My website is Vix with an x” 😅

Love this

Relatable; been making music for almost 10 years now, from metal to blues to synth and am only now slowly learning actual theory, because the knowledge I've achieved organically has taken me far, but it can only go so far.

Both Guthrie and Victor call music as language. And they do speak that language

We learn everything by modeling first.

Little boy plays his Fathers piano for 8 years! there are over 2k songs he has hand Written!.

Common sense but apparently not common especially in universities

*Jeff Berlin left the chat* 🤣🤣🤣

So true. I find it funny when my son suddenly grabbed my guitar, after that he took the trem arm. Stopped him when he was about to hit the guitar's body with that trem arm and from there, I understood that he would be a great drummer.

Just as cool as mike watt!

I’ve been trying to play bass for so long !! I can’t play the damn thing !!

Where is the full?

Either this guy makes a ton of sense or I am very high.

I'm a self thought piano player and i got to be honest here... If you told me, show me a C chord....i wouldn't be able to. I learned piano by just playing. That would ofc be a problem if i would like to go professional, but i don't want to :)

How many musicians will become session players if they don't read?

Unfortunately, this actually does happen with regular language outside of music too. So many children are discouraged from learning advanced language because their teachers discourage and humiliate them. These kids grow up being afraid of speaking, reading and writing because they were constantly told how bad they are at it. The same goes for other parts of education like math, history, sports, etc. It's a systemic issue in education. Funding has been cut from public education to further benefit private schools. Private schools keep out the poor naturally. Homeschooling is not an option for most working families. On top of that, public schools get what little funding they have from property taxes - which means that if you're born into a poor neighborhood, you are more likely to receive a "poor" education. Then you've got the school-to-prison pipeline where punitive justice and the education system work hand in hand to bring in more prisoners to work cheap labor to profit the state and corporations. The entire system is corrupt, so the capitalist class must be completely eliminated.

Let the man speak, Jesus!

Absolutely genius!

por favor alguien q le ponga subtitulos en español gracias

just let em play..no truer words...my 5 year old has finally decided to take an interest in my guitars..he messes with them all the time...so i picked one out and told him he could play with any time he wanted...i never showed him anything..he has seen me so many times playing..so he knew how to put it in his lap and pretty much how to hold it and instead of just jumping right in and trying to show him a bunch of things that would more than likely ended up with him loosing attention and being distracted from being in his little moment...i just let him go..and watched and smiled..i will hear him in the back bedroom..just going to town and singing along...and of course what he is playing is not perfectly structured and often makes no sense to our ears..but he is finding his own way and i have slowly but surely started to show him things here and there and he has figured out the mechanics of it and been doing the one note thing pretty dam consistently.he comes and shows me the songs he comes up with..it as at this point that i know he is comfortable with the guitar..he is finding his way on his own and is open to show me his songs and progress...now is when i start to teach him..been showing him things..but step buy step..one thing at a time..i give him a little spark and then let him go with it.it is amazing and soul lifting to watch this process and he has even moved on to his sisters keyboard and has started to explore that....world of respect for victors words of wisdom..words of truth..just let em play.thanks for sharing this..

Wow.... this applies not only to music but to art education in general!

I almost cried when I heard this. I have felt like such a loser for so long because at 34 I am just learning how to read sheet music despite playing different instruments my whole life. This really invigorated my spirit - thanks so much Victor.

“You talk for years before you learn how to read and write.” This man is a treasure. Absolutely one of musics best teachers, he reduces everything down into something so simple and eloquent.

This man is like a musical jedi. Having a deep fundamental understanding of the musical philosophy.

Victor is a wise man who has seen the mountain top