11:33 "That's why I think the whole world should learn to play music. Then we might understand that differences are a blessing, not a curse". What a lesson!
Rewatching this amazing video, and I notice around 1:35 Victor finishes speaking, goes to play the melody, but hears the applause and immediately switches back. He waits for the applause to subside before he plays the next section everyone can hear the melody, the beginning of the song. Incredible control and awareness.
Forget that I'm a bassist Forget that I'm a fan of Victor Wooten. That is an amazing commencement "talk." The quote from his mother might be the best quote I've every heard.
The best quote I ever heard (the one I needed the most to hear) came from another musician, Yo Yo Ma: “Think of your voice as your life, and live your life as an art form”
Esther Hicks has a saying similar basically like "people only call you selfish when you are not serving them" Along those lines she says you do better service once you get yourself right first and not to worry about selfish people :)
Hey ! this is not just a dude with a base ! This is Victor Wooten, someone who actualy understands what playing music is all about, who is a gifted teacher and a philosofer as well. And ohh yeah,,, he also plays the base.
The whole thing impressive...and the fact that this human being took the time to positively address the graduates was just an example of being a caring person and I hope he gets imitated.
And this is why Victor is so respected around the world. Not only he can play but he can also pronounce words of wisdom and inspire other people to be a good human being. He makes you feel you have a brother shedding some light on your path. Thanks Victor!
This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I love this to the moon and back. Thanks, Victor - for changing my life. In 2005 you changed my world, and I was blessed that you were my very first concert ever. I was 17, losing my mind in the front row of Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee. I am simply blessed to have gotten to live my dream of working with you all for a short time a few years later. Thanks for everything.
Wow. Im a dj and record producer here in Jamaica. I have never seen or heard a speech like this one. It open my my heart, mind and soul. Thank you very much and congrats to all the graduates of the University of Vermont Rubenstein School. Btw, i stumbled on this by accident and i thank the universe for the detour.
When Victor came to Atlanta in early 90s every real musician came to meet him and hear him. He put on a clinic, then I realized he is more than a musician, but a philosopher. He is an honorary everything
the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. the next best time is now. do it with others, because when you include others with yourself.... it's OK to be selfish. words of wisdom - thanks Wooten.
I’m in deep tears .... I feel vindicated as a soul & human being as if some one just stood up for me .... His message is so what I believe and am about .... That’s what I regard makes him a true HERO 🙏🏽
wow... i remember 20 yrs ago being in high school jazz band and my teacher playing a video of bela and the fleck tones. I remember being blown away hearing victor for the first time. Now this guy is doing college commencement speeches. wow... a bass player evolved into this. absolutely amazing. Gohhhhhhtta love it...
I met and hung out with Victor in the early flecktone days. I actually had hands in building a bass for him when I worked at Roscoe guitars here in nc. He played his solo that night at Ziggy's on our bass! Super human being. Humble, respectful and appreciative.
Man that must have been a life changing experience. Definitely on my bucket list. A buddy of mine saw him play one of the many duos with Steve Bailey in the 90s. The promoter dropped the ball and only 8 people showed up. Those men played as if it was packed. They started just taking requests. The Sanford & Sons theme was a highlight. I really want to meet Victor before I die.
Victor Wooten is amazing. The smile on his face is possibly the most infectious smile I’ve ever seen. Just watching him play can bring tears to my eyes. Not in a saddened way, but just from being so overwhelmed by the beauty of his music
I'm a very different bass player but I learn from almost all styles and what blows my mind about Wooten is that he can get the bass to do what he wishes. I take inspiration from that.
I saw a victor wooten concert at college of dupage in illinois. None of my friends were free that night so I just went by myself. The entire “concert” turned out to be a victor wooten lecture just like this. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life.
Mr Wooten, you are an amazing man! I enjoyed every minute of you Commencement talk. We are all blessed every minute you are on this earth to share your wisdom, kindness and music. Thank you! God bless you and all your family.
I will always remember how nice Victor was when he came to hear the band I was in play(bass). I think he wanted to hear Jeff Coffin play but we talked. He emphasized the importance of giving it all you can. He had incredible positive energy and he even helped me with my gear afterwards. Thank you Victor! Your kindness and wise advice will always be remembered. I really can't think of a better man to give a message to young souls.
Profound Speech & Wisdom. I discovered Victor ( and his friend/ mentor Marcus Miller ) Wooten on this day January 14th 2023 . This discovery fills me with Joy & Hope.
For years I thought Bono gave one of the best commencement speeches I have ever heard, until I listened to this. Mr. Wooten is amazing and has shown me that in addition to being a brilliant, prolific bass player, he is a fantastic human being and terrific speaker.
@@oluwalekeogungbenika9105 I wasn't commenting just on Victor's bass skills, but I think he is an amazing human being too. However, I'm well aware of the brilliant bass players that come out of Africa in general. So much beautiful music. I've seen a few Nigerian bass players on RU-vid already and there are some mad skills.
salsaddict, I appreciate you posting that. I've seen so many talented people today that I've never heard of! I feel so ignorant bc I thought I knew more. What a speech, too!
My guitar teacher had the chance to see one of his talks in person: *Wooten performs a rhapsody in front of audience* My teacher (spontaneously): How many of those exact notes right now, did you know you were going to play? Wooten: How many of those exact words right now, did you know you were going to say?
Wow, Victor is a class act! I LOVE how he honors his parents' memory in the story he tells. WHO HE IS *is* their legacy. What a gift to have him teaching in this way.
That blew me away........ EVERYTHING........... I love The Lesson ! To hear the speech with it was unreal ! Then busting into Norwegian Wood was unreal ! I know too many explanation marks but I can’t help it !!!!!!!!!! AWESOME 👏👏👏👏👏
I transcribed the lecture below: PART TWO "And it was that time that I realized that for me, music and nature would the same thing to me. Nature, what you guys are doing is that is the is the is the bridge between all of life's. So back then and not long after a few years of after that, I started running a musical camp where we combine music and nature. And it literally is changing people's lives, literally is changing people's lives. And I'm saying that not to talk about me, but to say that that's what your world is. You get to change people's lives in a good way. I've been working with a man named Bela Fleck for over 20 years. And I learned a lot about leadership from him. I always felt that music is a good way to address the world's issues. To be in a band, the best bands I've ever played in all the instruments were different. And we don't curse those differences. We bless them. That's why I think the whole world should learn to play music. Then we might understand that differences are a blessing, not a curse. Bela Fleck always said that he was a leader among equals, even though the band had his name in it twice. He's still treated us as equals. Whenever he would bring a new song to the table, he would never tell us what to play. He would just play his part and allow us to hear the song Fresh Bailleau Record and recognize that I would probably come up with a better bass part than him. I've never written a banjo part for him. So he would let me hear the song and come up with my own. And as simple as that was, I realized that's the way to leave. He led in a way that brought out the best in us. If he had just told us what the play, he would have gotten his idea across. But I wouldn't have grown from it as much so as you guys go out and become world leaders, which many of you will lead in a way that brings out the best in people. And be a leader among equals. Just a couple of ideas. Leave with you. You're going to need a lot of guts to get out there and do what you do for some of you. When I was getting an explanation of what a lot of you are going to be doing after you graduate, a lot of your jobs and I would say are a thankless job. You won't get the awards that I've done for just plucking awesome strains. Right. But I hope you're like me and not do your job for awards, but to do it because it's right. Because that's what the world needs. My aunt told me a story recently in which she was at my house for a family reunion back in the 70s. We were all young. I saw Upside's in the 80s. My mom's. My aunt said my mom was up pacing in the middle of night and she asked my mom what was going on. My mom was agitated. She said my mom said, all my friends are getting on me because I didn't go see my sons play at the Coliseum. And they think, well, you don't care about your students. She said, I don't need to see them. I know my son. I mean, no one in my whole life. I haven't seen him play every day. I don't need to go see him at the Coliseum. She said, My friends think my sons are special because they play at the Coliseum. And I think I didn't say that this family reunion, we had probably 60 people. One of my brothers was sleeping under the kitchen table. Another was in the chair. Another was sleeping in the garage. You know, my mom said, I don't care that they're getting awards and the fact that they're playing at the Coliseum. She said, I care about the fact that they'll play at the Coliseum and then come home and sleep on the floor. And if my mom were here right now, she'd see that's what I'm talking about, is who you are as people. And you bring who you are to what you do. You're going to have to get creative. You guys are the future, and a lot of what you're gonna need to do hadn't even been invented yet. So I'm just going to pose one idea about creativity and inspiration. A lot of times when you get inspired, you get creative. You feels a certain way. It's like being happy. There's a tingle. For me, my body starts to tingle. I say the next time it happens, you feel creative and maybe like today, remember this feeling? Put it in a database somewhere. And remember what it feels like. There's one of the things I have learned to do. Through a lot of training with people like Matt and my other nature friends. I've learned the creative process, the inspiration process in reverse. When I need an idea, I create the feeling. I remember what inspiration feels like and I can create the feeling and the inspiration arrives. It shows up. So practicing in my work in parting, I just want you to imagine that as a graduation gift, each of you was awarded thirty six thousand. Five hundred and twenty five dollars. Not bad. But here's the cat. You're not going to get any more for the rest of your lives. So think about it. Thirty six thousand five hundred and twenty five dollars, you have cash. But you're not getting any more anymore. Think about how would you treat that money? How would you handle it? I'm sure some of you would take very good care of it, spend it wisely, spend it on things that matter, and maybe invest, give to people in need. Thirty six thousand five hundred twenty five. Well, if you lived to be one hundred. If you lived to be one hundred. That's thirty six thousand five hundred and twenty five days, including leap year. So a dollar a day and you can probably not buy a house. That's if you live to be 100, if you're male. Cut off a bunch of years. If you're a person of color, cut off a bunch more years. First two years of your life, you don't even make your own decisions. They tell us to sleep eight hours a day. That's a third. That's a year every three years. Time spent playing Candy Crush. How many days are actually left? There's a saying that says the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now. The best time to start living your life was 20 years ago. The next best time is now. The world is in the palm of your hands. You can create whatever you want. I just say do it wisely. And do it with others. In your mind, because when you include others as yourself, then it's OK to be selfs. My name is Victor Wooten. And I congratulate you guys and I thank you in advance for all the beautiful work you want to do. What is the world needs with just another musician? What the world needs is good people. Thank you, ma'am. When the going gets tough, that's a positive signal to keep charging. Thank you, Dad."
I lived in Burlington VT for a few years. Saw Victor a handful of times. Once was at a music store session which made sense. A couple other times he was just walking around on Church St - the main drag w/ restaurants and bars. It doesn't seem like he ever lived there, but must just like the place. Super cool guy each time I met him!
I've never seen faculty so happy at a commencement. 0:31 Check out the smiles on the two professors on the left. Love it. It's a serious occasion - but doesn't have to be so sad. Would love to see more faculty smiling at commencements!
What a special man. He has more talent and a bigger soul than every other contemporary musician out there, yet he never ONCE made this talk about HIM! Bless you Mr. Wooten, and may your music always be with us!
