Thursday, September 6, 2012

Bass Solos Suck??


I'm not a huge follower or fan of bass soloists. Not just because I'm not good enough to be one myself. I find it difficult to connect and remain interested most of the time they are playing.


Same goes for that matter, for other types of instruments too. Their brilliance seems to get lost in the lack of context in the performance. To me its still has to be all about the song, melody or the groove. Victor Wooten has some interesting ideas and explanations for this phenomena and maybe why and when bass solos can suck! Well almost.

Apart from being a kick arse bassist whose pioneered new techniques, he also has some cool things to share about music philosophy too.  Growing up in a musical family he was playing bass with his four brothers at age five, in lovely Hawaii!!  He admits himself " I was born at the right place and the right time to a wonderful family". That's not to say he only had natural talent - he put in the hard work too. 


Maybe this is the type of soloing that works he is talking about:





This is Victor talking about music being a language on Ted-Ed.



Maybe one day I'll take a trip out to his hippy-bass camp at Wooten Woods in Nashville US too.


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