One thing musicians love to talk about is their influences - other musicians who have impacted their approach to music and how they make music. One of my big influences is a man that I regard as one of the preeminent bass players in the world today - Victor Wooten. Victor first attracted my attention not long after I started playing bass. What first grabbed my attention was his incredible technique; the man has so many ways to allow his music to come through his instrument.
Victor is particularly known for the double thumb technique which he uses to play very fast percussive lines on his bass. As I listened to Victor play more though I realized that he is about way more than flashy technique. He is also amazingly musical. Typically bass is not a solo instrument and even in a group setting will not take a lead role. The bass is generally considered a supporting instrument. Now Victor definitely fills this role with his bass playing, but he also can take the lead and play melodically. In fact, on his first album, called A Show of Hands bass is the only instrument on the album.
One tune that Victor is particularly known for is a solo performance of Amazing Grace. Here is a video of one of those performances:
Now clearly Victor is an amazing musician, but he goes beyond that. He is also a very interesting thinker. He has published a book called The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music. In the book, Victor discusses different elements of music. The lessons apply beyond the realm of music and also can be applied to life in general. In fact a lot of what inspired me to explore the connection between mediation and music were the ideas in Victor's book. So you see, not only is Victor a musical influence on me, he is also an influence in other areas.
Today's post title is the opening line of a song off of Victor's Album, Soul Circus.
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