Search - Victor Wooten: Groove Workshop on DVD

An Essential Reality Check for the Performing Muscian

Todd Flanders | Detroit, MI | 10/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are many aspects of musicianship that "go without saying". We don't talk about them, so growth occurs slowly (if at all). We can flounder for decades without ever becoming great players, never questioning why.

Victor and Anthony break these elements of music down in a very logical manner, allowing us as musicians to take a sober look at what we actually know and don't know. This can be a very shocking reality check, but it's also very inspiring.

The content is best suited for good bass players who want to grow into great bass players, but it is also applicable to beginning and intermediate bass players, and to musicians in general. Some exercises are strictly for bass players, but this video teaches music as a whole.

You won't learn how to play the VWB's funk-infused jazz from this series of lessons, but you will learn something more valuable -- how to make whatever you do more musical.

Victor's approach to learning music is unusual, but it's not radical. He does not attempt to replace the classic methods, but to supplement them. I would be skeptical if his teaching methods were radical, but they are simply based on observation of how music really works.
"

Master Class?

Patrick King | Exeter, NH | 04/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't let the Master Class classification fool you. If you're thinking of taking up any instrument and know virtually nothing about music, watch this video first! This video was a complete reawakening to me of what I'm trying to do learning music. If you're reading this you probably, as I do, consider Victor Wooten among the top five living bass players. I hoped simply to watch the self analysis of a master performer. This video is vastly more than that. Wooten starts out with defining music as a form of communication and then asks, "How did you first learn to communicate?" He looks at the remarkable success rate of humans learning to speak a first language and compares it to the frustration for most people of approaching music classes. Do we ask a baby to recite the alphabet before we teach them their first words? Wooten asks the participants what notes are in a G minor key? He proceeds to play a bass solo in G minor using only notes NOT in G minor. Then he plays one in the G minor scale. The first solo sounds better. Wooten's point is that music is not about notes. Notes may actually be the least important part of playing music. This is one of the most thought provoking music lessons I've ever taken, primarily because it asks me to STOP THINKING when I'm playing. I LOVE this video."

Not a quick fix, but well worth it!

Alexander Mercieca | Huntsville, AL | 11/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased this DVD thinking that it would be an instructional video like Billy Shehan or Jaco Pastorius. Well, it was not what I expected, but it was much more. It seems that Victor Wooten does not put out a DVD that is just simply an instructional video. This DVD is perfect for someone who wants to look at playing bass in a whole new way. He really gets you thinking about the music itself, not just memorizing different finger patterns."

Really outstanding

Wintertiger | 05/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To get right to the core of it, Victor Wooten is one of those very rare artists who is both stunningly talented and able to teach his art in a clear, understandable, and non-intimidating way that nonetheless will challenge the best student in the room. The only comparison I can make is Ansel Adams in photography, who similarly created both photographic masterpieces and educational works of great clarity and insight.

The workshop is more about practical philosophy for bass than specific techniques. He won't teach you slap and pop or tapping, nor will he do much with scales or arpeggios, but he will get you thinking about translating your techniques into an expression of you as an artist. This video is about breaking through the mechanical parts of bass playing and conveying music and emotion, and as a bassist bogged down in playing mechanically, I really benefitted from this.

While mostly centered on jazz, any bass player who gets to improvise or play more complex stuff will benefit from this.

Most of the things Victor teaches I never heard before, certainly not from teachers. I am not saying that this is an alternative to lessons or a complete way all unto itself; I am saying that this is another level of thinking to add to your total approach to music, and a very good one at that.

Well done, Victor. Much, much better than the Entwistle and Jaco videos, which while fun are limited by the reality that those two greats were not teachers. Victor Wooten talks about communicating with the bass, but he also communicates with words and example really well."