“It’s probably not what you expected, but believe me, what you asked for is here. It’s up to you to find it.”
These are the words from world-renown bassist and musician Victor Wooten to his fellow performers searching for enlightenment, encouragement and a greater connection to Music. Wooten is a legend among bass players, having won multiple Grammy awards, traveling the globe, playing with artists like Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Stanley Clarke, Keb Mo’, Marcus Miller, and his four amazing siblings. Many musicians line up to watch him play, or to hear him speak at clinics, usually with bass guitar in mind, but Victor’s message in those sessions, and in “The Music Lesson” goes far beyond any single instrument.
A fictional(?) account of an event that changed his life, Victor opens the novel at a troubled period in his life. He’s living in Nashville, forcing himself to practice and hone his craft, despite the fact he has no pending gigs, an overdue rent, and a shortage of paying jobs and confidence. In this down-and-out moment, Victor is visited by a strange man with piercing eyes, dark hair and an almost superhuman sense of natural self-worth. This stranger, who appears in a NASA-style jumpsuit and motorcycle helmet, and carrying a skateboard, introduces himself as Michael.
Victor is confused, puzzled, overwhelmed, and angered. This is the reaction we all have when we come from an ignorant point of view. We are provided a voice of encouragement and education, and we immediately back off and put up the walls of defense. Victor initially does the same. In the midst of their somewhat heated introductions, Michael explains his philosophy. “I teach nothing because there is nothing to be taught. You already know everything you need to know, but you asked me to come, so here I am.”
This philosophy, in a nutshell, is the mindset of “The Music Lesson.” The novel, described as “a spiritual search for growth through music”, is just that. Victor’s story tells of his awakening from instrumentalist to true Musician, and he leaves many bread crumbs along the way for readers to follow. His guidance isn’t for readers to follow his path, but to take from his work everything that applies to them.
Bruce Lee, in “The Tao of Jeet Kun Do” wrote “[t]here is no fixed teaching. All I can provide is an appropriate medicine for a particular ailment.” He also wrote the famous line, “be like water, my friend.” Lee’s philosophy was very much aligned with Wooten’s lessons. The reader (student) is shown a number of enlightening exercises through someone else’s experience. There is no set of instructions, only what the student chooses to engage in and adapt into her mindset and practice.
Victor and Michael continue through a series of experiences that assist Victor in his awakening. The pair discuss the fundamental elements of music, beginning with groove (thank you very much) and continuing through pieces like notes, technique, articulation, emotion, and listening. Each of these elements is presented to Victor through a learning experience that he, in turn, provides to the reader. Incorporating each of these into practice isn’t easy…or is it? Isn’t that the point? Every reader’s experience will be different once they complete “The Music Lesson.”
Early in 2011, I had the opportunity to reconnect with a friend from my childhood, and to do so as peers (we both play bass in our respective bands.) Not long after that, we shared seats near the back of the room during one of Victor’s bass clinics. We shared dinner afterwards, and each of us were hard pressed to put what we had learned into words. We each had a different awakening. What we learned was not tailored to each of us as individuals; we were shown different things based on where we were as musicians.
Just as his music, Victor’s novel is composed well. The pacing is a continuous build with plenty of laughs, head scratching, and (for this reviewer) more than a few “a-ha” moments. Players who find themselves in harmony with Victor’s philosophy will undoubtedly re-read the book several times, hoping to find more and more ways to grow as Musicians. “The Music Lesson” is available as a print book and also in audio book format at http://www.themusiclesson.com.