You can't speak Music with notes alone, but you can speak Music without notes at all!
Victor WootenRead
The bass is the link between harmony and rhythm. It is the foundation of a band. It is what all the other instruments stand upon, but it is rarely recognized as that.
Interpretation
The bass guitar plays a crucial role in a band, providing both harmony and rhythm, yet often goes unappreciated.
Victor Wooten's quote highlights the essential role of the bass in music, emphasizing its foundational importance in a band. It serves as a bridge between harmony and rhythm, supporting the overall musical structure while frequently being overlooked by audiences and musicians alike.
In practice
In a music class discussion about band roles, this quote can be used to stress the importance of various instruments.
We do two shows a night for five weeks. A lotta times we'll go upstairs and sing until daylight - gospel songs. We grew up with it...It more or less puts your mind at ease. It does mine.
There's no substitute for live work to keep a band together.
I must tell you I take terrible risks. Because my playing is very clear, when I make a mistake you hear it. If you want me to play only the notes without any specific dynamics, I will never make one mistake. Never be afraid to dare.
Superficial pop will always exist - there've always been Fabians - but when people like Dire Straits and Bruce Hornsby start having hits, it suggests that there's a revolution going on in music.
I don't play a lot of fancy guitar. I don't want to play it. The kind of guitar I want to play is mean, mean licks.
When I started playing music, people weren't selling 5 million records. That was not the standard; that was not the focus.
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