The Philosophy: "Music as Language"

Decoding the Language of Music: We will delve into Victor Wooten's profound perspective on music as a language, where he draws parallels between musical elements and linguistic components such as grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. Understanding this musical language opens up new dimensions of creativity and expression for both musicians and listeners.

Both music and verbal language serve the same purpose: they are forms of expression. They can be used to communicate with others, can be read and written, can evoke laughter or tears, provoke thought or questioning, and can address an individual or a crowd. Furthermore, both have the power to make you move and feel deeply.

In some cases, music works even better than spoken words because it doesn't require complete understanding to be effective. Although many musicians acknowledge that music is a "language," it is rarely treated as such. Often, it is perceived as something that can only be learned through strict regimentation under the guidance of a qualified teacher, a method that has been successful for centuries but can be time-consuming for some.

The Communicative Power of Music: Let's consider how we learned our first language as children. Most importantly, think about how you learned it:

You were allowed to make mistakes. As a baby, when you began speaking, you didn't use the language perfectly, and that was normal. The more mistakes you made, the more your parents smiled!

Learning to speak didn't require you to attend a school several times a week. Most of the people you interacted with were not beginners; they were already proficient speakers. Imagine if your parents forced you to talk only to other babies until you were good enough to speak with them! You would probably be an adult before having a proper conversation.

Using a musical term, as a baby, you could "jam" with professionals.

Music and Emotional Intelligence: If we approach music in the same natural way we approach our first language, we will learn to play in the same short time it took us to speak our first language.

The proof of this can be seen in almost any environment where a child grows up with other musicians in the family.

Here are some tips to follow when learning or teaching music as a language:

• Embrace mistakes at the beginning instead of correcting them. Like a child playing air guitar, there are no wrong notes.

• Allow young musicians to play and perform with talented musicians daily.

• Encourage young musicians to play more than they practice. The more they play, the more they will practice on their own.

• Remember that music comes from the musician, not the instrument.

And most importantly, remember that a language works best when we have something interesting to say.

Many music teachers never discover what their students have to say. We simply tell them what they should say.

A child speaks a language for years before even learning the alphabet. Too many rules at the beginning will actually hold them back.

In my view, the approach to music should be the same.

After all, music is a language too.

Through this exploration of "Music as Language" by Victor Wooten, we will gain valuable insights into the universality of music as a means of communication and its potential to enrich our lives and elevate the human experience. This is the philosophy of our club.