Music as a Language - Victor Wooten

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Music is a powerful communication tool--it causes us to laugh, cry, think and question. Bassist and five-time Grammy winner, Victor Wooten, asks us to approach music the same way we learn verbal language--by embracing mistakes and playing as often as possible.

Lesson by Victor Wooten, produced by TED-Ed.

Music is a language.

Both music and verbal languages serve the same purpose.

They are both forms of expression.

They can be used as a way to communicate with others.

They can be read or written.

They can make you laugh or cry,

think or question,

and can speak to one or many.

And both can definitely make you move.

In some instances music works better than the spoken word,

because it doesn't have to be understood

to be effective.

Although many musicians agree that music is a language,

it is rarely treated as such.

Many of us treat it as something

that can only be learned by following

a strict regimen, under the tutelage

of a skilled teacher.

This approach has been followed for hundreds of years

with proven success, but it takes a long time.

Too long.

Think about the first language you learn as a child.

More importantly, think about how you learned it.

You were a baby when you first started speaking,

and even though you spoke the language incorrectly

you were allowed to make mistakes.

And the more mistakes you made

the more your parents smiled.

Learning to speak was not something you were sent somewhere to do

only a few times a week.

And the majority of the people you spoke to

were not beginners.

They were already proficient speakers.

Imagine your parents forcing you to only speak to other babies

until you were good enough to speak to them.

You would probably be an adult before

you could carry on a proper conversation.

To use a musical term, as a baby you were allowed

to jam with professionals.

If we approach music in the same natural way

we aproached our first language

we will learn to speak it in the same short time

it took to speak our first language.

Proof of this could be seen in almost any family

where a child grows up with other musicians in the family.

Here are a few keys to follow in learning or teaching music:

in the beginning embrace mistakes, instead of correcting them.

Like a child playing air guitar, there are no wrong notes.

Allow young musicians to play

and perform with accomplished musicians

on a daily basis.

Encourage young musicians to play more than they practice.

The more they play the more they will practice on their own.

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 find out

what the students have to say.

We only tell them what they are supposed to say.

A child speaks a language for years,

before they even learn the alphabet.

Too many rules at the onset,

will actually slow them down.

In my eyes, the approach to music

should be the same.

After all, music is a language too.