College - Author 1
College of Liberal Arts
Department - Author 1
Music Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BA in Music
Date
4-2025
Primary Advisor
Nick Waldron, College of Liberal Arts, Music Department
Abstract/Summary
Victor Wooten is widely considered to be one of the greatest electric bass players of all time. He has put out multiple solo albums, is a music educator, and runs his own bass and nature camp. He is best known for his work with the ensemble Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. He is highly regarded for his innovative techniques, including two-handed tapping and double-thumbing. He won Bass Player Magazine’s Bass Player of the Year award three times – the only artist to ever win more than once. These accomplishments have been widely acknowledged and written about. This paper will look not at Wooten’s impressive technical ability, but at his use of the bass guitar as an equal member of an ensemble. I will show that Wooten is the first well-known, influential bass player to take the electric bass out of its sole position in the rhythm section and transition it to a melodic instrument; one that not only plays off the other instruments but that sets the tone for the others to follow. I will compare three individual pieces by artists that are not only highly-regarded, but that influenced Wooten’s work – “Long John” (bass player Marcus Montgomery), “Birdland” (bass player Jaco Pastorius), and “Bigfoot” (played by Wooten). I will then look at the larger work by Wooten on the album “Live Art” to show his work in the ensemble Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. But first, I will consider Wooten’s upbringing and introduction to the bass guitar, as well as provide a brief history of the instrument.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/musp/149
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