Introductions and Goals

Welcome to Sound Wave Samurai. This blog idea is, basically, a direct rip off of a blog idea that my wife used to create Katie Katie Roller Skatie. Now, before you start commenting telling me how awful it is to steal her idea, she's aware of it and giving me pointers. Her idea was to create a blog that she can use to talk about what's going on in her life and, at the same time, pass along ideas that she's come across in her particular field of study. While her field of study is food, mine is audio technology, whether that is in the form of playing tips; guitar, amp and effect modifications; repairs and finishing or studio engineering, mixing and mastering. Neither of us is professing to be the ultimate resource in our areas. These are simply ideas and tips that we've found useful. So, let's begin...unless you're hungry, in which case, go check out her blog.

Earlier this week, I had the very exciting opportunity to see Victor Wooten and his band open for the Stanley Clarke Band. Now, if you aren't familiar with either of those guys, you really need to be. Stanley Clarke is the main man responsible for the idea of a bass soloist and Vic is the man responsible for bringing that idea to a whole new level. I don't care what genre of music speaks to you the most. Knowing who these two guys are is a necessity. They define groove. Groove is the most basic element of any musical genre. If it doesn't have groove, people aren't gonna maintain interest. There's a reason that Low Rider is still relevant today. It's not a piece of lyrical genius. Very few people can even remember who played the song. It's not even very technically comlicated. But it's got groove for days.

Vic taught me one of the most important lessons a soloist can possibly know. It's completely simple and when you stop and think about it, it makes everything just "click".

Vic's lesson:

On bass or guitar, no matter what key you're playing in and no matter what note you play, you can only ever be a half-step off. Try it. Turn on any song at all. Hit any note on the fret board. If it's a wrong note, move up or down one fret. You'll be hitting a right note.

I got to meet Vic after the show. His response when I told him that was the most important lesson I had ever learned was a very humble and mellow "Yeah. It frees you up a bit doesn't it?"

There'll probably be a few more Vic quotes and tips to come in future posts. But, for now, we'll just leave it at that. But before I do, here's a pic of my bassist, R3, with the man, himself.