Mr. Wellington,
First off, I think it's awesome that you make yourself available to answer questions on this forum. I'm new here, but have already learned quite a few things reading back through previous threads. Thank you so much!
I attended Mr. Wooten's clinic / show in Davenport, IA a few weeks ago, and I was really blown away. What an awesome and fun experience, so glad you guys swung through here! I'm not sure if I've ever witnessed so much talent on one stage at once, and it was an absolute pleasure to witness in person musicians with such a mastery of their craft. I've been thinking about it ever since! I now really regret not hanging around afterwards to talk to you guys, but I was honestly intimidated
I wasn't aware of your work before that show, but have since done quite a bit of reading up on your teaching methods, etc. and I really respect your opinion and work ethic. I'm 35 and have played bass off and on (poorly, compared to the likes of you and others here I'm sure) since my mid-teens. Seeing you guys play really inspired me to pick it up again and to try to finally learn to read music, etc. Just for my own personal growth and fun, really - I don't have any plans at this point to form a band or break into the music industry.
Enough background, on to my question (and I welcome others' opinions on this as well)...
How much do you think the quality of one's instrument affects their learning development? I currently have an Ibanez SoundGear SR800LE (Japanese-made) and while I don't really consider it a complete piece of $hit, it certainly isn't a custom Fodera by any means. I assume that generally, the higher the quality of the bass, the easier it is to play and learn on. I'm guessing the popular opinion is that if you can learn to play well on a crappy bass, then you'll be able to play even better on a really nice one. But I have to think there's some amount of frustration that gets introduced in your development when you're playing on a bass with 3" action (exaggeration, obviously) vs. a super-nice one.
I tend to have these thoughts about a lot of hobbies I get into. Take golf, for example - when you're first trying to learn to play, most people aren't going to go drop $3,000 on a nice set of clubs, they're probably going to get a beginner set at first to make sure they like the game, etc. But that beginner set is not going to be anywhere near as forgiving as a high-end set, and a beginning player might have a much easier and more enjoyable time if they'd had the means to learn using a higher-end set rather than dealing with the limitations of their low-end set. That beginner might quit, thinking "I just suck at golf!" while, if they'd maybe had a chance to play with higher-quality equipment, they might not have had the same frustrations and would have stuck with it. I try not to use this as an excuse for not getting better in these situations (e.g. - "I could play like Anthony if I just had a better bass!"), but it is something that I do think about from time to time. If I was really serious about pursuing a career in music, the decision to upgrade might be easier, but dropping thousands of dollars on a nice bass is a tough sell in my current situation.
I'd love to get your take on all this. Thanks in advance if you have time to get back to me!
On a side note, my wife and I are currently in the process of trying to move to the Nashville area sometime relatively soon, and if we do I hope to possibly attend one of Mr. Wooten's camps or get involved with his organization in some capacity, the whole thing seems cool as hell. So maybe I'll see you around. Or I might just have to see about taking some Skype lessons with you, if I ever start to get more serious about bass.
My apologies for such a long post, wanted to make sure I included the proper accolades and so forth in here!
First off, I think it's awesome that you make yourself available to answer questions on this forum. I'm new here, but have already learned quite a few things reading back through previous threads. Thank you so much!
I attended Mr. Wooten's clinic / show in Davenport, IA a few weeks ago, and I was really blown away. What an awesome and fun experience, so glad you guys swung through here! I'm not sure if I've ever witnessed so much talent on one stage at once, and it was an absolute pleasure to witness in person musicians with such a mastery of their craft. I've been thinking about it ever since! I now really regret not hanging around afterwards to talk to you guys, but I was honestly intimidated
I wasn't aware of your work before that show, but have since done quite a bit of reading up on your teaching methods, etc. and I really respect your opinion and work ethic. I'm 35 and have played bass off and on (poorly, compared to the likes of you and others here I'm sure) since my mid-teens. Seeing you guys play really inspired me to pick it up again and to try to finally learn to read music, etc. Just for my own personal growth and fun, really - I don't have any plans at this point to form a band or break into the music industry.
Enough background, on to my question (and I welcome others' opinions on this as well)...
How much do you think the quality of one's instrument affects their learning development? I currently have an Ibanez SoundGear SR800LE (Japanese-made) and while I don't really consider it a complete piece of $hit, it certainly isn't a custom Fodera by any means. I assume that generally, the higher the quality of the bass, the easier it is to play and learn on. I'm guessing the popular opinion is that if you can learn to play well on a crappy bass, then you'll be able to play even better on a really nice one. But I have to think there's some amount of frustration that gets introduced in your development when you're playing on a bass with 3" action (exaggeration, obviously) vs. a super-nice one.
I tend to have these thoughts about a lot of hobbies I get into. Take golf, for example - when you're first trying to learn to play, most people aren't going to go drop $3,000 on a nice set of clubs, they're probably going to get a beginner set at first to make sure they like the game, etc. But that beginner set is not going to be anywhere near as forgiving as a high-end set, and a beginning player might have a much easier and more enjoyable time if they'd had the means to learn using a higher-end set rather than dealing with the limitations of their low-end set. That beginner might quit, thinking "I just suck at golf!" while, if they'd maybe had a chance to play with higher-quality equipment, they might not have had the same frustrations and would have stuck with it. I try not to use this as an excuse for not getting better in these situations (e.g. - "I could play like Anthony if I just had a better bass!"), but it is something that I do think about from time to time. If I was really serious about pursuing a career in music, the decision to upgrade might be easier, but dropping thousands of dollars on a nice bass is a tough sell in my current situation.
I'd love to get your take on all this. Thanks in advance if you have time to get back to me!
On a side note, my wife and I are currently in the process of trying to move to the Nashville area sometime relatively soon, and if we do I hope to possibly attend one of Mr. Wooten's camps or get involved with his organization in some capacity, the whole thing seems cool as hell. So maybe I'll see you around. Or I might just have to see about taking some Skype lessons with you, if I ever start to get more serious about bass.
My apologies for such a long post, wanted to make sure I included the proper accolades and so forth in here!
