The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music by Victor L. Wooten
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m actually not sure how I feel about this book yet.
It is similar to one of my favorite books of all time, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which opens with “What follows is based on actual occurrences. Although much has been changed for rhetorical purposes, it must be regarded in its essence as fact.”
What I like about this book is that it asks higher-level questions about music (primarily creating it, but also listening & appreciating it). It’s not a technique book, it’s an attitude book.
What I don’t like are primarily two things:
The prose is somewhat pedantic seems to be aimed at about a 6th or 7th grade intellect (perhaps it is)
The “miraculous occurrences” are to some extent, like something you might read in a free magazine you pick up at a new-age shop
But that criticism seems overly harsh, and I really did like this book. I think part of the point is to suspend dis-belief and see what it has to offer.
I also think that there is enough here to warrant a re-reading. No doubt Mr. Wooten is a musician of great talent and achievement and can obviously teach something about it to those of us willing to listen.
