In the summer of 2022, I started to play bass, and it was an instant connection. When I wasn’t playing music, I was listening. I needed to know more and more. When I found out about Victor Wooten and his “Wooten Woods” camps—week-long music-based camps located outside of Nashville, Tennessee—I knew I had to go. This was an opportunity for me to be so much better and to improve more than I could ever imagine.

When I arrived at the camp, I was nervous but mostly excited to learn and improve as a bass player. I took the tour and met Victor and all of the staff, and meeting one of my heroes was both inspiring and humbling. On the first day we were given a song to learn by the end of the week, and throughout the week we went to classes and learned lessons about music that I’m still trying to understand.

During the week I had been itching to play with some new people, but because of the classes and lessons during the first two days I had no time. On Wednesday I finally got a chance, so we started to play “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock. Then Victor Wooten walked in mid-song; I felt my heart drop. We continued to play, and he sat and watched. I could feel the bass slipping in my hands and the sinking feeling of humiliation. It felt like the music was getting louder and louder, and the notes were flying at me like bullets. After what felt like a decade of playing, we finished, and I already knew what was coming. Victor asked me some basic questions, and as I answered them, it started to become so obvious what I was doing wrong. However, all I could hear was my idol saying, 'You're bad,' and it was heartbreaking. I rushed out of the room to my cabin, and I was so embarrassed and lost.

Victor showed me if I think I know everything, I never will. Not just as a musician or artist, but as a person. If you're closing yourself off to feedback, you’re locking yourself into a cage, and you'll never grow as a person. Before that day I had heard Victor say, “The world doesn’t need more good musicians; the world needs more good people.” When I thought about what that meant, I knew that self-reflection was the best way to improve.

The rest of the week continued, and I had been thinking a lot about what Victor had told me and kept trying to learn and gain information. On Saturday, we heard that a Nashville band was going to come, and we would get a chance to watch and talk to them. When they got on the stage, they invited us to play with them. When we started to play the song that I had learned, “Use Me” by Bill Withers, I grabbed my bass, and it felt like everybody's eyes were needles in my back. I could feel roots from my feet sprout into the ground, and my fingers turned stiff like bark. My eyes scanned the room while we played the song, and I saw Victor. I thought about what he taught me. So I started to move. I looked at the drummer. I felt the bass mold into my arms and I wasn’t thinking anymore; I was just playing. When we ended the song, the crowd erupted, and it felt like I waited my whole life for this moment, and at the same time, I was born at this moment.

© Henry. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.