Here at IWIM we believe in a holistic approach to music, one that’s not centred on solely technique drills or theory concepts – but one where these elements are woven in with contextual examples and real-time experiences. Far too many of us still have flashbacks to old-school piano lessons, when an we would be rapped our knuckles after every wrong note. In the video above — the first ever live-action TED-Ed lesson — five-time Grammy winner Wooten explains that music is a language and that learning to play it shouldn’t be a militaristic affair.
“Think about the first language you learned as a child,” says Wooten in the video. “You were a baby when you first started speaking, and even though you spoke the language incorrectly, you were allowed to make mistakes. The more mistakes you made, the more your parents smiled.”
Watch above, as Wooten envisions a way of learning music whereby children are encouraged to do their own thing and to practice alongside better musicians in order to sharpen their skills.