Snarky Puppy Visits BIMM Dublin
“These are probably the only three or four years of your life where your sole responsibility is to get better at music!”
So said Michael League of Snarky Puppy to students at his recent BIMM Dublin Masterclass. We’re pretty certain his encouragement to make the most of those study years fell on some very enthusiastic ears!
Following the huge success of our Snarky Puppy Masterclass in November last year, Michael made a return visit to BIMM Dublin to speak with a new group of students, generously sharing his musical tips and career advice, and wowing the audience with some awesome bass performances along the way.
Michael’s band Snarky Puppy are less a traditional band and more a unique musical collective. The Brooklyn-based group have a rolling membership with musicians routinely going on hiatus to perform and record with major acts like Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu and Justin Timberlake, as well as a host of well-known jazz artists on the live circuit.
At BIMM Dublin, Michael gladly answered questions from the students on everything from his playing technique to his approach to songwriting:
“The most important thing is to not put out something that you’re not happy about,’ Michael told the class. ‘Even if it takes you five years, just be patient!”
Gavin McCormack, a BA3 Guitar student, described the Masterclass as, “Awesome – and very insightful.” Sean Ryan BA1 Songwriting, agreed, saying:
“Michael was really inspirational in terms of arranging and producing his music, not just playing. His anecdotes and experiences are really something to look up to.”
Michael’s wise words will be something his students can keep learning from at BIMM and in their future careers:
“I’m not the type of person to get complacent based on what other people’s opinions of me are. We won a Grammy and we were driving around in a really crappy van pretty soon after! You don’t play music to win a Grammy, you do it because you just love to play music!”