David Johnson is an instructor and coordinator in the percussion program at the California Institute of the Arts. A specialist in mallet percussion he has played with artists like Yusef Lateef, Dave Brubeck, Mel Torme, Maureen McGovern and Green Day.
David Johnson, from the California Institute of the Arts, talks about what he looks for when auditioning students. He explains that he looks for a seriousness of intent, a love of playing, and that the student has a goal. He believes a student will not stay in the music industry very long if they do not love it.
David Johnson, from the California Institute of the Arts, gives advice to anyone who wants to become a professional musician. He stresses that you must really love it and want to spend the necessary time on it takes to be successful.
David Johnson, from the California Institute of the Arts, talks about the challenges of playing by ear and its relevance to improvisation. He explains that playing by ear is a strength of jazz players and an advantage of drummers. He discusses how most of the world's music is played by ear.
David Johnson, from the California Institute of the Arts, talks about the difficulties of being a percussionist. He also discusses the variety of instruments that percussionists could and/or should play. He explains that he practices the vibraphone and the marimba on a daily basis. Also in this segment, he discusses the changes in the drumset in regards to more demands of style, more virtuosity and much more specialization. He believes the percussion field in general explores music of other cultures more often than other instruments.
David Johnson, from the California Institute of the Arts, talks about how he teaches tone production, rhythm and tempo. He explains that having good wrists and hands aid in tone production and rhythm. He explains that developing the hands will enable the musician to get a lot of color and control from the instrument such as a cymbal. He discusses his methods of teaching rhythm such as getting the body to move to rhythm, using repetition, and singing. He believes that rhythm usually falls apart due to technical problems. Also in this segment, Mr. Johnson discusses how the way we approach rhythm in Western culture is shifting.
