A Perspective on Warming Up

This is an illustration on the process I use right now concerning warming up. This is strictly concerning marimba--I warm up differently on other instruments such as snare, timpani, piano, etc. However, there are general things I do that can be transferred to any instrument. I hope that anyone who reads this can find something interesting to add to their warm-up, no matter what instrument they may play.

1) I take a couple of deep breaths, and let go of everything that happened previously in the day. I don't practice in the morning, so this step is important for me.

2) After getting relaxed, I immediately think the word "music". And I never get away from that thought. After all, if I'm not practicing music the way I'm going to perform it, then what's the point of even practicing? There simply isn't, not for me.

3) Now I actually start playing. If I have plenty of time to warm up, I will start with a major 7th chord and use chord mutation to go an octave down the marimba. A more elaborate explanation follows:

For example, say I play a C major 7th chord (major chord, not dominant). Mallets 1 and 2 play C and G, respectively, and mallets 3 and 4 play B (natural, not flat) and E, respectively. Then I move mallets 2 and 3 down to F and A, respectively. Finally, I move mallets 1 and 4 down to B and D, respectively. And I continue through this alternating pattern until I reach the same C,G,B,E pattern an octave down the marimba. This is transferrable to all natural, flat, and sharp keys and should be done so.

Hearing is always better than reading about it, so here's an audio file. It should make more sense, if it doesn't already. Keep in mind, playing music is the most important thing, so I always try to play this as musically as I can.

7th Chord Progression


4) Next, I play some major and minor arpeggios. Starting on C, I go three octaves, up and down, in sixteenth notes. After finishing C I continue to C#, and repeat the process until I reach the next C an octave up. I always do this with a metronome, and again always play as "musically" as I can. The speed of the met depends on if I just want to warm up my technique, or if I want to push my technique. It varies depending on the day. Here is an audio example of the arpeggios I play.

3 Octave Arpeggios


5) Next, I play some sort of chorale. I do this to get in the mood of playing actual compositions. The ones I use are from a book by Evelyn Glennie ("Three Chorales for Marimba"). I don't play through the whole chorale (unless I feel like it), but I do always play them as musically as I can. Here is an audio file of the chorale "Giles", by Evelyn Glennie.

Giles

6) Finally, I take a break!


So there you have it. This usually takes 30-40 minutes or so, and of course can be shortened if needed. If I don't have that time to warm up, I'll usually just play a couple of the 7th chord proggressions and go a few times through the arpeggios. This is an ever-changing philosophy I will have on warming up, but as of right now, this is what I do.

Thanks for reading!

-J

A Brief Hiatus

So I have taken a bit of a break from practicing. I've needed some time to refresh my brain with all the intake it has gone through for the past month and a half. I'll be back tomorrow working as hard as ever though. So look for more posts having at least some relevant though to them.

-J

Birthday

I'll be 21 in 1 hour and 35 minutes. That is all.

-J

Getting Caught in the Rain

Interesting story:

I was on my way to rehearse the Creston concerto about an hour ago . It was storming, but storms are awesome when you're practicing and it didn't seem too bad outside. So I get to the fine arts building (commonly referred to as the f.a.r.t.s. building *insert immature laugh here*), and make my way to where I was going to rehearse. I get my marimba in place next to the piano, and start to get a music stand, when *BAM!!!!* And then the lights go out.

"Great", I think to myself. So I go to a door that leads outside to see if the power was out in the building or on the whole campus. And as it turned out, there was power everywhere except for the fine arts building and a dorm accross the street. So I wait for about fifteen minutes in the pitch-black darkness until I gave up and went home.

There goes a potentially good rehearsal. But oh well. I'll just have to play catch-up tomorrow.

The end.

-J

Creston 2nd Movement

Since I now have the option of adding audio to my page, here is a link to the second movement of the Creston Concerto. It's still in the process of becoming great, but it's a start. Enjoy, and ignore all mistakes, haha.

Creston 2nd Movement

-J

Figuring Out Audio

For my birthday (which is the 17th), my mom got me a digital recorder. This awesome gift is the perfect way to record rehearsals and critique myself. Also, I'll be recording certain things of interest and will put them up on blogs. So after figuring out how to upload audio, I posted a couple of things on this blog.


1. One of my more intellegent moments: Weird Noise

2. On a more serious note, here is a hymn that I am composing for my grandfather. It's in it's beginnings, so it's only on piano right now. The voice part is the isolated line in my right hand, and the harmonies are...well, harmonized in my left. Hymn

-J

Accomplishment

There are a lot of adjectives to describe the Concertino for Marimba and Orchestra, by Paul Creston. Here are two:

1. Fun!
2. Difficult beyond measure

I can understand more and more every time I rehearse the piece why it is such a standard of the percussion--more specifically marimba--literature. If you get a chance to hear it, do it!!

I finished my biography today. It is a longer version, meant for PR in a newspaper. Here it is:

"Jason Johnston is currently pursuing a bachelor degree in percussion performance from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, studying under David Bessinger. While studying percussion for little over a year, Mr. Johnston has performed many works for marimba, including the famous Concertino for Marimba and Orchestra by Paul Creston. His debut CD, entitled “Independent Thinking”, was just released this past summer.

Born in 1986, Mr. Johnston has resided in Oklahoma for over ten years. While playing cornet, euphonium, and snare drum throughout middle school, high school, and the first half of college, Mr. Johnston made the decision to change to percussion entirely in the fall of 2006. It is a decision he never regrets.

Later this fall, Mr. Johnston will perform at Azusa Pacific University, in Azusa California. Along with his friend and accompanist, Dr. Dennis Widen, and two professors at Azusa, Mr. Johnston will be premiering a work for marimba, piano, trumpet, and cello.

In addition to performing, Mr. Johnston is also a composer, having won two competitions with a choral arrangement of “Be Thou My Vision” and an Adagio for Strings. The latter composition will be performed by the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra in the 2008-2009 season.

As a proud member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, it is Mr. Johnston’s hope and desire that wherever he performs, he can benefit someone’s life, and inspire them in whatever they do—be it music or anything else."


So that's that. I'll do the short bio, meant for programs, tomorrow.

-J

Beethoven, hmmm...?

I am not the biggest fan of Beethoven, nor the entire Romantic era (although I do like early Beethoven, which I consider late Classical). I realize that to most classically trained musicians I am blaspheming, but the Romantic era--in terms of theory (harmonies and "new" compositional techniques such as doubly augmented 4/3 chords and the ridiculous use of enharmonicism), simply does not appeal to my compositional and performing nature. However, I really enjoy his seventh symphony, especially movement II (Allegretto). It's one of the few pieces by Beethoven to get some feeling from me. So go Beethoven! And, why not? Go me.

-J

Getting the Ball Rolling

Today, I started work on getting programs and flyers ready for the performances I have in the fall. I completed all the program notes for the marimba pieces I've done, and will begin to work on four or five different layouts for programs tomorrow. I find it quite humerous--although I doubt anyone else will-- that if I played just the marimba pieces I know, it would take over two hours. And there's still concert snare and timpani. Oh, how I love timpani...

I also had my first lesson of summer school. I layed out my goals, and will be concentrating almost exclusively on timpani. I'll do some vibraphone as well though. I'll be doing marimba this summer, of course (there is a cd I'm doing this summer), but it'll be on my own. Speaking of my cd, here are the pieces I'm performing:

1. Nocturnal Dance--Jesse Monkman
2. Marimba Dances--Ross Edwards
3. Light in Darkness--Evelyn Glennie
4. Memory's Glimpse/Z' Rondo--Ginger Zyskowski
5. Concertino for Xylophone and Orchestra--Toshiro Mayuzumi

The cd will be titled "Independent Thinking", paying amage to the fact that I simply think differently than most people. That is a blessing but also a curse, at times. I like who I am because of the way I do things and my confidence (we're talking strictly about music; I have no confidence in anything else), but it gets me into a lot of embarassing situations, haha. But I digress...

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Concerning the fall, here is a tentative list of the locations I'm performing (in no specific order):

1. Cameron University (Lawton, OK)
2. Tulsa University (Tulsa, OK)
3. Nancy O' Brian Center for the Performing Arts (Norman, OK)
4. Southwestern Oklahoma State University (Weatherford, OK)
5. Enid Public Schools (Enid, OK)
6. Azusa Pacific University (Azusa, CA)

An interesting thing about the California date is that I'll be premiering a work along with my good friend, accompanist, and professor Dr. Dennis Widen. The work will be for marimba, piano, trumpet and cello. It will be composed by Seth Cudd, a very able composer and music educator. Check out his website--you won't be disappointed with his music.

There are about a million other things to write about, but I'm tired and will be going to bed soon. I'll continue the ridiculously busy saga that is Jason Johnston's life tomorrow.

-J

A Purpose

As a first post, I feel I should explain just why I have this website to begin with. And so here I go...

The reason I have titled this page "A Musician's World" is because I intend to give an account of what a prospective performer (in my case, percussion) goes through in their quest for their own "holy grail". What exactly that "holy grail" is differs for every person; you all will find out soon enough what it is for me.

This page will be used for personal accounts of practices and rehearsals I do, as well as the ever-growing list of pieces I perform/learn. In addition, I am sure I will end up posting general things about music theory, history, and anything else that I find fascinating about music (it is after all, my page).

It is my hope that whoever reads these blogs will find inspiration in whatever they do, even if it doesn't have anything to do with music.

-J