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Some thoughts on Tommy...

I have been reading a lot of talk on these boards about where one should go to college for some good tuba training, and I thought I’d chime in with a few thoughts about my favorite teacher (not just of tuba) of all time. Who just happens to teach at both USC and UCLA in Los Angeles. I must fairly note that Tommy Johnson is a USC fan.

Tommy doesn’t just teach tuba. He teaches sports, politics (how not to worry about politics too much), manners, respect, deep thought, technology in music, the list goes on and on and on.

Tommy Johnson and Roger Bobo are still best friends to this day. They both grew up in Los Angeles and competed in high school as the two best young players on the tuba ever. Not only have they played together and recorded together with the LA Phil, but they were playing together in high school honor bands as teenagers.

Tommy is 6’4â€

This post is making me smile. It's very rare to have genuine love come through a computer screen...THANK YOU for this post

What a great and informative post!

Your next step is to copy that messge directly to Tommy, so that he can know how you feel. As a teacher, it is incredibly gratifying to know when you've made a difference in one of your student's lives.

What we do as teachers is not exactly an exact science, so we don't always have a sense of whether or not we are accomplishing anything meaningful for all of our students. That's why I like to mow the yard or paint a bedroom...you do the job and the result is immediate! Not so with teaching. If I had a nickel for every time that a student walked out of the studio and I thought to myself "What just happened?", I'd have a bunch of nickels!

You have articulated beautifully the effect that Tommy has had on you as a musician and, more importantly, as a human being. Don't miss the opprtunity to share those thoughts with him.

Best regards,
DZ

Actually your next step is to expand this, put in more information, clean it up, then send to TJ AND the ITEA JOURNAL! Here is a present day player who has been heard by more people than most of us combined, this belongs in the journal for everyone to see.

Great post!! I have always planned on going to grad school somewhere near L.A. so I could take lessons from Tommy Johnson. Now, after reading that, I think I should go out there to finish my undergrad too.

All this talk about Tommy Johnson has got me, a grad school shopper, interested. He sounds like a great musician and a great teacher.

It's been remarked once or twice in recent discussions that Tommy Johnson's importance to the tuba is on par with Bill Bell or Arnold Jacobs. This I don't doubt, but if I may ask, how does Tommy Johnson compare as a pedagogue? Does he have Jacob's seeming omniscience and ability to solve any problem to go along with his established mastery of the instrument and overall musicianship?
This is an important question for those seeking a 'master' teacher.

Thanks!

A big "AMEN" to Dave and Brian. It would be great to give Tommy the opportunity to know how you feel. Dave is absolutely right that often teachers don't know if they have had any effect or not. And to have those thoughts published for the tuba world to read is also a great idea. Thanks for the great post and the great followups, too.

To kontrabass: YES, Tommy is truly a "master" teacher like you're looking for. His teaching skill is the reason I'm considering returning to grad school. To study with Tommy again would be worth every minute.

I too think the world of Tommy Johnson. He's a wonderful human being, and I have learned a lot from him.

Just think about the accomplishments of these four students who have passed through his studio:

Gene Pokorny - Chicago Symphony
Norm Pearson - Los Angeles Philharmonic
Alan Baer - New York Philharmonic
Jim Self - LA Studios, Pacific Symphony

That's a damn impressive list. There are of course many, many other students who have been very successful in tuba-related and non-tuba-related careers, but I thought these four were quite a statement.

Rod Mathews

Couldn't have expressed it any better! As a current student with Tommy, I thoroughly concur. He always seems to know exactly what I need as a student...whether it's to calm me down, get on my case or simply encourage, whatever it takes to get the best sound out of me. There are few teachers as generous as Tommy, but none more. And, as you mentioned, as a human being, he's even better.

Thanks for the post!! I'm glad someone put that out there!

Steve Oberheu

I don't post much on this board but this one got me going!

I had the priviledge to study with Mr. Johnson from 1985-89 at USC for my BM degree. Since then, I have had the great fortune to secure a fulltime playing position and study with some of the other GREATS of our time including Roger Bobo. ALL of them referred to Mr. J and the ones who don't know him, asked many questions about him. 20 years later I still think about what I learned and how I wish I would have payed more attention when I did study with him. As it has been stated, his caliber as a human being is at the same level or higher as his tuba playing, teaching, and musical skills and those will NEVER be in doubt.

As I play Petrouchka this week I am remined by one of the MANY great stories he told me. Before Roger's time, he played Petrouchka with the LA Phil when he was about 19 years old. After he finished the solo for the first time (on a CC tuba) he said he felt VERY tierd. The conductor then said it was one of the greatest Bear Solos he'd ever heard and said it was VERY exciting. The ony problem was that he'd played it with so much energy that the whole solo was one step too high!

It's time to stop and go practice and see if I can even come close to the standard he always taught me. I'm a lucky guy! Thank you Mr. Johnson.

Thank you all for your kind comments. I have fixed the Michael Kamen music for easier reading enjoyment.