Former President of the Mississippi Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, Dr. Joshua K. Armstong, is an Associate Professor of Music and Assistant Director of Bands at Delta State University. There he is responsible for all aspects of its percussion program, as well as directing the percussion ensemble, world percussion group, drumline, and teaching applied lessons.
Dr. Armstrong earned his Bachelor’s degree in music education and his Master’s degree in percussion
performance from Texas Tech University, and was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in percussion performance from The University of Arizona. He has performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Symphony, the North Mississippi Symphony, the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, and the Midland Symphony.
Along with being a sponsored educator and artist with Vic Firth Drumsticks, Marimba One Marimbas, and Black Swamp Percussion, Dr. Armstrong is a music reviewer for Percussive Notes, and serves on the board of directors for the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy. Moreover, he has appeared at multiple Days of Percussion in such states as: Arizona, Iowa, and Mississippi; as a guest artist at multiple universities around the country; and at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy.
When did you begin studying music?
I began in third grade. For a few years I asked my parents if I could have piano lessons, and they finally gave in and signed me up at that time. Neither of my parents were musicians, so it seems odd looking back that I wanted to learn the piano so badly. However, once I started I was hooked. I loved playing music.
When did you begin studying percussion?
I didn’t begin percussion until I entered the sixth grade band. I thought playing the drums sounded like a ton of fun and that’s what I wanted to do. Fortunately, my band director thought I would be a good percussionist and let me start on that. I continued with percussion and piano all the way through my high school years.
What made you choose percussion?
I really don’t know why I wanted to play percussion other than I thought “drums were cool.” Which I think we can all agree they are! At the time, I didn’t even know about marimba, xylophone, timpani, or any of the other percussion instruments. I just thought I would be a drum set player. Once I began playing marimba, my piano background kicked in, and I gravitated more towards the keyboard side.
Who were your primary teachers?
I have been very fortunate to have so many great influences in my career. I started college at Texas Tech in the fall of 2000, and that’s when I began studying with Lisa Rogers. It took a bit for me to find my groove in college, but once I did, Lisa helped me take off. Along with her I had the privilege of studying with Alan Shinn as well. Those two at Tech really helped me to grow and learn how to be a serious and good musician. After I completed my bachelor’s and master’s with them, I went to The University of Arizona where I studied with Norm Weinberg and Gary Cook. Those two helped me even more. They had completely different approaches from my previous teachers, which I think was a great move for me, because I learned new ways of thinking that I put in my arsenal of tricks. I really enjoyed studying with each of those teachers tremendously, and owe them a lot for helping become what I am today.
When did you decide to pursue a career in music?
I knew early on in high school that I wanted to pursue music as a career. It just seemed like a good fit at the time. Fortunately, my parents were very supportive of me going to college to pursue music. To be honest, they were actually just supportive of me going to college – they didn’t care what I majored in. I just knew that music was something I loved doing, and if I could make a living at it, then why not go for it?
Did you have a specific goal: teach, compose, etc.?
When I first entered college my goal was to become the best high school band director in the state of Texas. That’s all I wanted to do was teach high school band. As I began learning more about percussion, and improving my skills, I found that I really wanted to focus on that. I also noticed that high school band directors didn’t seem to play their instruments as much once they started teaching, and I didn’t want to stop playing. I shifted my focus into becoming a professor because I saw that they got to teach and play, and that sounded like something I would enjoy more. I still earned my Bachelor’s degree in music education though, just in case that grad school thing didn’t work out.
Do you focus on a specific area of percussion, if so, did you always?
I think as an educator I definitely focus on being a competent all-round percussionist, however, I think we all gravitate towards certain areas. I definitely enjoy the mallet side of percussion, and the steel drum side the most. As a younger student in high school I was kind of forced to be the mallet person. I was one with a piano background, so it was easy to just give me the mallet parts in band. I remember one time asking the director if I could please play snare on a piece! Because of those experiences my mallet playing flourished more, but when I entered college my snare and timpani skills were severely lacking. Fortunately, I worked hard on both and got them up to where they needed to be; but I still gravitate towards the marimba.
Who impacted your musical growth the most?
Wow – this is a really tough question. All my teachers had huge impacts on my growth and my career. I don’t want to discount any of the gifts that any of my teachers gave me – they all had huge impacts on my life, and I wouldn’t be where I am without any one of them. But if I was forced to choose one it would have to be Lisa Rogers. She had me as a scrappy young freshman who didn’t know anything. She was patient with me, and tough when she needed to be. When I began improving she gave me opportunities to be in top ensembles and gigs around town. She taught me not just about percussion, but how to be more professional: how to network, and just navigate this field. I think without her influence at the beginning of my collegiate studies, I wouldn’t have even achieved the level needed to go on for my doctorate with my other teachers. She was a huge influence on me. She is a great mentor, and I still have the pleasure of working with her on different things. I’m so very grateful for her influence on my life.
What teaching positions have you held?
I was a teaching assistant at Texas Tech during my Masters, and at Arizona during my DMA studies. I taught for one year at the University of Northern Iowa as a sabbatical replacement, and now I’m at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS.
What percussionists have inspired you the most and why?
This might sound really cheesy, but my friends. In college we were a very close group that were always practicing together. Practicing was almost like our social time, just hanging out in the studio playing for each other. We would help each other all the time. Like I said earlier, snare was not my best instrument, so I had friends help me with techniques and sounds that they were good at, and I could help them with mallet stuff. Even now, we’re all over the country in different jobs, but it’s great to have them backing me up, and pushing me still.
If you’re looking for well known percussionists – I was a Michael Burritt nerd in school. I had the fortune to play for him in a masterclass at Tech, and I was playing this beginning marimba solo called McFarland’s Rag. It’s a fun piece, but it’s a beginning level work and I was kind of embarrassed because the older students were playing harder stuff. Burritt was just so down to earth and nice to me, and of course gave me great feedback. For a while I would only play with his mallets!
Is there a specific genre you enjoy performing the most?
There’s nothing specific really. I definitely enjoy music that is more on the tonal side of things, but I so love some good dissonance. If there is a beautiful chorale, I’m usually hooked. I’ve been getting more into marimba and electronics stuff lately though.
What composers do you identify with and why?
I have always enjoyed Ewazen’s percussion works. I feel he just “gets” percussion. That might sound weird, but it just works so well, and can be so powerful and beautiful: he can take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. Most of the time, it’s not the composer, but the music for me. I need to just enjoy the piece. If the piece speaks to me, or makes me feel, then I will be into it. I think most composers have great music out there, and not so great music out there. That’s not a bad thing. I had a professor tell me one time, Not everything Beethoven wrote was the ninth, and he was right. I think music can be so subjective as well. I know pieces that I just can’t stand that some people think are the best thing ever. It’s just personal taste.
Do you get nervous before you play – if so, how do you deal with it?
OH MY GOSH DO I ?!?!?!?! Yes, every time. Every single time. I had real bad nerves in grad school, and I was constantly looking for ways to get rid of them. Then I realized it’s not about getting rid of the nerves, but learning to perform with them. So now I practice being nervous. One thing I found is that for some reason when I record myself, I get really nervous, even if I know I’m not putting it out anywhere; just the act of pressing record will make me nervous. So recording myself helps me to practice being nervous. I also will run in place for a while before playing through a piece. This will make me short of breath, make my legs feel a little shaky, and it basically recreates the physiological symptoms of nervousness.
One of the biggest things I do that really helps me calm down, is I use visualization. I like to sit in the hall while it’s empty, and just picture myself playing every piece on stage. Just picture in my mind how I’m going to look, and how it’s going to sound. For some reason this really helps to calm my nerves.
Do you ever make a mistake while performing? If so, how do you go about resolving it?
Who hasn’t? Of course I make tons of mistakes when performing. The biggest thing for me is to just keep going. I like to sing along with the piece in my head, it keeps my hands moving in the right directions even if a wrong note is hit. The best way to resolve it is to acknowledge it happened. Far too often one mistake will haunt you for the rest of the performance, which will lead to more mistakes. Acknowledging the mistake allows you to get past it. I do this by playing what I call the “Oops game.” I learned this from Gary Cook. When you make a mistake, just say “Oops.” This helps you to acknowledge that something went wrong, and you can move on. In the same vein, when something goes really well you just say, “Yup.” I also had someone tell me that they would miss a note on purpose in the first few bars of a performance; that way they would relax and have fun because this wasn’t the perfect run through.
When I was interviewing for my job, I played a Bach cello suite, the G Major Prelude. Anyway, during the performance I missed a note, and I figured I wasn’t going to get the job because I missed a note in Bach. This actually helped to relax me for the rest of the performance, and it went really well.
Has your practice regimen changed from when you were a student? And how do you keep your technique fresh on all primary percussion instruments?
Oh yes. I don’t get to practice nearly as much as when I was a student. However, I don’t have to perform as much, so it works out. I actually find teaching helps my technique stay pretty solid. I do a lot of modeling in my teaching which has helped me to keep my technique strong. Sometimes it shows what I’ve been lacking!
How do you define a good musician and a good teacher? And has your definition of both changed from when you were a student to the present?
I think a good teacher inspires students to learn and improve. The teacher helps students find what’s inside of them. I tell students all the time, I can only guide you, I can’t do the work. I wish I could do the work for all of them, but all I can do is guide. If they follow my guidance, they will improve. I think the definition of a good musician varies. For me, a good musician is a person that can move me. That can make me feel something with their abilities. Someone who takes myself and the audience on a ride with their performance. I think far too often people mistake technique with musical ability. Don’t get me wrong, technique is very important, and needs to be learned, but you don’t have to spit out a thousand notes a minute to prove how good of a musician you are. Far too often, good music is some of the easiest.
Do you think that performing and teaching are intrinsically intertwined? If so, how and why?
I think they can be, but they don’t have to be. However, I think being a good performer will help get your students to another level. Yet, a good teacher can help improve a student’s technique and musicality, and be a better percussionist, even though that teacher may have issues when it comes to performing. There could be mental issues, even physical issues that prevent that teacher from being the best performer. I do think it helps though. I can’t remember where I heard it, but a great quote I tell my students is: You can only lead people to the level of musicianship that you yourself have achieved. I think that’s important.
Has teaching made you a better musician, if so how and why?
Teaching has definitely made me a better musician. It might sound cheesy, but it’s true that we learn just about as much from our students as they learn from us. I have had students come in and do things that I would have never thought of, and it works. This helps me when it comes to thinking about how I’m playing. It also helps to be a reminder of what you don’t have to be. I don’t have to be perfect. I want to be, but I tell my students it’s ok if you miss a few notes, and it helps to just remind me that I don’t have to be perfect. Of course we want to be, but it’s ok not to be.
Knowing what you know today, would you change anything about how you prepared for your career? If so, what and why?
I think it’s really easy to look back and think about the “what ifs.” What if I had not gone to Texas Tech? What if I had not chosen Arizona? All these things would have probably had a huge impact on what I’m doing today. Yes there are things that I wish I would have done. I wish I would have done drum corps for at least a summer. I think it would have been beneficial if I had spent a little time teaching in the public schools. However, if I had done those things, I don’t know that I would be where I am today. I have a job I love, I have a great wife, and two wonderful children. I wouldn’t want to change anything because all of the decisions I made led me to this point. It’s just like performing, I can’t change the wrong notes, but I can change what is coming up. Gary Cook used to say, nothing has happened, something is about to. It’s a way of thinking about our mistakes in performing. I can’t change the wrong notes I’ve hit, but I can change what I’m about to hit. I think it’s the same in life. I can’t go back and change what I did, so why focus on that? Let’s focus on what’s about to happen, and what I can do now to better affect my future.
What words of wisdom would you share with a student who aspires to make a career as a performer and as an educator?
It’s harder than it looks. Practice now while you have all the time and energy to do it. Learn to deal with rejection. Really evaluate every opportunity that comes your way and decide if it will help advance your goal. And finally, drink plenty of water, and start exercising while you’re young!
