349 - Varo Johnson: Navigating through the seasons of life as a musician - Drummer's Resource: Conversations with the world's greatest drummers and music industry pros.
January 1, 2018

349 – Varo Johnson: Navigating through the seasons of life as a musician

Tavarious “Varo” Johnson, started playing at the age of three and it’s quite evident by his playing and more so by his “wise-beyond-years” wisdom. Though his career he’s performed with some of the greatest living Gospel musicians, as well as tours and clinics around the world. Varo breaks down how he turned his love and passion as a young drummer to forge a successful career as an adult. Varo shares his thoughts the mental and physical aspects of being a professional, dealing with your own career on your own timeline and why your attitude is more important that your talent.

Varo Johnson talks about:

  • How he got started playing drums at age 3
  • Why church drummers tend to start so young
  • Being nurtured by his family as a young musician
  • Turning passion into action and becoming a world-class player
  • His first time playing with a click track (and what he learned from it)
  • Studying how other people approach live records
  • Controlling body movement and muscle memory
  • The dangers of learning “just enough” to get by or to get attention
  • Learning to stop procrastinating
  • Developing focus, discipline and dedication
  • Visualizing what you want to accomplish
  • Being patient and not comparing yourself to other people’s timeline
  • Why it’s ok to have a “day gig”
  • Much more

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