17-year-old Tasmanian pianist CJ Jones has learned a lot from his whirlwind journey on The Piano.
Two lessons in particular stand out: making new friends and never quitting.
We first met Jones when he travelled from his Tasmanian hometown of Launceston to the Brisbane Queen Street Mall, where he wowed judges Andrea Lam and Guy Sebastian in the second series of the popular ABC TV show.
Music runs deep in Jones’s family. His nan introduced him to classical music, while his father, Scott Jones, taught him blues and jazz.
On The Piano, he stole the audiences’ hearts with performances of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now and Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor during the series final at Sydney’s City Recital Hall.
CJ Jones went to Brisbane from Tasmania, where he stole audiences’ hearts performing Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. (Supplied: ABC TV/Eureka Productions)
My first memories of the piano were …
When I was two years old, my father played blues and I was up the top end of the piano, banging the notes.
I remember my father playing a piece for me by Johnny Johnson called Tanqueray, which is a really cool blues piece.
And I also remember my nan playing Clair de lune by Claude Debussy.
My father was my first piano teacher and he’s still teaching me.
The first thing I learnt was a piece written by Neil Moore called Dreams Come True.
I practise so much every day …
So that one day I can have my own touring show and headline venues like Melbourne’s Hamer Hall and the Wembley stadium in the UK.
I have a system I do seven days a week.
In the morning, I always do my scales first. I do it in any type of way that I can imagine.
I use my scales for articulation and precision of notes and speed.
Then I’ll do hand exercises, particularly for strengthening up my fourth and fifth fingers and my wrists on both hands.
I also practise study pieces for my phrasing, dynamics, and the storytelling side of music.
And that’s just my warm-up routine.
After I finish my exercises, I’d play something I’m familiar with.
My biggest dream is …
To perform at Wembley Stadium.
It’s an iconic stage that so many of my idols have performed on and I would love to share that same stage.
My top five favourite piano pieces are …
J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, which I played at the finale of The Piano at the City Recital Hall; Michael Jackson’s Bad arranged by Peter Bence; Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Don’t Stop Me Now; and I absolutely love the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, especially He’s a Pirate by Hans Zimmer.
The one thing these pieces of music have in common is …
They’re very popular.
I love playing pieces that people would expect. They know how it goes, but I’m playing arrangements where these pieces are being twisted in a way that the audience wouldn’t expect.
I call it like a classical rock crossover.
The most rewarding thing about playing the piano is …
Seeing people’s faces light up when I play is incredible. It’s like you’re on cloud nine.
That’s why playing in aged-care homes is a joy for me. They might come in looking quite sad and down, but they always leave with a smile.
CJ Jones loves seeing audiences’ faces light up when he performs. (Supplied: ABC TV/Eureka Productions)
The biggest takeaways from The Piano are …
Meeting new people and performing in front of audiences.
When we arrived in Brisbane and we were in the room with the contestants waiting to go up to sit at the piano, I turned to my father and said:
I met some really lovely people in the show, like Louis from Western Australia who is also in the final concert. We’re good friends.
And I’ve been messaging with Caitlin, Erin, Peter and Rosie, and Vincenzo from last year’s season.
There’s no other word for it. Home is the people.
The ABC Classic 100 concert will be …
My first time coming to Melbourne.
I’m feeling very excited and also extremely nervous.
I’m going to be playing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor with a twist.
It’s going to have a bit of classical, stride, Latin and blues. So, I’m really excited for the world to hear this.
Pierre-Yves Plat, the arranger, actually messaged me after he saw me play it at the City Recital Hall and said how he loved what I did.
And I’ve been working on what Andrea Lam said in Sydney, which is not to speed up when I get nervous. So, when the adrenalin kicks in, my speed is well-controlled.
My advice to other young musicians is …
Take the word quit out of the vocabulary.
For me, from what I’ve learned and from my experience, we all go through those moments where we find it hard, and yeah, we struggle, but no matter what you do, just never quit.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Watch the ABC Classic 100 in Concert on ABC TV and ABC iview and hear it on ABC Classic on Saturday June 27 at 7:30pm.
