|
|
|
Harmonica, harmonica workshops, basic blues, hot dogs, and more!
|
skiplandt@sbcglobal.net
|
|
 |
 |
| |
Hi!
Please poke around my site! A lot of this is harmonica information, but there are also recipes, fun activities, hot dog stand recommendations etc.
BUT -- I know this site is cluttered. So if you don't want tips, observations, etc. and are interested in when my next classes start, or when I next perform, then go to skiplandt.com. (It's also much neater!)
I love teaching harmonica. The harp classes are great fun, attracting a wide variety of people -- from teachers and public employees to actors and option traders. My philosophy is based on an old Talmudic insight: only the lesson that is enjoyed can be learned well.
Look around this site -- it's not just harmonica, and you never can tell what you might find.*
Dan "Skip" Landt
Updated 7-12-06
* Please let me know if it's badly out of date!
Late notes:
NEW: Entirely unrelated to harp! By any chance are you interested in books -- whether a collector, an unaffiliated scholar, a designer, or a small-press publisher? I'm a member of the Caxton Club, a long-time organization for folks with such bookish inclinations. We have monthly meetings with speakers and house tours. One recent speaker was the head of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C.; another was a collector of Kipling, with fascinating stories of the author's life.
Interested? Let me know.
New early 2006: I now have a Friday morning harmonica class --it's great fun. We meet 10-11:20 and then play along with the guitars from 11:30 to noon. This has become a group of players at varying levels, including both diatonic and chromatic. There's both instruction and just the fun of playing together, some by tablature, some by ear.
- I'm still trying to do free monthly harp tips -
but having problems with my email system. Interested? Send me an email and I'll get you on the once and future list. See Tip O' the Month column below for the info I'd like from you.
- For best prices on harps, I've always recommended harpdepot.com. It's a small business in Ohio run by a guy (really) named Doc. They've usually been the prices I've found. (Elderly Instruments may undercut them slightly but their harmonica section is awkward to use). There's a direct link to harpdepot in the column following this one - scroll down.
- Matt Clemen put me on to an interesting national website: www.harmonica-usa.com. I haven't cruised it much, but it's worth a look. (They have a link to this site). Here's another wonderful site -- one that helps you figure out guitar chords - including 11ths and sus etc. I'll try to put in a direct link, but in the meantime you can paste this into your browser: www.jguitar.com.
- Recent: Hot Doug's, the mecca of hot dog lovers is still on Roscoe, but now farther west, at the corner of Roscoe and California. If you're a dog lover and haven't encountered Doug's (and Doug), be sure to stop by. (Oh yeah; he closes at 4 p.m., so you may want to skip out of work early for the visit).
- I'm now doing workshops in the burbs and beyond. Know an organization that would be interested in sponsoring one? A club or church, Boy Scout Troop? Music store? They receive a share of the fee. It's always fun. I also do a "Creative Teams" workshop in which people get started on playing harmonica AND learn about creativity in a team context.
|
MUSIC AND ...LIFE
Fran and I met through music. It was back in 1985, at a sing-around in Holstein's on Lincoln Avenue. We sang together, barndanced, busked, and one thing (eventually) led to another. Two others, in fact: our kids, Matt and Ginny. Both experiment with playing by ear, as we do, and share our whimsical humor.
What is it about music that is so important? The reason is a mystery, but the fact is right there in human experience.
I am almost evangelical about music. That's especially true in my teaching at the Old Town School of Folk Music. My greatest joy is finding that one of my students has caught the fever (playing harmonica, guitar, banjo, or whatever). Why? Because I know that will add a major dimension to their life. Music is a means of unwrapping our emotions, giving them reality outside ourselves. Or, to put it another way, developing even modest playing skills can make us vehicles for the music, through which the music can come out into the air.
Update for old friends: In May 2003, I took early retirement from the City Colleges of Chicago and moved into a new life style: more time, more family, more MUSIC, and more fun. Note: my old e-mail addresses (dlandt@ccc.edu and skiplandt@aol.com)do not work. New: skiplandt@sbcglobal.net. You can reach me through the link column (below and left).
I'm also playing with a band: Patent Medicine. We blend old blues, contemporary country, Leon Redbone, Hank Williams, Fats Waller, and jug band music, with a touch of Blondie and newer stuff from mellow to raucous. If you play harmonica or another instrument, we'll have you sit-in with the band! Contact me at (773) 604-4115. We now have a 3-song demo!
|
|
|
TIP O' The MONTH
Last spring I got the idea of sending out a monthly harmonica tip. The tips encourage students to keep playing and moving ahead even when there isn't time for a class or a workshop (though I'll include that kind of information).
I sent out the first tip in early April 2005; since then I've had some trouble with the email program. But I'm hoping to get it up again soon.
Interested? Send me a note at skiplandt@sbcglobal.net OR just click the link in the column just to the left of this one. I'd like to know where you live, how you found this site, and what kind of music you enjoy. (No need to be a former student, all are welcome!) As indicated there, addresses will not be shared.
Skip
RESTAURANT TIPS (updated 3-20-05)
TIFFIN -- Harmonica music? In an Indian restaurant? Yes. I visited Tiffin, on Devon east of California with Fran's sister, Jan. Lovely decor, great smells and...wait, what's that music? Plainly Corky Siegel. But why here? The answer was the short guy in the buffet line - Corky himself. Tiffin's is a favorite of Corky's, and the manager recognized him, as I did. Then I saw another old friend, John Callaway, the partly-retired WTTW celebrity. He tells me that Tiffin is a favorite of his, too. What they both said confirmed what Jan and I found: great Indian cuisine. (Our tastes: not mild, but not very hot).
NOON A-KA-BOB -- Not an elegant name, but a superb Middle-Eastern restaurant on Kedzie, north of Lawrence. I was put on to it by Dr. M. Vali Siadat, a friend from Daley College. Even their basic, simple, ground ka-bobs are excellent, and you have the option of regular or dill rice. Also recommended are the salmon kabobs -- maybe get one order of each, and share.
|
PRACTICE....not necessary???
Really? Isn't learning to play music a matter of "practice, practice, practice"?
OK, I'll admit it: there's a catch. But this much is true -- if a piece of music grabs your heart, "practice" can disappear. With music you love, you need just enough disciple to get started playing it right; you're creating a path so that the music can find its way out. Once that path is mostly clear, then time starts losing its duration. Playing isn't practice anymore. It's fun.
Music becomes an ongoing part of who you are. It's a new language, a source of joy, and an amazing comfort when you need it.
That's why I emphasize finding songs that you NEED to play. I'm happy to help on this; it's part of my classes and workshops.
|
|
|
