About Us
Dylan MacDonald has created the Traditional Blues School @ Blue 3rd Harmonica Shop to teach and coach others with the same passion for the blues
Traditional Blues School
Founded by Calgary-based blues musician and harmonica player Dylan MacDonald, the Traditional Blues School was created with beginner through advanced students in mind, the hands-on approach to playing blues music including private and group lessons as well as workshops, lectures, live performances, and special events.
Blues harmonica/guitar player and aficionado Dylan is no stranger to the music industry, he has spent the last decade performing, studying the history of blues, the technique and absorbing the musical language. With his many years of blues harp playing, Dylan is teaching his students the fundamental techniques of blues harmonica/guitar. Dylan specializes in coaching beginner to intermediate level blues musicians to improve their technique and achieve their musical goals. He also teaches advanced blues theory and music composition.
Opened in 2007, the T.B.S. has been gaining momentum and popularity in the blues community in western Canada as a destination to get the goods on the Blues, whether your interested in harmonica or guitar, as well as the history of the Blues.
Specializing in the Delta, Ragtime, Piedmont and Chicago blues styles created by such greats as Sonny Terry, Robert Johnson, Robert Lockwood Jr, Muddy Waters and more, Traditional Blues School helps all students to attain their goals whether for public performance or personal enjoyment.
T.B.S. has been hired the last 3yrs to teach Blues Workshops @ Calgary International Bluesfest, as well as being hired by Cantos Music Foundation numerous times to provide workshops. The school has high hopes of hosting more workshops throughout western Canada in the future.
Dylan MacDonald
Born September 25, 1981 in Montageux, P.E.I., Dylan received his first harmonica on his sixteenth birthday as a gift from his father, along with Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and Big Walter Horton albums. This kicked off a career in music that sees him appearing on stages throughout Western Canada and taken him on a tour of Europe.
Dylan formed his first group the Joint Effort Blues Band with his younger brother and a group of friends, playing youth hall dances and house parties all over Pictou County, N.S. During these early years, Dylan established a local reputation and continued to learn as he played with many leading local musicians, such as the Hillside Boys Southern R & B band and at 18, appearing at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival with the legendary Holmes Brothers.
Moving west in his early 20's, Dylan met Back Alley John, the late bluesman a local legend whom Dylan cites as his harmonica mentor. He also met many other of the fine players populating the blues scene in Calgary, quickly becoming a first-call player. Dylan is currently a member of Bill Dowey & the Blues Devils, with whom he toured Europe and is now the resident host at Calgary's premiere blues jam at the Shamrock Hotel, every Sat 3:30-8:30. Some career highlights include sharing the stage with the iconic Honeyboy Edwards twice, and appearances at the Calgary Folk Music Festival (2005) with No Guff, the Holmes Brothers and Tim Williams, the Regina Midwinter Blues Festival (2006) and the Calgary International Blues Festival (2006, 07, 08) as well as hosting harmonica and slide guitar workshops @ C.I.B.F. 2008,09
Dylan is the host of a blues radio program called The Blues Witness at the University of Calgary. A weekly blues radio program aired live every Wedenesday night from 7-8pm on CJSW 90.9 fm or online at www.cjsw.com.
Taking his skills and passion for the blues music into the classroom at his Traditional Blues School, Dylan now offers instruction in harmonica, guitar.
He shares his passion and expertise with beginners through advanced students in private and group lessons, as well as hosting workshops and clinics.