About Us

About Us

Hi, I am

Dennis Eugene Champlin,

and I am

"CHAMPLIN MUSIC"!

I was raised in a musical family; we all sang, and my Dad played guitar (left-handed, upside-down). I first began playing guitar in 1964; I turned "Pro" and began teaching in 1974, adding bass, drums, and piano to my guitar skills; I started this business as a teaching studio in 1980, adding retail sales, service, and repairs in 1984.

After graduating from Martinsville High School in 1970, I enrolled in the world famous "School of Hard Knocks", later graduating with a "Degree" in Music Performance and Music Education.

I apprenticed under some of the finest professional musicians and teachers in Indiana, including jazz pianist Step Wharton; jazz bassist Mingo Jones; jazz/blues, singer/pianist Jonathan Wiggs; jazz drummer Roy Huston; jazz drummer Clem Tiggs; ragtime/dixieland pianist Bill Hastings; jazz bassist/singer Ray Schrader; Nashville studio guitarist Jim Ray Pryor; country/western artist Lawrence "Red" Martin; and master music educator Milton Stewart. I am an active member of the American Federation of Musicians, Indianapolis Local # 3.

Besides working here full-time, I contract teach the rhythm section of the Show Choir Combo in the Choral Music Department of Martinsville High School under Director Tim James. I am an Ordained Lay Minister and Music Evangelist; I am also a contributing editor and columnist for a weekly newspaper, the Express News. My wife Jackie teaches third grade at Paragon Elementary, and is an active partner in both my music business and my music ministry.

My areas of experience and expertise include guitar, bass, drums, and piano, with a specialty in PA and sound reinforcement. My background is 20th century popular music. I sub-contract with area teachers, repairmen, and sound technicians-contractors. Besides tutoring individuals, I also conduct clinics on Jazz Band and Show Choir rhythm sections, along with Church Praise & Worship Teams.

I started this business because of my love of music, and my desire to help others fulfill their musical dreams and ambitions. I believe in this age of impersonal chain stores, there's still room for the American dream of owning your own small business. While I may not have the variety and depth of a chain store, I believe I can offer personal service, based on my professional experience, and help you make the best selections to meet your musical needs, while the low overhead of my Christian family-owned business will help your budget, too.

(F.Y.I. - My musician friends started calling me "Denny"; it stuck, and became my "stage" name).

Celebrating Our 32nd. Year Serving the Musical Community of Central Indiana!

"Denny" Champlin

(Photo by Bernard Ewing Studio)

Check out the audio LP/CD: Jazz

"Denny" Champlin

(Photo by Jackie Champlin)

(Playing a vintage 1964 Hofner Beatle Bass)

"Denny" Champlin Quartet

(Photo by Erricka Jones Studio)

Through the magic of the modern photography studio, I appear to be playing all of these instruments at the same time.

I have made several recordings via the multi-track recording studio, layering all of the voices for a blended result. One example can be heard on this original gospel recording: Lord

How it all began: February 9, 1964, I saw the "Beatles" on the "Ed Sullivan Show"!

12-million kids went out and bought a guitar in 1964; only 2-million learned how to play it!

My First Guitar

My first “guitar” was a Sears & Roebuck “Silvertone”, purchased in 1964. I thought that “guitar” was long gone, but a friend of mine found what we believe to be it, left in the trash, and luthier Bill Stultz restored it.

In 1964 this “guitar” cost me $20, as I could not afford a “real one”, which cost $75 at the local music store. This is in reality a “toy”, not a “musical instrument”, but I learned to play in spite of this handicap, and have gone on to own many quality guitars, including several professional models. It is my desire that my students start on something nicer than I did; the better the instrument, the better the musician!

Jonathan Wiggs Trio

"The Lion's Den" 1974

Denny Champlin (bass) - Jonathan Wiggs (piano) - Roy Huston (drums)

Check out the audio LP/CD: Jazz

Note: The "Lion's Den" was my first-ever jazz bass gig; notice the medical tape on my fingers; they were blistered and bleeding from the friction due to playing my first upright bass violin. Who said you don't have to "pay your dues" to get into show business? I soaked my fingers in shot glasses of "C.C." on breaks to numb the pain; finally, I started consuming the shots of "C.C." orally, which seemed at the time to work much better! (Look at that "baby face"; and that hair!). "Those were the days my friend, We thought they'd never end, We'd sing and dance forever and a day; We'd live the life we choose, We'd fight and never lose, For we were young and sure to have our way." Check out the audio LP/CD: Jazz

Jonathan Wiggs Trio

"The Lion's Den" 1974

Jonathan Wiggs (piano) - Denny Champlin (bass) - Roy Huston - (drums)

Check out the audio LP/CD: Jazz

Jonathan Wiggs Trio

"RMF Recording Studio" 1975

(Photo by Ronald Gill Studio)

Roy Huston (drums) - Jonathan Wiggs (piano) - Denny Champlin (bass)

Check out the audio LP/CD: Jazz

"Red" Martin Band

"Elks Club" 1978

Maurice Champlin, steel & harmonica; Red Martin, guitar & bandleader;

Denny Champlin, bass; Bill Hastings, piano; Les Heshelman, drums.

Yes, indeed, I played a lot of Country/Western music! How in the world do you think a jazz musician earned a real living, anyway? It sure wasn't by playing jazz! I had also started teaching private music lessons in 1974.

Step Wharton Trio

"Painted Hills" 1980