The paper will explore Changes a conscious rap song that was recorded by Tupac in 1992, at a time when African Americans where affected by the beating of Rodney King by Police Officers, which led to the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 (Johnson, 2009). The environment was politically charged and conducive for a song chronicling that moment in history. What is interesting is that the song was posthumously released in 1998 on Tupac’s Greatest Hits album, two years after Tupac died of gunshots wounds on the 13th of September 1996 (Scott, 1997).

Tupac Shakur’s music is characterised by hard hitting hip hop beats sampled from different music genres and lyrics that criticise, the capitalist system that divides America into the haves and have nots. The collective identity in Tupac’s music is identified in the struggle of the lower classes to find political, economic, social discourse in a capitalist society by chronicling from the perspective of a young black male growing up in post civil rights America.

His work vocalizes the thoughts of the masses trapped within a modern slavery system (poverty and discrimination). The writers credited on the album sleeve are Shakur, T., Evans, D., & Hornsby, B.; Changes sampled the beat and part of the chorus from Bruce Hornsby’s ” The way it is”(1986) and appropriated it into a Hip Hop political anthem. This part of the paper will delve into the psyche of the artist and explore the lyrics of Changes.

Analysing Tupac

“When did I ever say I was a gangsta rapper? Is Frank Sinatra a gangsta singer? Is Steve Seagal a gangsta actor? What is that? That’s such a limited term. Marlon Brando is not a gangsta actor, he’s an actor. Axl Rose and them are not gangsta rock and rollers, they’re rock and rollers. So I’m a rapper, this is what i do. I’m an artist. And I rap about the oppressed taking back their place. I rap about fighting back. To me, my lyrics and my verses are about struggling and overcoming, you know” (Shakur, 2003)

Left: 2pac. 1996. All Eyez On Me (tupachq.com)
Right: 2pac.1995. Me against the World (tupachq.com)

Tupac Shakur’s controversial image drowned his work; the media at the time concentrated on what he did off record and forget that he was a brilliant rapper, lyricist and actor. He did cultivate the gangster image with “Thug Life” tattered across his abdomen and his persona as seen on the album cover of “All eyez on me” (1996) is that of a gangsta, The persona is evident on him with the words “Outlaw” tattered on his lower arm, a panther’s head on his upper arm with a miscreant intensity and one hand throwing the “W” gang sign, his behavior in interviews and performances on music videos, further reiterates that he is a gangsta rapper.

However on the cover of an earlier album “Me against the world”(1995) another side of the rapper is seen, with his back against a wall, he stares at the camera like a deer caught between two headlights. In interviews and talk shows when he takes off his mask, an intelligent, misunderstood, creative young man who wants to change the world with his music emerges.

Dyson (2002) in his explanation of Tupac’s dual persona mentioned something very interesting that Tupac’s mother Afeni was impregnated by one of two possible candidates, a revolutionary black panther by the name of Billy Garland and Legs a drug dealer. On the song Dear Mama he writes ” They say I’m wrong and I’m heartless, but all along I was looking for a father he was gone” (1995) these lyrics give the assumption that he might have looked for a father within himself and thus created twin personas founded on the character of the two people he thought could be his father. Tupac created binary oppositions as creative mechanisms, the socially constructive poet vs the destructive street thug and he could write as well as speak from both alter egos.

His conscious rapper ego tackled social issues such as racism, violence, drug abuse whilst his gangster rapper ego talked about selling drugs, perpetrating violence and called women derogatory names. To understand just a little part of Tupac’s complex character, the following quotation by Carl Jung would give some insight.

“Such a man knows that whatever is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own Shadow he has done something real for the world. He has succeeded in shouldering at least an infinitesimal part of the gigantic, unsolved social problems of our day. These problems are mostly so difficult because they are poisoned by mutual projections. How can anyone see straight when he does not even see himself and the darkness he unconsciously carries with him into all dealings?” (Jung, 1938).

The two images of Tupac show that instead of hiding his other self (the shadow) he consciously projected it and White notes (1997) that a misguided Tupac drew his masculine principles from “Legs” his father figure. Tupac Shakur was born on the 16th of June 1971; a month after his mother Afeni Shakur was released from prison for her suspected part in the alleged Black Panther plot to bomb banks and department stores (White, 1997).

In several songs and interviews Tupac has mentioned his birth and childhood as a miracle. “I was born not to make it, but I did” (Still I Rise, 1999) and on the last verse of Mama Just a Little Girl (Better Dayz, 2002) he philosophies ” You see you wouldn’t ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals, on the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love its will to reach the sun. Well we are the roses, this is the concrete and these are my damaged petals” He uses symbolic words to compare himself and his peers to that of beauty natured in an unnatural environment. This verse is a self reflective analysis of his impoverished childhood in socially depraved ghettoes of America and by noting ” We are the roses” he feels that any child that grows up in that environment and makes it however damaged they are should be celebrated.

According to Golus (2007) in 1985 Tupac was enrolled at the prestigious Baltimore Schools of the Arts, where he learned how to act and he spent most of his teenage years writing poetry and reading books. White agrees (2002) that Tupac went through moral juggling as a teenager, selling Drugs whilst writing poetry. His childhood experiences gave him the canon to be able to articulate social and political commentary easily identifiable with his audience.

Dyson emphasis (2003) that Tupac believed in “keeping it real” a slang term defined on (urbandictionary.com) as ” try to benefit the environment and society that surrounds you and eventually serving humanity for the greater good”. Tupac has achieved musical immortality with eight albums produced posthumously, an art center (tasf.org) producing the next generation of thespians, dancers and poets and a Biopic on his life is currently in Production, written by Oscar nominated screenwriters Stephen J Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (Ali, Nixon).

In a recent NYMag.com article Rivele had this to say about Tupac “He was a really sensitive, very romantic talented young poet who also could sing, dance and act, but the realities [of the hip-hop record business] were that he had to create this persona of the gangster…. He saw the contradiction between the musical persona of ‘Thug Life’ and his essential nature as a gentle, sensitive person. And that was partly responsible for his murder. He was not a gangster, but the people around him were they saw he was going to leave, that they were going to lose him, and so I think they decided to kill him”(Brodesser-Akner, 2011)

Changes
Changes portrays America from a critical non violent point of view, the view of a young black male living in the projects (Ghetto) committing crime as a survival necessity, whilst been abused by the system. Changes (Shakur, Evans &Hornsby, 1998) uses basic slang, repetition, melodic rhythm, the artist does not use profanity, the word nigger is used to make a racial statement not intimidate.

Analysis of this song elicits reaction in the listener, a desire to become the Change that Tupac requires of his audience. Tupac’s ability to elicit this type of reaction can be attributed to the authority yet passionate sensitivity of his voice and the flow of his rap. The chorus uses the same melody as “The Way it is” with a slight change of chorus whereas the original says, “Some things will never change”, Changes is changed to say, “Things will never be the same”. Elaborating that inequality will always be rooted in American society; the chorus is repeated to drum the message.

The opening line to Changes “I see no changes” seems to be a modern reply to the original “The way it is” Bob Dylan’s ” The times they are changing”(1964), which is considered the civil rights movement theme song. He then continues to show his frustration with his situation, which has not been changed by the ” I have a dream” speech by Dr King
‘Wake up in the morning and ask myself is life worth living should I blast myself, I am tired of been poor and even worse I’m black, my stomach hurts so I am looking for purse to snatch”, he’s telling his audience that he is poor, black, hungry and faced with two choices either to kill himself or alleviate his economical situation by stealing. “Cops give a damn about a negro, pull the trigger kill a nigga he’s a hero” He uses the ‘N’ words to emphasize how racist the police are and the reward for killing a black person. “Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares, one less hungry mouth on welfare. First ship em dope and let them deal the brothers, give them guns step back watch em kill each other”

He paints an image of a big brother conspiracy of shipping drugs and guns into the Ghetto and then watching the fabric of black America dismantle with kids on crack, drug dealers killing each other, a genocidal way of easing the welfare system. “Its time to fight back that’s what Huey Said, 2 shots in the dark now Huey’s dead” By mentioning Huey Newton founder of the Black Panthers, he acknowledges that Black militant mantra of fighting back the system with guns is wrong because you will be slain by a gun.

Tupac then finds a socialist solution in how to beat the system and unify
“We can never go nowhere unless we share with each other, We gotta start making changes, learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers, thats how it is supposed to be. How can the Devil take a brother if he’s close to me, I’d love to go back to when we played as kids, but things changed, and that’s the way it is” He wants to go back to the innocents of childhood, not complicated by what Freud regards as the ID, however Tupac is resigned to the fact that even if he goes back to that moment, he can not change Today because change will never happen.

“I see no changes all I see is racist faces, misplaced hate makes disgrace to races, We under, I wonder what it takes to make this one better place, let’s erase the wasted” Tupac is not talking about or to a specific race but to the people of America that racial hatred should not be tolerated but erased from society. “Both Black and White is smoking crack tonight” Drugs are not just a black problem “It ain’t a secret and dont conceal the fact the penitentiary’s packed and its filled with blacks”

His observation is backed by Dizard, Muth and Andrews “Of the 789,700 male inmates in 1992, 51 percent, or 401,700 were black” and that is still a fact today. “Although it seems heaven sent we ain’t ready, to see a black president, uhh” This line is prophetic in the sense that even though America now has a black President, but some quarters of society are still not ready to accept a Black President”

“Some things will never change. Try to show another way, but you stayin in the dope game. Now whats tells me whats a mother to do. Been real don’t appeal to the brother in you. You gotta operate the easy way” In these lyrics he’s now using Freud’s structural model of the psyche, the mother is the Super Ego telling the impulsive child (the ID) that look at another way to survive but morals do not appeal to the ID for it wants everything now and then when it gets satisfaction it shows off “I made a G Today” the super ego critics ” but you made it in a sleazy way, selling crack to the kids” Finally the ego goes into defense mechanism “Well hey, thats just the way it is”

The third verse begins with Tupac talking instead of rapping so that everybody understands the clear message he conveys “We gotta make a change, It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes. Let’s change the way we eat, Let’s change the way we live and let’s change the way we treat each other. You see the old ways wasn’t working so it’s on us to do what we gotta do, to survive” he is speaking to his generation, that the only way to change is complete transformation from the racial philosophies of old for the survival of the human race.

“Its war on the streets and war in the middle east, Instead of war on poverty they got war on drugs so the police can bother me, And I ain’t never did a crime I ain’t have to do”. Tupac observes that whilst America concentrates on foreign wars in the Middle East, domestic street wars rage on. He offers a solution that instead of eradicating drugs; why not eradicate the root of the problem poverty. He makes the audience understand that poverty and inequality are the social ills of America; he further reiterates that crime is a necessity for survival.

He uses the third verse to conclude and offer solutions “Don’t let em jack you up and pimp smack you up. You gotta learn to hold ya own, But tell the cops they can’t touch this, I don’t trust this when they try to rush I bust this. Thats the sound of my tool you say it ain’t cool, my mama didn’t raise no fool” This is clearly in reference to police brutality in that he is telling his audience not to let that happen to them by using their voices to articulate their rights.”

About the Author: A.A.V Amasi – Writer/Editor/Director

Velociraptor doesn’t just have great songs, what makes it even better is the fact that when performed live, the album really comes to life. Tom Meighan, the lead singer of the band, didn’t need anymore stage presence, but the songs he performs from this album give him an extra edge which makes him one of the greatest frontmen of his generation.

Finally, the reason why Velociraptor is such a good album is because it is different. Nothing is similar to it and it is much more daring and ambitious than mediocre efforts from such bands such as Bloc Party and Two Door Cinema Club. Velociraptor is such a good album that I have no doubt it will stand the test of time.

About the Author: I live in Sunderland and I am 16 years old. I have a real passion for music, play the bass guitar and would like to work in music journalism when I am older. My favorite bands are The Stone Roses, The Beatles, Kasabian, Oasis, Joy Division and Happy Mondays.

The holidays are finally here! Maryse Letarte’s latest release, “Des Pas Dans La Neige”, has become a staple in my home, car and office from the time I felt the first chill of the year. This album provides the nostalgic feeling of decorating the Christmas tree or making snow angles and comforts you like warm hot chocolate by the fireplace. It is a capturing showcase of musicianship at it finest.

The beginning of the album is driven in by catchy light hearted tunes like, “Ô Traîneau Dans Le Ciel” (O, Sled in the Sky) that bring out the kid in all of us. It brings memories of the night before Christmas preparations and awaiting good ol’ St. Nick. Then, album single, “Boom Boom,” which is a creatively crafted bilingual piece sung in both English and French, imprints a melody in your mind you can’t help but hum throughout the day. These songs are the uplifting interlude to the apparent mood change of the album. The music of the album suddenly becomes more melodic and jazzy focusing primarily on instrumentals with minimum vocals. This however, does not distort the interpretation of this wintry release, but in fact, enhances it.

“L’année Qui S’achève”, a song revisited three tracks later, escorts you into this new jazzy world of musical genius with its soothing ambiance. Then in the song, “Gloria”, the only lyric of the song is the word “Gloria”, yet the listener still feels the angelic mood driven by its heavenly and chipper groove. Finally, the album comes to a close with track, “Songs De Décembre”, which almost has the effect of a lullaby with its cradling touch.

Maryse Letarte is a force to be reckoned with. Her masterful arrangements and compositions leave no doubt in my mind that she has classic and legendary potential and will be around for years to come.

The Oromo, Guragie, Amhara, Afar and Tigray songs are the most widely listened within and outside the country. With some artists singing in multiple languages in the same album. The Amharic language dominates the market by far as far more Ethiopians speak the language. Amharic language is widely accepted as the official language in the country.

The Amharic music is widely influenced by earlier Christian origins, Jazz and Blues to a great extent. Most singers also mix traditional songs as well, with the popular music gaining more strength by the day. There are several singers widely known inside the country and abroad. Artists like Tilahun Gessesse, Bizunesh Bekele Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete are some of the ones who are widely heard inside Ethiopia. Gigi, Aster Aweke and Mulatu Astatke has gained a more wider popularity outside the country as well as within. Music of Ethiopia has been featured in many international movies and events in Holywood and around the world.

Christian songs in both Orthodox and Evangelical are also very widely listened to within the country and the diaspora. The Christian music is referred to as mezmur and the Orthodox christian songs are simply referred to as Orthodox mezmur.

Both the traditional and modern songs of Ethiopia have influenced the musical culture in the neighouring countries. Many Sudanese TV and radio stations play Ethiopian and Eritrean music on regular basis, while the Somali songs are influenced by the Oromo music culture of Ethiopia.

Popular Oromo singers include Ali Birra (by far the most famous), Aadam Haruun, Abbabaa-Abbashuu, Addisuu Furgaasaa, Biqilaa Guyyootaa, Elemo Ali and Shambel Debele.

About the Author: Meron Zg is a voluteer at mezmur

When we record a sound source with two microphones in recording studios, those two microphones will pick up a similar wave pattern. However the difference in the placement of the microphones means that the waves are likely to be at a different point in their wave cycle when they reach the microphones. For example, microphone one might receive the peak of the wave at the same time microphone two receives the trough. The waves are now said to be out of phase.

In practical terms, this means a loss of sound information as the out of phase waves “cancel” each other out somewhat. The effect of phasing on sound is often described as “thin” or “weak”, and is not just a loss of volume.

This can be fixed simply with correct microphone placement. Most microphone preamps have a phase switch, which switches the phase of a microphone by 180 degrees (peaks become troughs and vice versa). Flick this switch. Now adjust the microphone placements until the sound is at its weakest. At this point they are as far out of phase as possible (in antiphase). Flick the switch again. Your microphones should be perfectly in phase!

About the Author: Sound Soution is a professional London recording studio that caters to many different styles of music from folk to dubstep. Visit us at www.soundsolutionmastering.com

1. Twisted Sister-I Wanna Rock.
Weirdly I first heard this during the movie ‘Road Trip’ and I’ve never forgotten it. It’s a brash, over the top, classic 80s rock anthem. It’s perfectly suited for life on the open road. Feet will tap, heads will nod and you’ll find yourself pressing repeat.

2. The Rolling Stones-Midnight Rambler
Released back in 1969 this song has everything for when you’re all a bit tired, it’s near the end of the day and everybody is reflecting. The harmonica and guitar riffs are legendary and the album version especially is epic!

3. AC DC-Highway To Hell
This is possibly the ultimate road trip song. It has everything and is one of the most famous records ever made. It’s a completely timeless rock classic that will instantly have you rocking in your seat whatever the hangover and how tired you are.

4. Steppenwolf-Born to be Wild
How can anyone not love this record? It’s simply awesome! Somewhere along the line people stopped making music like this and the golden age of rock and roll was lost. This record lives on however. I challenge anyone not to turn the volume up when this comes on the radio.

5. The Rolling Stones-Start Me Up
May be your nursing a hangover, your overtired may be even feeling unwell. Put this record on and you’ll be rejuvenated this is the record to start a day on the open road with.

6. Ray Charles-Hit The Road Jack
Despite a running time of just over 2 minutes, this is Ray Charles at his absolute best and is a stunning record. The piano, Ray’s voice and the chemistry with back vocalist Margie Hendricks is ridiculously infectious. Put this on and you will be pressing repeat over and over again!

About the Author: Rufus Elliott is an Event Organiser for Chillisauce. An events company specialising in tailor made Stag Weekends , Activity and Hen Weekends and Corporate Events.

Much like the leaves turning every October, it seems that recently we can count on a yearly new release from Andy Hawk & The Train Wreck Endings, and we can also count on the quality of the batch of songs they deliver.

The latest offering – Another Storyline – is chock-full of styles and vibes that branch out from the band’s Americana roots without losing the collective essence of the project. It’s not as raucous an album as last year’s Another Roadside Attraction, but that’s quite all right, since Hawk’s songwriting seems to take a chunk of new territory each time out.

This is an album to accompany you on a walk through the neighborhood on a sun-drenched, crisp fall afternoon as you chat up the locals and soak in the everyday beauty of an eccentric hometown block.

“Baltimore” opens the jaunt with a driving pop drumbeat from Chris Huff and some brilliant 12-string acoustic guitar work from Steve DeVries. “I like to hear you walking on those city streets / makes me feel less alone” could be the album’s mantra: the bonds and comfort of community and familiarity.

From there, we move into the straight blues of “Been Down So Long”, and then right into the title track, which introduces us to characters like Miss Maxine, Brother Muir, and Jimmy Carr in a wistful stroll down the block.

Bassist Chuck Bordelon pulls double duty here, adding a guitar solo reminiscent of Rubber Soul-era Beatles. DeVries’ squeeze box accentuates the fragility of the track: “Leaves will fall and faces fade / and days, they run and run away…”

“Allegheny River” comes next, and its sadness turns to hopefulness. Written with Ben Keay and based on Keay’s second novel, Dire Requisite, it’s set to accompany the digital copy of the book when it’s released next year. Shane Borders’ slide acoustic guitar and haunting Roger Waters-esque backing vocals make the track come alive.

An Americana cover of “Temptation” follows. It’s a 1982 song by new wave band New Order (Hawk remembered Pittsburgh’s The Affordable Floors doing a rocked-out version of this in the late-‘80s and added it to his live shows – it fit so well that they decided to record it for the album).

The dirty minor-key blues of “Mason-Dixon Line” give way to the beautiful “Prettier Song”, highlighted by the exquisite piano by Austin session pro Riley Osbourne. Hawk’s voice is hushed and raspy and makes you believe what he’s singing: “If I had a prettier song / then maybe I could be with you…”

The kick-drum driven “Sunshine Street” gets us stomping and clapping, and pulls us out of the doldrums, and the little guitar/banjo ditty “Kick a Stone & Join the Dance” has us almost skipping down the same street.

Hawk memorializes a friend whose overdose rocked him last winter with the eerie “Icicle in the Sun”, which utilizes the accordion to perfect effect again.

Not wanting to end on a downer, the band goes out with the 6/8-time “Random Thoughts”, featuring Hawk’s recorded ukulele debut and another fine solo by Bordelon, and the bluesy “Lost My Radio” – co-written with DeVries – a matter-of-fact telling of a lost radio that appears to have been thrown out the window by the narrator’s (ex?)girlfriend. This final track sounds like a 1930s Mississippi blues hootenanny on someone’s back porch, record-scratch sounds included.

Add a top-notch mixing and production job by former Loggins & Messina drummer Merel Bregante, and the mastering of the legendary Jerry Tubb, who’s worked with all the heavyweights, it seems, and you have an organic-sounding set of songs that stands up among the finest in Hawk’s extensive catalog.

Simply put, this is a terrific album by a veteran songwriter and band that deserves a much wider audience than they have. It’s available on iTunes, Amazon, and at cdbaby.com, among others.

- By Jason Miller

About the Author: Jason Miller is a teacher by day and a music lover/reviewer by night. This is his first attempt at a review, and he’s hoping to do independent stories and reviews from the Northern Virginia music scene from now on.

The ‘perfect’ reed therefore has to be soft enough to easily produce a sound and remain flexible, but at the same time possess enough resistance so that you can blow at it without the fear of making a ‘nasty’ sound.

This sounds all very nice in theory. But when it comes to actually finding this ‘perfect’ reed in real life, we tend to spend a lot of time and money only to end up frustrated and with maybe one or two decent reeds to play on. So what can we do to increase the number of reeds that actually play easily, make a nice sound and last longer? A lot of people will tell you that you need to ‘break in’ your reeds in order for them to work. But what does that actually mean and is there an ideal way of ‘breaking in’ reeds? Let’s find out.

(For the purpose of this article, I rely on my own experience as a clarinettist. I play on a Buffet-Crampon ‘Tosca’ Bb clarinet, Vandoren M30 mouthpiece, BG standard leather ligature and mainly Vandoren V12 reeds (strength 3.5). I don’t want to go into detail about equipment and essentially it doesn’t matter too much which setup you play on as long as you feel comfortable and flexible with it. I have found that the way I break my reeds in worked for different types of mouthpieces and different brands and types of reeds)

1. Have patience!
A good reed doesn’t have to be perfect the first time you play on it. And let’s be honest, most of them are everything but perfect. Give the wood time to adjust to the humidity and temperature levels. It usually takes about a week for a reed to be ready and fully playable. I would start by taking the reeds out of the box and playing just a few notes on it, for instance a scale or some arpeggios.

This doesn’t take longer than ten seconds per reed. After that, put the reed flat side up on a flat surface and let it dry. If you put the flat side down, the curved side will dry faster and cause the reed to warp. Finally, put the reed back in the box. I repeat this process once a day for about three days. This could be part of your daily practise routine at the start of your practise session.

2. Have even more patience!
After the first three days, I essentially follow the same process only increasing the amount of time I play on each reed. I would play on one reed for about two to three minutes and I would make sure I play staccato as well as slurred notes and play loudly as well as quietly to see how the reed responds in all the registers of the clarinet. Remember to let your reeds dry after each time you play them!

By now, you will already notice that some reeds work better than others. I seem to find with this procedure is that about five out of ten reeds do tend to play fairly easily and make a nice sound by this point. This obviously varies from box to box. Some people also mark their reeds in different colours so they can remember which ones are better. I think at this early stage, this doesn’t really matter because the reeds quite often change drastically over night.

2. Make adjustments.
Adjusting a reed is actually an art in itself and there have been written hundreds of articles and books on this topic. I only want to share one very useful adjustment which is essentially the only one I use. Firstly, if your reed is basically good and it plays okay, but it is either a little too hard or there is a lot of air in the sound, take the reed and place it horizontally with the flat side against the flat surface of the mouthpiece, below its opening.

Press it very firmly against the mouthpiece with the thumb of the one hand whilst with the other hand, you flick a finger against the end of the reed to make it ‘wiggle’ back and forth. This makes the reed more flexible and focuses the sound. After you have place the reed on your mouthpiece, just press it gently once or twice right on the heart (the curvet part of the of the top half). This will help the reed find the ideal position to vibrate more freely. Of course this won’t solve all the reed problems one might encounter, but in a lot of cases it has an effect.

4. Rotation – The key to long lasting reeds
If you have found several good reeds, there is no point in ‘saving them up’. The way to make reeds last longer is to rotate them. That’s to say : play on all of your reeds, all the time. For instance, in a practice session which might last an hour, play on several reeds instead of just one.

This keeps their humidity level up and at the same time doesn’t wear down one particular reed. With this method, I find that my reeds can last up to a month sometimes. And if I give them a few weeks rest after that, I might be able to play them again for some time.

So the things to keep in mind when you are breaking in reeds are PATIENCE and ROTATION. These are in my experience the two key points to finding more reeds that at least come closer to the ‘perfect’ reed. Finally I would like to say that in the end a reed is just a piece of wood, and if this one doesn’t work, there is always another one, so there is no point in getting frustrated.

In this spirit : Good luck and have fun!

About the Author: Max Mausen is a young clarinettist, currently based in London. He began his studies at a local music school and later at the Conservatoire de Musique de Luxembourg with Marcel Lallemang. Max is currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Julian Farrell and Andrew Webster. He is a keen chamber musician and performer of contemporary music, working together with young composers including Tom Bassett, Peter Yarde Martin and Raymond Yiu. Max plays on Buffet-Crampon instruments and a Vandoren M30 mouthpiece with V12 reeds.

www.maxmausen.co.uk

But what is a good teacher? Good teaching can mean different things to different people, some like to be pushed, some encouraged and everyone likes a sense of humor. At least everyone except jazz musicians! I’ve personally had teach I’ve liked, respected and looked up to, but equally I’ve had a few teachers I was glad to see the back of! Here I would like to outline a few questions you can ask when finding a new teacher, to try and insure yourself against bad experiences. These are my golden three!

1. What style(s) do you prefer to teach? This is important. More or less every teaching advert you see will try and advertise ‘all genres’. And far be it from me to tell you that these guys are not versatile, most of them are. But all guitar players, including teachers, have a favorite style. Something they are more comfortable with. If you want to learn to be a cracking jazz guitar player you are not going to want to learn an old bluesman. You’re going to want to get not only good teaching, but relevant tips and hints.

2. Could you tell me a bit about your experience? Not only is experience a great thing for any teacher to have, it is also going to give you a bit of an idea about what areas of the music business outside of teaching that the person sat across from you knowledge of. At some point during your playing, if you take it even a little bit seriously you’re going to want to either record something or perhaps do some live playing. Or both! It would be great to know in advance if your teacher can help you out with either of these or even further continuing with your own career in music!

3. Could you explain to me your teaching method? This is an interesting one, mostly to see if the teacher can actually give you an answer. I’ve known some excellent teachers over the years that would still have been stumped to answer that question on the spot. You know that you’ll have a good experience however if the guy can tell you how he goes about teaching. Someone who thinks their lessons through is going to be able to get better results than someone who wings it, never mind how good they are. You don’t teach a 8 year old girl and a 22 year old man the same with, even if they both want to get to the same place – as the next Slash!

Remember to ask these (and I’m sure you’ve got your own) and you won’t go far wrong. Pick carefully and correctly and you’ll end up with a fantastic teacher, a great mentor and hopefully a good friend.

Good luck!

Harry

About the Author: Harry Clapham teaches guitar in Glasgow, he’s been teaching for ten years now. Harry also runs Guitarglasgow.com a small resource for those who enjoy the guitar and an extension of his teaching practice.

IM: Glenn, how was the process of making your latest single ‘For A Fool’?

GW: “I really enjoyed working on ‘For A Fool’. It’s hard to believe that I wrote that song back in 1996 and it has just been recorded.

IM: You seriously wrote that song back in 1996?

GW: (Laughing) “Yes. I tried recording a couple of songs back then but I was never happy with the final product. The technology in home recording studios back then was very limited and it really showed. Now that I’ve finally entered into the studio, I have this whole backlog of old material.”

IM: How do you feel about working with some of your songs that are 15 years old…or older?!

GW: “I’ve really been selective in what I’m recording. There are songs that I would have recorded back then…that I wouldn’t do now.”

IM: You must be tired of hearing some of those songs are you?

GW: “Some of those songs I used to play live when they were first written. The recording process keeps it very fresh and up-to-date. I really enjoy the creative process and finally laying down some tracks so that others can hear them. Because up until now…they’ve only been in my head.”

IM: Has your song writing improved over the years?

GW: “I would like to think so (laughs). I think that my fans will be in for a treat as the singles continue to be released. Eventually there will be a full album. I can’t stand albums with 10 or 12 songs on them. I’m really aiming to have around 15 songs on my first album. Of course, it depends on how much we can cram onto a disc!”

IM: Now that your fourth single has just been released, are you working on your next single?

GW: “I’m in the studio baby! The next single is really exciting. It will be my ‘heaviest’ to date. I don’t mean heavy metal, but it’s definitely alterative rock. I’ve done a couple of slow songs already and it’s time to speed things up. I don’t want to be known for just ‘sappy’ songs.”

IM: You’re actually known to be quite the guitarist as well. Tell me about your guitar work?

GW: “Well I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14 years old. Over the years I feel that I’ve improved. I play the rhythm and lead guitars on all my recordings. So when you’re listening to my latest single, ‘For A Fool’, that’s me playing the lead and rhythm guitars.”

IM: Well thanks for talking with me today and best of luck to you.

GW: “Thank you very much.”

IM: Where can people buy your music?

GW: “All my singles are on the online music stores like iTunes. You can also go on YouTube and I’m under ‘GlennWilsonMusic’. There is also my blog at: ‘http://glennwilsonmusic.blogspot.com/’

About the Author: Ian Morrison is native to Enfield, NS, and a local music enthusiast.