If you are reading this update the chances are that you play a keyboard instrument and possibly compose and produce your own music. And if that is the case you may also have thought about how to get your music heard by more people than just friends or family. Well, it may not be as hard as you think. Mark Jenkins starts a short series titled ‘Who Needs A Record Label?’ this month in which he looks at how to produce and sell your own music.
Mark Stanway, one of the most experienced keyboardists on the UK rock scene talks about his 25 years with Magnum and his stints with Whitesnake and more recently Robert Plant, in this month’s Key People feature.
For UK keyboard students building towards LCM grades 6-8, Andrew Gilbert’s Making The Grade feature will be of particular interest in this issue.
With the popularity of World Music increasing all the time, it is only natural that musicians will want to produce ethnic instrument sounds from their keyboard. A new software package, MOTU Ethno allows you to do just that. Mark Jenkins investigates in this month’s Computer Music feature.
With a special Tangerine Dream CD feature plus the chance to win a limited edition Tangerine Dream DVD, signed by Edgar Froese, this then is our June issue that we hope you enjoy.
See you next time.

Key People this month talks to Susan Hedges a young Merseyside singer-songwriter
who, blind from birth, recorded her first album when she was 13. Now 21 she is following both a solo career and singing with a group. Certainly a name to look out for in the future.
In Computer Music we take a look at Garritan’s Gofriller Cello and Andrew Gilbert discusses the importance of dynamics in music making.
With news of new products being launched by Yamaha over the coming months plus the regular music and tuition features, this is our May issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

I don’t confess to be very up on Canadian prog-rock but any band that’s been together for 30 years must have something going for them. Jim Gilmour of Saga talks to Mark Jenkins about the prog-rock scene and his recent solo work which has allowed him to venture into other areas such as jazz. It’s an interesting story, particularly in this age of bands who form in January, release a CD in February and then split in March due to artistic differences.

Computer music tackles two very different software packages with the Earmaster 5 ear training program, which Andrew Gilbert explains can be a very useful teaching aid, and Garritan’s Stradivari Solo Violin VSTi which Andrew thinks leads the field by a mile.
There’s a bit of an 80s feel to the issue this month with reviews of a couple of DVDs from The Human League and Soft Cell and an interview with Mike Lindup, keysman with Level 42 who have recently reformed. We also look at some early Ensoniq keyboards and synths starting with the Mirage, an early example of the sampler, which came out in 1985.
With news of new products from Casio, Roland and Yamaha, which will be reviewed over the coming months, plus the usual music and tuition, this then is our March issue which we hope you’ll enjoy. See you next time.

Andrew Gilbert recovers from a hard drive failure –that’s his computer, not him – to sing the praises – all six pages of them – on the Symphonic Choirs VSTi from EastWest/Quantum Leap in this month’s Computer Music.

We don’t usually have glamorous Hollywood actresses on our front cover or interviews with them, but Alicia Witt is an exception. Trained as a classical pianist she may well have chosen this path, but the acting profession proved too strong a magnet after she got a part in David Lynch’s ‘Dune’ whilst still a little girl. However she has recently put her musical talent to good use with her London stage debut in the play ‘Piano/Forte’ where she gets to perform Rachmaninov and Chopin every night. Mark Jenkins talked to her, during the play’s recent run, about both her acting and her love of music.

With features on Blackpool Tower organist Phil Kelsall, Classic Keyboards look at Elka keyboards plus the usual Classnotes – which this month features the music of New Orleans legend, Dr. John - and music arrangements, this then is our February issue which we hope you’ll enjoy.
See you next month

Session keyboardist Pete Wingfield has played with everyone from The Everly Brothers and Paul McCartney to The Beautiful South and produced major hits for The Proclaimers and Alison Moyet as well as many others. He talks to us about how to be successful but keep out of the spotlight.
With news of some beautiful new digital grands from Yamaha plus the usual music and tuition, which includes a new music series for Grade 1 ability pianists, this then is our first issue for 2007.
A very Happy New Year to all our readers. See you next month.

Ever heard of Yaron Gershovsky? No – well I hadn’t either. But perhaps we should have. He’s been Manhattan Transfer’s regular keyboardist for the past thirty years and has played with Pharoah Sanders, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau and George Benson to name but a few. He hopes a few more people will get to know of him with the release of his first solo piano album, ‘Personal Notes’. He’s interviewed in this issue and should Pete Townsend happen to read this, please get in touch because when Yaron met you in the 80s he promised to send you a copy when he got his solo album out, and now that he has, he wants to know where to send it.
With Farfisa Combo organs highlighted in Classic Keyboards plus Classnotes, reviews and the other usuals, this is our December issue.
Compliments of the season and see you next time.

Staying with software, Computer Music this month looks at the virtual music composer, LvvB’s X and discusses the sequencing capabilities of notation programs such as Sibelius and Finale.
Mark Jenkins investigates the wonderful world of the Modular Sythnesizer and for those interested in maybe acquiring one there’s a very impressive list of current manufacturers.
Britain’s own pianist and evergreen entertainer Bobby Crush talks about his 35 years in show business and in particular his stage role playing Liberace, first in a West-End play about a fascinating episode in Liberace’s life in the late 50s – a great insight into how things have changed – and more recently his Liberace: Live in Las Vegas all glitter tribute show.
Fans of Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd and Yellowjackets will want to check out new DVDs and in the case of Yellowjackets CD+DVD in our reviews section.
Our music and tuition features this month find Classnotes full of useful things for players of all abilities and our original seasonal composition entitled ‘Autumn Serenade’
Enjoy the issue and see you next month.

Welcome to the October issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to download and purchase.
Yamaha have announced the new Tyros2 Regi-stick which will give owners over 350 custom registrations. This will be available from October and we have a two page news feature on this upgrade. There is also a free Yamaha DVD with this issue entitled ‘Exploring Tyros2’.

Did you know that Billy Joel’s first album was released at the wrong speed – strange but true. Well some 100 million album sales later and after nearly 40 years in the business, I guess it didn’t do him too much harm. Read our profile on ‘The Piano Man’ in this issue.
There is a review of the Yamaha Stagepas 300, a compact self-contained PA system ideal for smaller venues.

Welcome to the September 2006 issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase and download.
This is always the time of year when new top-end keyboards tend to be launched and this year is no exception. In this issue there is news of the Roland E-80 music workstation and an in-depth review will hopefully feature next month. Also expect news of activity from Korg and Yamaha next month.
In this issue we have a review of a new flagship keyboard from Ketron, the SD5 (pictured left). Over the years Ketron have built a reputation for producing keyboards that are a little bit different to the models from the bigger companies, and Andrew Gilbert thinks this latest edition continues that trend and is particularly impressive in live performances. Read his in-depth review in this issue.

In the July issue we looked at the C320, one of two new C-series pianos from Korg. This month it’s the turn of the bigger model, the C520 to go under the spotlight.

There’s stacks of new software just around the corner which should be hitting Andrew Gilbert’s doormat as we speak, but this month he’s been surfing the www in search of useful and informative websites and forums and brings you his findings in this edition of Computer Music.

There are two jazz ladies for you in this issue. This month’s Rhythm Kings features the music of jazz star Diana Krall and Key People has an interview with UK jazz keyboardist and vocalist, Liane Carroll.

In Classic Keyboards, Mark Jenkins takes a look at the chequered history of the vocoder. Much loved by Kraftwerk and picked up in the 70s by musicians as diverse as ELO and Herbie Hancock, the vocoder seem to fall out of favour during the 90s, but now seems to be coming back into fashion. (see last month’s VP-550 review)
With the usual tuition and music features, this then is our September 2006 issue. See you next month.

Welcome to the August issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase and download.
First up we look at all the new products on show at this year’s British Music Fair. New pianos from Yamaha and Korg and top-end keyboards from Roland and Ketron, as well as new synths from Roland, were the highlights this year and we’ll be doing in-depth reviews on these over the next few months.
The main hardware review this month is the Roland VP-550, ensemble keyboard. Mark Jenkins is particularly impressed with the Vocoder which he thinks uses more powerful technology than previous vocoder keyboards.

On the software front Arturia have brought out a new software version of one of the most successful keyboards ever marketed, the Prophet V. We have an in-depth review plus one up for grabs in our crossword competition.
Mark Jenkins reports from Electro-Music 2006 in Philadelphia, the favourite festival for connoisseurs of classic keyboards, where he both performed and spoke to other musicians. Computer Music this month, covers the Hauptwerk upgrade and the Classik Studio Reverb plug-in.

It was with sadness that we heard the news that Billy Preston passed away in June. He never really became the star he should have been, although if The Beatles hadn’t split he could well have ended up a permanent fixture, and was often referred to as the 5th Beatle. It could be argued that without Preston ‘Let It Be’ may never have been completed. He certainly had a calming effect on the group and we all remember his infectious presence at the Apple rooftop session. Steven Rosen, a California based writer who has covered the music scene over the last few decades had a lengthy interview with Preston back in 1979, which we publish as a tribute to this great musician. It is a fascinating time-capsule with Preston talking about the music scene of the late 70s when new technology was making such an impact, and looking back now, we can see how much has changed over the past 25 years or so.
This then, along with all the usual tuition and music features, is the August issue of Keyboard Player. See you next time.

Welcome to the July issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase and download.
As mentioned last month there are some new pianos coming onto the market and we look at two in this issue. First up we have a new stage piano from Yamaha. Those of you with a long enough memory might remember the CP70 acoustic portable piano whose size and weight put many a roadies back out. Now Yamaha are using the CP prefix for this new range and John Bates takes a look at the CP300 which he thinks is not only a good gigging instrument but a good choice for schools and colleges

The ever popular Steinberg Wavelab audio editing and mastering suite gets a make-over with version 6 and Dean Spencer, our new contributor, welcomes the extra features and refinements that Steinberg have made.
Classic Keyboards starts to look at the rise of digital synthesis, which was led by the trail-blazing Yamaha DX7. Mark Jenkins continues his fascinating series with this influential keyboard and its descendants which made such an impact in the 1980s.

Jazz seems to have made one of its occasional forays into the mainstream recently (or at least the lighter, easy on the ear variety) with artistes like Jamie Cullum and Norah Jones becoming very successful and in this mode we talk to Michael Kaeshammer a jazz pianist and vocalist who looks set to also be discovered by a wider audience.
Keith Emerson fans will be interested in a triple CD set featuring most of his film soundtrack work. With classic Italian horror to not so classic Japanese monster movies plus some Hollywood titles along the way Emerson seems to have scored a fairly diverse selection over the years and this CD set divides them into pretty much chronological order. See the full page review in this issue.
With the usual music and tuition features and the second part of the ‘Mattinata’ arrangement in Computer Music, this is our July 2006 issue. We hope you enjoy it.
See you next time.

Apologies for the slightly late update this month. We have been away for a few days but are now back in the swing of things.
So welcome to the June issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase and download.
The main review this month is the Roland HPi-6 (pictured left), which Roland are calling a ‘tutor piano’ which basically means a ‘straightish’ piano with built-in tution features. Anyway it represents a new approach for digital pianos and Andrew Gilbert gives it his usual thorough test.

Fans of vintage New Orleans jazz will be interested in our portrait of one of the true jazz originals, Jelly Roll Morton. His life and music took many ups and downs and he died a broken man, but what remains is his music, showing him to be a real innovator.
And, talking of innovators, Rhythm Kings, this month looks at the music of Brian Wilson, the genius behind The Beach Boys amazing harmonies. His life too has had its ups and downs, but fortunately, Brian’s still with us and producing great music.

Welcome to our May update. This month sees the 300th issue of Keyboard Player. The first issue was published in the autumn of 1979 and to celebrate this milestone we asked our regular writers and contributors to cast their minds back 27 years and share with us their memories of that time. One thing is for sure, we've seen an unprecedented change during this time in the way that music is played and produced and in the production of musical instruments. Perhaps these changes have been most evident in the types of keyboard instruments we see today and the way in which computer technology has become an ever greater influence in music making.

So, as well as our little nostalgia trip down memory lane, we’re also looking very much to the future, with the inclusion of a Readership Survey in this issue, the results of which will go a long way in determining the direction the magazine and website take in the future. We hope as many readers as possible will take the time to complete this survey and to make the task even more worthwhile, we have a draw with some great prizes to be won.

With the usual music and tuition features and an interview with Sam Brown, regular vocalist/keyboardist with Jools Holland’s Big Band and daughter of cockney rock ‘n roller Joe Brown, this is the May 2006 issue 300 of Keyboard Player.

The issue is now available to purchase and download. I look forward to receiving all the completed surveys. See you next month.

Another month has flown by and the April issue is now out and available to purhase and download. You won't want to miss this issue if you're a jazz-rock fan. Yellowjackets, arguably the most successful jazz-rock outfit, both commercially and critically since Weather Report, occupy both Key People and Rhythm Kings features this month. Russell Ferrante, keyboardist and founder member of Yellowjackets, talks to John Bates about the band's music, influences and how they've evolved over the years they've been together in this exclusive interview. In Rhythm Kings, we look at the complexities of the band's rhythms and styles with the usual examples to experiment with.

Stage pianos seem to be designed these days so that they are equally at home, in the home or on stage. Such a product is the Korg SP250 (Pictured Above) which Andrew Gilbert puts through it’s paces this month.

The latest Classic Keyboards features the Roland MT-32 (pictured left) and the whole range of D series synths that followed in the latest part of Mark Jenkins’ series.
Fans of techno-pop may be interested in the full page review of Kraftwerk’s double DVD which has recently been released.

In Computer Music the 2006 version of Band-In-The-Box is reviewed. As Andrew Gilbert concentrates mainly on the new features, anyone downloading this feature will also receive the Computer Music feature from issue 279 which covers B-I-T-B more fully. Andrew also looks at some controller keyboards being distributed by BCK Products.

Welcome to the March issue of Keyboard Player which is now available to purchase and download.
Roland are centre stage again this month with the new version 2 of their flag-ship music station, the G-70. Andrew Gilbert was very impressed with the first version when he reviewed it last year and now takes a close look at the new extras that Roland have added including ‘guitar mode’ which he finds especially innovative. Those of you who wish to download the new review will automatically receive the original G-70 review at no extra cost. As Andrew concentrates entirely on the new additions in his review, those who don’t have the original will, I’m sure, find it helpful to have it for reference

Those, of a certain age, may remember singing along to pop classics like Oh Carol and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen as well as many other hits by Neil Sedaka back in the 1960s. Well, Neil talks to us about the art of writing a good pop song as well as the joys of performing live, and for those who think that Sedaka may be just a blast from the past, might like to know that, in America, the top selling single of 2004 was Solitaire by Clay Aiken originally a hit for Andy Williams in 1972 and of course, penned by Mr. Sedaka. He will be touring the UK in March and April and all dates and venues are listed in the feature.

Kawai, one of the world’s top acoustic piano makers bring much of their acoustic expertise to the ranges of digital pianos they produce for both home and stage. John Bates takes a look at their new stage piano, the MP8, in this issue. We will also be looking at their ES4 piano in a future issue.

Superscope is probably not a name that rings too many bells – except for those who have a serious interest in widescreen cinema processes from the 1950s – but, this company, who owned Marantz until 2002, are producing some innovative products for music education. One such product is the PSD340, a rather unique item described as a music practice and rehearsal tool. Basically it is a CD recorder and player, but one that can do things well beyond the normal functions of playing and recording. John Bates investigates.

Having reviewed Sibelius 4 a few months back, that other heavyweight contender in the notation software market, Finale, takes top billing in this month’s Computer Music. Andrew Gilbert does his usual ‘let no stone remain unturned’ review for this 2006 version. Elsewhere Arturia Brass gets tested and Andrew has some advice on how to avoid installation problems.

With Classic Keyboards covering more software versions of classic synths and the usual tuition and music features, this is our March 2006 issue.

Welcome to the February 2006 issue which is now available to order or download as a PDF file. This month we have an in-depth review of the Roland GW-7 arranger workstation which Andrew Gilbert thinks is at present a unique product. Elsewhere we look at Casio’s latest Privia piano, the slim-line PX-700, which at £799 makes it an ideal choice for beginners.

Those of you old enough to remember the 70s may have an old vinyl copy of Jeff Wayne’s prog-rock opus ‘War of the Worlds’. Well it’s out again on CD and Jeff talks to Mark Jenkins about his plans to bring out a stage version.
Rhythm Kings looks at the music of jazz keyboard maestro, Chick Corea. So, those of you who like their jazz rhythms and patterns laced with Latin, Spanish and Brazilian flavours will want to check this one out.

Computer Music, this month, is given over to three comprehensive reviews of new software. Synthogy’s Ivory, the Miditzer Virtual Theatre Organ and Native Instruments Bandstand all get the Andrew Gilbert seal of approval.

Welcome to the January 2006 issue which is now available to order or download as a PDF file. The main feature this month is an in-depth review of Native Instruments new version of their highly acclaimed B4 VSTi, the B4 II (pictured left). The original version has been around for over five years, but Native feel it’s time for this new version and Andrew Gilbert’s review suggests they have got it right.
A couple of items that should interest any 70s prog-rock fans out there. We interview ex Kansas keyboardist Dan Wright now recording and touring with his new band Proto-Kaw, and a couple of DVDs featuring concert footage of Camel get a mention in our reviews section.

On the hardware front, a starter keyboard from Yamaha, the PSR-E303 is reviewed and we also look at a budget stage piano from M-Audio, the ProKeys 88 (pictured right).
It’s not often we get the opportunity to review a instrument that is 100% British, but this month Mark Jenkins reviews an intriguing new product, the Rainbow Easy-Chord guitar-keyboard. Worth checking out.

In Computer Music, Andrew Gilbert looks at EMC’s Style Factory and MIDI Solutions Pedal Controller. He also concludes his guide to sequencing.
Classic Keyboards covers software versions of famous synths currently available.

The August issue (0291) is now available to purchase or download as a PDF file. As promised last month we have in-depth reviews of Casio’s WK3700 (pictured left), exceptional value for £399, and the Yamaha designer, slim-line Clavinova the CLP-F01.

The trade only British Music Fair held earlier in July featured some exciting new products including two new synths. Yamaha unveiled their new S90ES (pictured right) and Korg had the Oasys on show (all 5.6K of it). More on these and the other new products on show in our 4 page BMF report.

John Bates continues his new Classnotes series designed for all levels of ability, this month looking at chords and their construction.

Mark Jenkins looks at Native Instruments software sampler Kontakt 2 and poses the question is the distinction between sound sampling and audio recording becoming blurred, with software that now has virtually limitless sound processing capabilities?
Mark also has a new CD out which our reviewer describes as ‘ Totally therapeutic and much safer than drugs’ . If that sounds like your cup of tea more info from www.markjenkins.net

Andrew Gilbert samples the piano sounds of Sampletekk’s Black Grand and checks out BCK’s roll-up rubber keyboards (pictured right) and if you’re thinking about the idea of taking Music Technology qualifications there’s some useful information in Computer Music this month.

Amongst the features planned for next month, we’ll have another new Kawai piano review and a in-depth review of Sibelius 4

We are continuing to add issue details to the website and we’ve now gone back to 1997. We’ll be looking to add another 2 or 3 years during August. We are making product reviews available as PDF downloads as fast as possible but if you see a review you’d like that is not available as a download yet, drop us an email, we can usually get it on within a few days.

The July issue (0290) is now available to purchase or download as a PDF file. We have reviewed the Yamaha CLP-230 one of a new batch of CLPs being launched. Details of all Yamaha’s new products can be found in this issue including the Clavinova F01 (pictured left) which Yamaha describe as a new design concept. We hope to have an in-depth review of this in our August issue.

John Bates takes over the Masterclass slot from David Ash this month with a brand new series entitled Classnotes which is designed to appeal to players at every level of ability. The first part looks at some of the fundamental aspects of music with the idea of trying to explain what and why they are.

In Computer Music this month, Andrew Gilbert may have solved the question ‘Where can I find a good saxophone sound’ with the new virtual instrument, Saxlab from Linplug. Full review in the issue.

Mark Jenkins takes a trip to Philadelphia to visit and perform at Electro-Music 2005 an event dedicated to electronic keyboards old and new. Mark’s report on the event is presented in his regular Classic Keyboards feature.

Roland have updated their EXR range and the top model the EXR7s is reviewed in this issue.

BCK Products are launching 3 rather unique flexible rubber keyboards which can be rolled-up making them the ultimate in portable music. Further details in this issue with reviews to follow.

Joey DeFrancesco, the American jazz organist will be playing at the Birmingham Jazz Festival on July 9th (details and booking: 0121 454 7020 or www.bigbearmusic.com ) He’ll be playing the new Hammond B3. Also on show will be the XK3 and XK33 which will be reviewed in a future issue.

Casio have announced a whole new range of keyboard products being launched over the next couple of months. We hope to have full details next month but we will have an in-depth review of the WK-3700 ready for August.

PDF downloads are being added to the website all the time and all issues from April 04 to the current issue are now available. Many reviews are being added from older issues plus popular series like ‘How to Write a Hit Song’ and ‘Starting from Scratch’ which are available as a complete series at a special price. We hope to have back issues listed back to 1997 during the coming month.

We’ve been very pleased with the response to the website since it opened on June 14th with some 3000 unique visitors, lots of reviews and back issues bought and some kind words from you. We would certainly appreciate a few comments on the Forum – whether it’s comments on the magazine, the website, new products you can recommend or not or anything else relevant to the world of keyboard music. Let’s have your thoughts.

The Keyboard Player web site has been designed to work both independently and complimentary to the magazine. That is to say that non-readers as well as regular readers will be able to use its resources and join in discussions in the forum.

We believe our catalogue of in-depth reviews of keyboard instruments which stretches from the present back to the early 80s will be the largest available on the internet. Initially we are launching with reviews covering the last six years but we will add to this over the coming months and visitors are welcome to contact us if they wish to find out if we reviewed a certain model. To begin with in-depth reviews will be available as back issues but PDF files will be available for all features in the magazine fr