Ever since I was young I knew there was something special about this man:  a musician, a teacher, and a luthier.  One could walk into the Shelby Music Center and see a unique guitar crafted by the one and only, Ray Ledford.  Pondering in my youth, “Just what did that guitar sound like?”  I one day had the opportunity to discover that it sure didn’t sound like any regular guitar!

Ray Ledford uses technology that allows the sound of the guitar to be manipulated into virtually any sound.  A vibraphone, a trumpet, or a piano sound can all be created using MIDI.  MIDI is short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface and it sends electronic signals from a source like a keyboard or a guitar with a special pickup to another electronic device.  Then, the signal is interpreted into the sound or function to which it has been assigned.

MIDI is used in all kinds of music studios, television and movie soundtracks.  It allows musicians to sequence, arrange, and even change music using simply the touch of a button or the push of a key.  This means that musicians can digitally record musical information to be reproduced at a later time.  The sequencer can allow the sound source to be organized into different layers of instruments for accompaniment.  In other words, before the performance, one can have the drum or percussion tracks, chord progression tracks, and other auxiliary instruments all ready to play at the touch of a button.

Always an innovator and a creator of both sounds and instruments, for decades, Ray Ledford taught guitar lessons above Shelby Music Center.  Consider yourself blessed if you have ever had the opportunity to work with this master teacher.   In 2005, the Art of Sound Music Festival presented Ray Ledford with the first Heritage Bridge Award for his contributions to the community.