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 Ron
is often asked how his CD's are made. He uses a technique known
as multi-tracking. This was pioneered by guitarist Les Paul and
vocalist Mary Ford in the 50's. It was quite unique at the
time.
A good example is Ron's 'Tribute to George
Shearing' album. The Shearing sound was devised by George
Shearing in the 50's and 60's when Ron was playing piano with the
John West Group. The band was able to replicate this sound
exactly and Ron's Shearing Tribute album is typical of the sound
that the Group produced at that time.
So how is it achieved? Ron starts by playing and
recording the bass line using his synthesiser and computer. He
then plays back the bass track and adds a vibraphone which plays
the melody. To obtain the Shearing sound another track then has
to be added which is a guitar playing the same melody in unison
with the vibraphone but one octave lower. Percussion is then
added using synthesiser and computer.
Click here now
to hear vibraphone, guitar, bass and drums playing one of Ron's compositions on the album,
'Melody for George' but with the piano missing.
The final piece of the jigsaw is when Ron adds the
block chords on the Yamaha grand piano which fills in the gap
between the vibraphone and guitar. Block chords are so called
because they change with every note of the melody and in line
with the song's chord sequence. They are not easy to create
because they change frequently. We hope you agree that the final
sound produced is easy on the ear. It was certainly very popular
when first devised and it still is today.
Click here now
to hear the now finished piece on the album with the piano added.
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