Ted Greene
Encyclopedia
Theodore "Ted" Greene was an American
fingerstyle jazz guitarist
, music columnist, and music educator active in Encino, California
.
He briefly studied accounting at Cal State Northridge, but soon dropped out to devote all of his energies to music.
One group that he was a member of in the 1960s was a blues rock group called Bluesberry Jam
, whose ranks also included future Canned Heat
drummer Fito de la Parra.
magazine, and his series of instructional books on guitar harmony
, chord melody and single-note soloing
. A voracious reader of almost any book on music theory, especially from the 'Common Practice Period' (circa 1600-1900) he distilled very complex concepts regarding the structure of western music, and would write out more accessible versions for students to understand (handed out to students in the form of lesson "sheets"), often applying keyboard concepts to the guitar. For example, many transcriptions of the Chorals of J.S. Bach would be re-written for guitar, along with useful analysis applicable to any musical setting, such as jazz and other styles.
He would also make occasional live appearances at clubs in the San Fernando Valley
, usually playing a Fender Telecaster
.
Greene typically worked as a vocal accompanist, which he preferred because he found group settings restrictive. While he was a sought-after session player, he derived much of his income from tutoring. He wrote four books on the subject of jazz guitar performance and theory: Chord Chemistry, Modern Chord Progressions: Jazz and Classical Voicings for Guitar, and the two-volume Jazz Guitar: Single Note Soloing.
His playing style included techniques such as harp-like harmonic
arpeggio
s, combined with gentle, tasteful neck vibrato
, creating a "shimmer" to his sound. Other notable techniques included playing songs with a "walking bass" line with simultaneous melodies. Greene used counterpoint
to improvise in a variety of styles, such as playing a jazz standard
such as Autumn Leaves
in Baroque
style. He used a large variety of chord voicings, often creating the effect of two simultaneous players.
He recorded one album "Solo Guitar" in 1977, and although respected by guitarists, he was not well known to the public. The recording, originally released in 1977 on PMP Records, contains no "over dubbing" (recording on multiple tracks). Guitar virtuoso Steve Vai
has praised Greene's musical knowledge and perceptiveness on this recording, stating that Greene "is totally in touch with the potential of harmonic constructions" which allows him to create an "organic and inspired listening delight."
Josh Gordon, in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, stated that the recording has a "feeling of perfect proportion" and a "full spectrum of emotion and harmonic vision." Steven Rosenberg, in the Los Angeles Daily newspaper, stated "Greene managed to raise the bar for solo guitar."
Greene helped Fender design a 1952 Telecaster vintage reissue (their first such reissue) by making reference to his collection of old Telecasters, Broadcasters and Nocaster
s. Greene died in his apartment in Encino of a heart attack
at age 58. Over 700 of his friends, former students and other musicians attended his memorial. Greene is survived by his long-time life partner, Barbara Franklin, who is organizing and archiving his written notes on music and guitar playing.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fingerstyle jazz guitarist
Jazz guitarist
Jazz guitarists are guitar players who play jazz music on the guitar using an approach to playing chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist and soloist in small and large ensembles and also as an unaccompanied...
, music columnist, and music educator active in Encino, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Early Days
Greene began his own guitar studies at age 11, and was an accomplished player while still in high school, often collaborating with local R&B and Blues Rock groups.He briefly studied accounting at Cal State Northridge, but soon dropped out to devote all of his energies to music.
One group that he was a member of in the 1960s was a blues rock group called Bluesberry Jam
Bluesberry Jam
Bluesberry Jam were a blues rock band active in the 1960s. They were for a time geographically as well as chronilogically similar to Pacific Gas & Electric and Canned Heat...
, whose ranks also included future Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
drummer Fito de la Parra.
Later
While Greene is often regarded as a jazz musician, he played many musical styles. He was known to guitarists due to his role as a music educator, which included private teaching, seminars at the Guitar Institute of Technology, columns for Guitar PlayerGuitar Player
Guitar Player is a popular magazine for guitarists founded in 1967. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print since the late 1960s and during the 1980s, under editor Tom Wheeler, the publication was...
magazine, and his series of instructional books on guitar harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, chord melody and single-note soloing
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
. A voracious reader of almost any book on music theory, especially from the 'Common Practice Period' (circa 1600-1900) he distilled very complex concepts regarding the structure of western music, and would write out more accessible versions for students to understand (handed out to students in the form of lesson "sheets"), often applying keyboard concepts to the guitar. For example, many transcriptions of the Chorals of J.S. Bach would be re-written for guitar, along with useful analysis applicable to any musical setting, such as jazz and other styles.
He would also make occasional live appearances at clubs in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, usually playing a Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
.
Greene typically worked as a vocal accompanist, which he preferred because he found group settings restrictive. While he was a sought-after session player, he derived much of his income from tutoring. He wrote four books on the subject of jazz guitar performance and theory: Chord Chemistry, Modern Chord Progressions: Jazz and Classical Voicings for Guitar, and the two-volume Jazz Guitar: Single Note Soloing.
His playing style included techniques such as harp-like harmonic
Harmonic
A harmonic of a wave is a component frequency of the signal that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency, i.e. if the fundamental frequency is f, the harmonics have frequencies 2f, 3f, 4f, . . . etc. The harmonics have the property that they are all periodic at the fundamental...
arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
s, combined with gentle, tasteful neck vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
, creating a "shimmer" to his sound. Other notable techniques included playing songs with a "walking bass" line with simultaneous melodies. Greene used counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
to improvise in a variety of styles, such as playing a jazz standard
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
such as Autumn Leaves
Autumn Leaves (song)
"Autumn Leaves" is a much-recorded popular song. Originally it was a 1945 French song "Les Feuilles mortes" with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. Yves Montand introduced "Les feuilles mortes" in 1946 in the film Les Portes de la Nuit...
in Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style. He used a large variety of chord voicings, often creating the effect of two simultaneous players.
He recorded one album "Solo Guitar" in 1977, and although respected by guitarists, he was not well known to the public. The recording, originally released in 1977 on PMP Records, contains no "over dubbing" (recording on multiple tracks). Guitar virtuoso Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
has praised Greene's musical knowledge and perceptiveness on this recording, stating that Greene "is totally in touch with the potential of harmonic constructions" which allows him to create an "organic and inspired listening delight."
Josh Gordon, in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, stated that the recording has a "feeling of perfect proportion" and a "full spectrum of emotion and harmonic vision." Steven Rosenberg, in the Los Angeles Daily newspaper, stated "Greene managed to raise the bar for solo guitar."
Greene helped Fender design a 1952 Telecaster vintage reissue (their first such reissue) by making reference to his collection of old Telecasters, Broadcasters and Nocaster
Nocaster
The so-called Nocaster was a short-lived variant of what is now known as the Fender Telecaster, the original solid-body electric guitar created by Leo Fender. The Nocaster, produced in early to mid-1951, was the result of legal action from the Gretsch company over the guitar's previous name, the...
s. Greene died in his apartment in Encino of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at age 58. Over 700 of his friends, former students and other musicians attended his memorial. Greene is survived by his long-time life partner, Barbara Franklin, who is organizing and archiving his written notes on music and guitar playing.
Further
Much was thought of Ted Greene and as a result an independent record label El Dorado Records was created in his honor.Discography
- Ted Greene-"Solo Guitar" Art of Life AL1011-2 (1977)
- Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies - The American Metaphysical CircusThe American Metaphysical CircusThe American Metaphysical Circus is a 1969 psychedelic album by Joseph "Joe" Byrd. It was recorded after his departure from the band The United States Of America, and featured some of the earliest recorded work in rock music utilizing extensive use of synthesizers and vocoder, along with an...
(1969)
Publications
- Greene, Ted. Chord Chemistry, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-89898-696-6
- Greene, Ted. Modern Chord Progressions, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-89898-698-2
- Greene, Ted. Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-7692-0972-6
- Greene, Ted. Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 2, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-7692-1282-4
- My Life with The Chord Chemist: A Memoir of Ted Greene, Apotheosis of Solo Guitar - by Barbara Franklin ISBN 1449575579
External links
- TedGreene.com - A website for Ted
- A wordpress archive for Ted
- Rare Videos
- Ted Greene Forums
- My Life with The Chord Chemist: A Memoir of Ted Greene, Apotheosis of Solo Guitar - by Barbara Franklin Publication Date: Nov 24 2009
- A blogspot tribute page
- Obituary from the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
- Ted Greene Interview with Jim Carlton
- Ted Greene Guitar Player Tribute - November 2005
- Modern Guitars Magazine Ted Greene Tribute
- Guitar Teacher Magazine Ted Greene Tribute
- Ted Greene Photos
- Ted Greene Performance Part I
- Ted Greene Performance Part II
- Ted Greene Book Editions by Dale Zdenek, the original publisher of Greene's books.
- Ted Greene Memorial Page by Dan Sindel