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Summer 2024 • TedGreene.com Newsletter

Summer Greetings to all Ted fans, friends, students (past and present), and lovers of harmony!

Ted's Early Years (continued)

By 1961, with the sounds of Rock ‘n Roll “tugging at his ears,” Ted would sneak off to New York City where he would haunt the record shops and small diners that had tiny jukeboxes at each table. He was enraptured by the sounds of early Rock ‘n Roll, and “especially Gospel influenced Rhythm & Blues and Gospel, which lasted ‘strongly’ through 1965.” He would maintain a love of this sound throughout his life. When he came home from his jaunts to the city, he would spend hours on the guitar trying to imitate what he heard. By Ted’s own admission, he could barely pick out the chords at first. As Ted later recalled, “I didn’t have the ability to make sense of the guitar until I was almost 19 yrs. old.”

However, Ted became well noted for his refined musical ear, his incredible ability to hear everything: what key a piece was in, what chords were being used, modulations, or individual voices in an orchestra. This ability was not a gift from birth, it was nurtured and developed over many years through various methods Ted devised to hone each area of hearing into perfection. Ear-training was a very important part of his teaching, and he stressed the importance and advantages of ear-training to his students.

One day I asked him how he taught himself to hear so well, and he explained to me how many years ago, he chose what was then his “favorite” pitch – E. He drilled the sound of E into his head, humming it all the time, checking to make sure it was correct, until the sound of E was so ingrained he could hear it, and pick it out anywhere, anytime. With that E sound being unequivocal, he could use it to determine any other note. Hence, he developed perfect relative pitch.

Because Ted loved music so passionately, listening, understanding, and analyzing music were always integral parts of his life. For instance, at first whenever we would watch a movie, inevitably Ted would say to me, “I have to stop the tape for a moment, I’ve got to figure out what those chords were” and he would stop the movie and listen over and over until he got it. This would happen so often, that many nights we never finished watching the movie!

In 1962, his family moved again, first for a short time to a small apartment in White Plains, then in late June to Atlanta, Georgia. This proved to be the most difficult move for Ted as a 16-year-old boy. He had fallen in love with New York City and had to leave many friends behind. The adjustment to Atlanta did not come easily. He longed for New York so much that once he actually ran away to be back in his beloved city and amongst his old friends. His parents soon realized what had happened, and he was brought home.

Although despondent, Ted tried to settle into his Atlanta home. Soon he discovered the drag races and his fascination for hotrods was ignited, and he spent many days at the racetracks. He continued playing guitar, but by his own admission he still had not accomplished much. However, he did admit to possessing a natural sense of rhythm and that coupled with his rudimentary chord knowledge was sufficient enough to impress his friends that every so often they would drag him off to parties to provide the entertainment.

Ted’s stay in Atlanta was a brief one. In late September of 1963, he left his family and returned to Los Angeles by himself to live, first with his Uncle Cy and Aunt Clare, then to the Colonial West Motor Lodge & Motel on the Sunset Strip, and for transportation his parents gave him a brand new silver Corvette Stingray! This gift should have been heavenly for the recently turned 17-year-old Ted, well one might think so anyway, since he had more than a fondness for cars, especially Corvettes, yet the only note he jotted down about his return was this: “R & B Gigs – the shock of hearing Linc Chamberland on his old Tele, old Bassman set-up.”

However, while compiling the notes for this book I came across this very detailed reflection about his Corvette and how he felt about his guitar playing at that time. Ted noted in his datebook in December in 2001, “University High student in my one year (grad.) 1963-1964 – with my Silver ‘63 split window Corvette 360hp Fuelie with American Mags & Goodyear Blue Streaks all around (initially) and the 27-gallon gas tank, road racing suspension. What a time in my life. Of course, I was NOT happy, no, BECAUSE: I yearned so to be able to find all the glorious sounds on the guitar, which I love, and I didn’t have a clue. Even though I had been playing for 7 plus years!!!!”

He completed his senior year at University High School and graduated on June 19, 1964 with a Major in Liberal Arts Mathematics.
Meanwhile, Ted’s family had returned to Southern California and had moved into a house on Mulholland Drive high above the San Fernando Valley. After graduating high school, Ted moved back in with his family. By now, already considered an accomplished guitarist (by others standards, not by his own admission), a good part of that summer was spent playing with local R&B bands. He also began giving guitar lessons.

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“Summertime”

As the sun warms our strings and the days stretch into sultry evenings, it’s time to dive into this timeless beauty. Themed for this summer’s newsletter, I am thrilled to share with you Ted’s take on accompaniment chords for George Gershwin’s iconic composition, “Summertime.”

Gershwin’s masterpiece, originally an aria from the opera “Porgy and Bess,” captures the languid essence of summer—the heat, the longing, and the promise of endless nights. As jazz musicians, we have the privilege of interpreting this classic in our own unique way, adding our harmonies to the warm breeze.

Accompaniment chords are the rhythmic pulse that propels a tune forward. They provide the harmonic foundation, supporting melodies and improvisations. In my taped 1990 lesson, Ted shares his voicings, inversions, and stylistic nuances that breathe life into “Summertime.”

Whether you’re a seasoned player or just dipping your fingers into the jazz pool, this lesson promises inspiration and growth. Let’s explore the lush harmonies, syncopated rhythms, and soulful voicings that make “Summertime,” a perennial favorite. Stay tuned for Ted’s insightful analysis and practice tips. Let’s make this summer unforgettable—one chord at a time.

Warmly,

Your fellow jazz guitar student and enthusiast, Nick Stasinos

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Finally, let’s all send some special appreciation to the folks who helped to make this Newsletter and new items from Ted possible:

• Nick Stasinos, for providing Ted’s lesson on “Love Walked In,” and his “Summertime” recording, sheet music, and walk-thru commentary.
• James Hober, for V-System pages proofreading and consultation. James wrote us: “I’m trying to work on the V-1 document you sent [“V-1 Search for Melodic Minor Tonics”], but it is just so beautiful that I get lost in the sounds. Of course, many of the V-1 shapes are impossible for the left hand. But if you use open strings and descending sustained scale technique… Oh my god! The sound is just heavenly. I’m trying to tear myself away from these gorgeous sounds and do the [proofreading] work.”
• Mike Deluca, for being our ever-faithful and diligent music proofreader.
• Alan de Mause, for the “Star Chemistry” arrangement from his book.
• Barbara Franklin, for excerpts from her book, My Life with the Chord Chemist.
• Leon, Jeff, and Paul, for keeping Ted’s music and legacy alive for you and for future students/players.

~ Your Friends on the TedGreene.com Team

NEW ITEMS

AUDIO:
In the “Lessons with Nick Stasinos” section:
* Summertime – Comping, 1990-06-07, and
* Summertime – Comping (1990 sheet music and commentary) [Ted Greene Audio Lesson with Nick Stasinos reviewing some comping chords for this classic song. Please go to the Audio section / Lessons with Nick Stasinos.See Nick’s comments in this Newsletter message above.]

BAROQUE:
* Baroque Contrary Motion Sounds, 1982-05-07, 1983-10-17, 1980-05-29 [Sixteen examples of a single note (or dyad) moving with ascending and descending motion simultaneously. Ted fills in with other notes. Some very cool movements and sounds. Ted also included a couple of examples of what he called “Pyramids.” New notation with suggested chord diagrams to assist your absorption of this material.]

CHORD STUDIES:
* 1st Inversion Voicings and System of Progressions, 1980-06-24. [Ted digs deep into first inversion chords (given for C major) and smooth voice-leading to D minor. New notation provided for ease of reading and study.]

* All 4- and 5-Note Chords Using Major and Minor 3rds, 1989-06-16. [Using stacked 3rds, Ted maps out all possible 4-note and 5-note chords, and lists various ways to name these monster stretch chords. Typed text and redrawn grids for page 2 only.]

* Bb7 Altered 9, Root on Top, 1987-10-13 and 14. [This is Ted’s collection of various Bb7 altered chords with Root as the melody note. A separate page provides the names of each.]

* Chord Evolution G7 and Dm7 Types in Voicing Group 2 and 1, 1983-12-12. [Starting with a simple dyad, Ted shows the evolution, or expansion, of the chord by adding and moving notes around that nucleus. Additional page included that puts names to the chord diagrams.]

* Chord Voicings on the Middle 4 Strings – Level 1, 1977-02-26 and 1977-05-04. [This group of lesson pages was posted years ago as a two-page series, containing grid diagrams for Major types, Minor 7th types, and Dominant 7th types. However, we recently discovered page 3 of this series. It had been misfiled with Ted’s “Personal Music Studies” papers. Page 3 contains grids for Minor 6th, Minor-major 7, Minor add9, Minor 7b5, Diminished 7th, and Augmented types. We have recombined all three pages on this new PDF.]

* Progressions Starting from Lots of My Favorite Forms, 1983-06-17. [A collection of ii-V-I progressions with some of Ted’s favorite (and often challenging) chord forms. Notation with newly drawn grid diagrams.]

COMPING:
* Love Walked In – Comping, 1977-12-28. [This is an early comping study for a Gershwin song. Ted added at the top of the page: “Analyze the reason for every chord.” We combined Ted’s original diagrams with their notation, and aligned it with the lead sheet with lyrics. This is an easy study to play. It has no challenging stretch chords to agonize over. Enjoy.]

HARMONY & THEORY:
* Examples of Modulation, 1975-04-08. [Looking for a way to modulate from C to Eb? Well, look no further, Ted’s got you covered on this subject. Many of his chord names include figured bass notation, so in our write-up we included a key for determining which inversion is being referred to with those crazy figured bass numbers.]

* Examples of Romantic Modulation, 1975-04-08. [More chord progressions to illustrate various modulation pathways. Typed text for easy reading and reference.]

OTHER:
* Some Favorite Film Scores, 1982-04-16. [Ted’s all-time favorite music was film scores. Here he lists some he especially loved. Retyped for easy reading.]

SINGLE-NOTE SOLOING:
* 4-Note Pentatonic Melodic Patterns for Single-Line and Harmonized Studies, 1985. [Four pages of 4-note patterns. Ted wrote: “Do sequences (of all types) of each idea to find the great ones. Also use Rhythmic Displacement. Try phrase idea in all kinds of Polyrhythms.”]

* New Plan for Me to Finally Learn Double Line Textures, 1984-05-09 and 10. [Ted wrote for himself these four exercises with detailed instructions for learning to play two-note, or “double-line” soloing. New notation with TAB and typed text for easy study.]

* Newest Organization of Pentatonic Favorite Scales, 2002-04-14. [Here Ted presents over 30 pentatonic scales, with some comments about how to use them. New notation and typed text added.]

THE V-SYSTEM:
In the V-1 section:
* V-1 Search for Melodic Minor Tonics, 1989-06-12. [Using the V-System “Method One” formula, Ted maps out all variations of a Melodic Minor tonic, organized according to the top (soprano) voice. This page features many arcane chords that, for the most part, are mostly impractical and too big of a stretch for the left hand. But, if you make the first string note the open E and fret the three remaining notes, you can play some of the most wonderful, beautiful sustained scale / arpeggiated chord sounds! There are some truly amazing, inspiring sounds on this page. Try it! Newly drawn grids and text for easy reading.]

In the V-2 section:
* V-2 Search for Melodic Minor Tonics, 1989-05-25. [Similar to the above approach to discovering all possible variations of a Melodic Minor tonic, this group of chords are much easier to play (fewer long stretches). Newly drawn grids and text for easy reading and reference.]

TRANSCRIPTIONS:
* Our Love Is Here to Stay - Ted Greene transcription by Francois Leduc (Notation, TAB, Grids). Taken from Ted’s “Messin' Around at Home” recording.]

FROM STUDENTS:
Posted in the section, “Contributions from Alan de Mause.”
* Star Chemistry - In the Style of Ted Greene – by Alan de Mause. [This is a reworked version of Alan’s arrangement of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” from his book Solo Jazz Guitar, using Ted-style chord grids and new notation.]

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Spring 2024 • TedGreene.com Newsletter

Spring Greetings! For this newsletter we begin by sharing an excerpt from Barbara Franklin’s book, My Life with the Chord Chemist.

Ted's Early Years

There must have been something magical happening in the universe, a unique convergence of stellar energy formed for a split second and focused a radiant glow for a moment at 5:06 p.m. on September 26, 1946, for the birth of Theodore Howell Greene at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California.

For the first five years of his life Ted and his family resided in Los Angeles. During these very early years, his mother wrote some interesting musical observations about Ted in his Baby Book, “From the time he could sit up, Teddy would rock back and forth, or bounce in rhythm. No matter how cross or unhappy, he never failed to respond to songs or records.” She also noted that Ted had decided opinions on what he wanted to hear at any time, and that at about 18 months, he would improvise a little tune on request. Often she would hear him humming or singing songs to himself at play, and recalled that he was carrying the tune quite well. Remarkably even at this very young age, Ted already enjoyed many different types of music, “sometimes even turning on the radio himself, and if it was especially pleasing (as with Beethoven’s 5th one day) he would sit in a big chair rocking himself back and forth until the music was over.”

On the other hand, she also provided insight into another aspect of Ted’s behavior at this very early stage; the first entry was when he was two and a half years of age, and the second entry about two years later: “What are we going to do about Teddy’s mischief? He just can’t seem to keep out of mischief. Somehow, he breaks, tears or ruins everything he touches, and some of the damage is quite costly too. We hardly dare take him anywhere. I thought by now surely, he would be past this stage. Every piece of his furniture is in splinters” and later at about 4½ years of age, “By now the destructiveness had somewhat tempered itself and feelings of aggression were expressed verbally.”

Considering Ted’s temperament at such a young age, it was no wonder that one of his most vivid recollections was smashing up all his uncle’s jazz records, although he did not recall what incited this violent behavior. However, it did leave an indelible impression in Ted’s psyche. Ted told me he had what he termed “a dark side” and that he took great measures to keep it from ever surfacing. He was well aware of the intensity of his nature and his potential for losing control and he took great pains to maintain his composure. I was astonished to hear this, and it might well seem quite astonishing to all those who knew and witnessed an extraordinarily calm, patient, and soft-spoken person.

Irwin Greene, Ted’s father, was a successful salesman and the nature of his occupation caused the family to uproot and move quite a few times during Ted’s childhood. Sometime during 1951, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio.

His father Irwin often reflected back on a rather significant incident at this time in Ted’s life. According to Irwin, while Ted was attending elementary school, he shocked his teachers with a display of unusual mathematical wizardry. Ted’s aptitude for math was so impressive the school principal actually paid a visit to the family home and suggested that Ted should have special testing. The subsequent tests revealed that Ted had an Intelligence Quotient of 160.

In the future, Ted’s extraordinary powers of organization and analysis would prove worthy of this score. This innate ability was the foundation upon which he was able to build and develop his studies which were based on his in-depth analysis of music and an exploration of the seemingly infinite possibilities for guitar, which few others, if anyone, ever accomplished.

Soon, there were more changes on the horizon; once again, Ted was uprooted due to another family move, this time to a beautiful mansion in White Plains, New York. During this particular time in his life his love of music really began to blossom. It was in this house that Ted fondly recalled the countless hours spent sitting under the piano in ecstasy while his mother played Gershwin tunes.

In 1957, at age 11 his father bought him his first guitar. Shortly thereafter, he began lessons. Ted recollected, “My first teacher was Sal Tardella, a good jazz guitarist who tried to steer me in this direction, but the sounds of rock and roll were pulling my ears even more than the also appreciated jazz guitar sounds.”

Nonetheless, with Sal Tardella’s guidance using various guitar books, including the Mel Bay Method of which Ted completed the entire series, he learned to read music. Contrary to what many of Ted’s friends and students thought, Ted found his early learning experiences quite difficult. In his own words, “I found guitar extremely frustrating – thought it would be easy or at least not as ridiculously hard as it seemed to be at first. I had a horrible guitar with the highest action in the world, especially down at the nut – I almost quit, but parent’s encouragement and a true love of music carried me through.” In 1960 Ted acquired his first “pretty fine” guitar, a Gretch 6120.

Ted was born a lefty, but chose to play the guitar “right-handed,” because, as he told me, he felt the extra dexterity would be more beneficial for use on the fretboard.

(To be continued….)

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And now Nick Stasinos gives us some background info about the two Ted audio lessons which he is sharing with us this month:

It is my pleasure to present to you two audio clips from my lessons with Ted on the song “Baubles, Bangles, & Beads.”  The first time I had ever heard this beautiful song was when I first started taking lessons from Ted in 1977. To clarify my statement in the 1993 audio clip, this song is anything but boring. My boredom was due to my own lack of imagination regarding performing this song with all the “charms” it deserves. After 16 years, I returned with the sheet Ted gave me and asked him to dress it up. That chord melody sheet “Level 1” in F, in 4/4 time, is available for download, which serves as a basis for these two lessons. Here is a little background on this song.

“Baubles, Bangles & Beads” is a popular song from the 1953 musical “Kismet,” credited to Robert Wright and George Forrest. Like all the music in that show, the melody was based on works by Alexander Borodin, in this case the second theme of the second movement of his String Quartet in D.

The “Kismet” setting maintains the original’s 3/4 waltz rhythm; pop music settings change the rhythm to a moderate four-beat accompaniment. Jazz musicians are especially drawn to the song’s beguiling melody and advanced harmonic structure.

Audio Clip Commentary:
November 1977 – “Are you pulling the neck?” I said in my surprise as Ted did so frequently to create that lush “vibrato” sound he used for ballads. And by doing so he launched into this wonderful chord-melody version of “Baubles” based on that sheet dated 10-16-77.

April 1993 – I asked Ted how he would play that same “Baubles” chord-melody sheet for a restaurant gig. He answered, “I would play it out-of-time first. These days I would add more modern harmony….” He mentioned he was bored with the walking bass line approach, but he does so later. He changed the rhythm into what he termed an “American Latin,” very similar to the style he played on the recording of “Watch What Happens” for his “Solo Guitar” album. Wow! Listen to those tasteful bass lines! He sounded as if he were closing with some tight chord voices, no melody, when he landed on the flat VI as a key change. At this point, Ted whistled the melody as he played some choice accompaniment chords that morphed into walking chords and…yes, walking bass. After all this, Ted wanted to explore the original meter with a few of his favorite rhythmic feels, a Gospel waltz and Doo-Wop ‘6’.

There are a lot of great ideas and tools to extract from these clips. Enjoy!
~ Nick Stasinos

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Special thanks for the contributors to this quarter’s newsletter and new items:

• Nick Stasinos – for his audio clips and commentary of lessons with Ted.
• Tsuyoshi Ichikawa – for his “Gospel Style” lesson with Ted.
• Mark Levy – for some Ted lesson pages write-ups.
• Tomas Campbell – for notes on Ted’s “Chord Forms for Visualizing Scales, Arpeggios, and Runs.”
• Mike de Luca – music proofreading on most of the new lesson write-ups.
• Barbara Franklin – for extracts from her book, My Life with the Chord Chemist.

~ Your Friends on the TedGreene.com Team

NEW ITEMS

AUDIO:
In the “Lessons with Nick Stasinos” section:
* Baubles, Bangles, and Beads – 1977. [mp3, stereo, 320 kbps; length: 1:45. See comments above]
* Baubles, Bangles, and Beads – 1993. [mp3, stereo, 320 kbps; length: 8:51. See comments above]

BAROQUE:
* 2-to-1 Baroque Counterpoint, 1983-04-12. [forty-two one-measure phrases for Baroque exercises, plus six examples in E Melodic Minor for “Learning Intervals for Counterpoint” with accompanying grid diagrams. New notation and redrawn grids.]

* Baroque 2- and 3-Part Counterpoint Rhythmic Figures, 1984-02-03, 1983-10-07. [Fifteen one-measure exercises in 4/2 time in the key of G, and three other exercises in cut time. New notation provided.]

* Baroque in A, 1984-02-15. [This is a short piece in 3/4 time in the key of A. Ted did not title this page other that “#7.” We gave it the title, and gave it new notation and added “suggested” grid diagrams for easy interpretation.]

* Bass in Ascending 6ths, 1984-02-14. [Ted’s original page for this lesson is just 7 measures. Each measure is a separate exercise in 2/4 time, with 4:1 counterpoint: the bass in quarter notes, the melody in 16th notes. The bass moves up in 6ths. Each exercise is a “starter” for a longer melodic pattern. The patterns have been expanded in the write-up so you can see a diatonic continuation or “follow-thru” that Ted instructed was to be done with the “etc.” note at the end of the first example. New notation is provided, but no diagrams or TAB are given, since each exercise can be played in multiple positions on the fretboard.]

* Soprano Harmonization or 1, 2, 3 (and 7), 1984-02-04. [Ted gives us 20 examples of harmonizing a melody based on 1, 2, 3 (or Root, 2nd, 3rd of the scale – sometimes including the 7th). He uses a variety of counterpoint harmonizations. He also included some harmonizations using block chords. All in the key of G. New notation plus newly generated “suggested” chord diagrams.]

CHORD STUDIES:
* 1st Inversion – Various Spreads and Voices, 1984-02-08. [Three exercises that utilizes different voicings, many of which are 1st inversion chords (3rd in the bass). Ted wrote: “for teaching and me.” New notation plus newly generated “suggested” chord diagrams and chord names are provided. Other chord forms may also be possible. Investigate.]

Under the “Triads” sub-header:
* 3-Note Chord Voicings – Voicing Chains, 1988-01-02. [This page was to be used for a new book Ted intended to write, titled: “The Guitar Layout.” Here he looks at 3-note chords (triads), and groups them according to the interval of the Outer Voices: the lowest note (bass) to the highest note (soprano). This is not a definitive collection, but rather triad voicings that he deemed “choice, apt, and/or important.” Also on this page are some nice studies utilizing pedals (sustain notes). New notation provided.]

* All the 3-Note Chord Types, 1997-2005. [This is a combination of three of Ted’s worksheets for mapping out all 15 diatonic 3-note (triad) chord types, and different ways to organize them. Most of these “triads” are fragments from larger chord types. In addition to the 15, he also included 3 with non-diatonic notes, and one with “3 chromatics.” These pages would certainly been used for a book he intended to write on “Choice Voicing Course.” New notation provided for easy reading and study.]

HARMONY & THEORY:
* Descending Root in Minor, 1974-05-31. [Ted wrote: “One of the most common progressions on a minor chord or in a minor key…” and he provides several examples with grid diagrams. He also explains how various chord substitutes can be used in this progression. Good food for thought. Newly drawn grids and typed text. If you’re a guitar teacher, this might be a good lesson to give to your students. (Page 1 of the write-up is very informative and straightforward and relatively easy to play, but page 2 has some chords that are rather advanced.)]

* Harmonic Devices, 1975-10-12. [This page comes from Ted’s Personal Music Studies files and was not intended to be a lesson, but rather notes and reminders for himself for arranging and composing. It is offered here in the hope that others may benefit by seeing some of the possibilities Ted studied, catalogued, and utilized in his playing. Retyped text for easy reading.]

OTHER:
* New Book Ideas – Bachian Counterpoint (1), [Ted wanted to write a book for improvising Bach-like (“Bachian”) counterpoint for guitar. Over the years he collected many ideas, written spontaneously on whatever paper he had handy. We are collecting them and making them legible, and hopefully, approachable. While these ideas don’t fill the role of a regular “method book,” or of an in-person instructor, they do give many valuable exercises for the student to work on, and to try to tune in with Ted’s thinking. I’ve heard him say that by playing thousands of exercises like these, your fingers get into the habit of playing like this, and thus builds a foundation upon which you can begin to improvise in that style. New notation for easy reading and study. No grid diagrams are provided for most of these pages, as you’ll need to work out your own fingerings. And Ted certainly would also advise to do them in many positions, on different string sets, and in a variety of keys. Good luck…more will be coming in future TG Newsletters.]

SINGLE-NOTE SOLOING:
* Melodic Patterns Worksheets. [This PDF contains several of Ted’s pages on “Melodic Patterns” from his Personal Music Studies files. Many of these are worksheets he created in attempting to catalogue all the variations of 3-note (or 4-note) single-note sequences. These pages were never intended to be shared in that state. In a very simplified nutshell, what Ted was doing here was creating small groupings of notes (or “units”) that can be used as a “starter” phrase for longer sequential patterns. Each unit is usually 3 or 4 notes, written inside a single measure. This “starter” was to be elaborated upon (i.e. followed-thru or continued) by several means…. The introductory page contains a translation for most of Ted’s handwritten notes on these pages. But we did not put in new notation. Read the intro piece, and good luck.]

* Single-Note Student Practice and Teaching Ideas, [This is a collection of miscellaneous pages from Ted’s Personal Music Studies for single-note soloing studies and thoughts for teaching soloing. These are from 1977, 1978, and 1992. Translated text for easy reading.]

THE V-SYSTEM:
In the V-1 section:
* Choice V-1 Dominants, Root on Top, Top 4 Strings, 1986-10-19. [As a semi-final step in his process of finding all possible voicings for V-1 Dominants with the root in the soprano and using only the top 4 strings, Ted then arrived at this stage: selecting his favorite or “choice” voicings for each of the 35 chord types. Because these are V-1 chord, they tend to be very long-stretch chords, best suited high up on the fretboard. Ted subtitled this page, “Worksheet – Step 3, Grouped by Color or Mood.” Redrawn grids for clarity. Most of these chord forms are extremely challenging. Fear not!]

* V-1 Voicings – All 35 Types on Top 4 Strings, 1985-01-22. [This is the complete collection of V-1 chords for each of the 35 types, using systematic inversions. Ted wrote this page as a worksheet for himself, possibly eyeing this to be included in his unrealized book on the V-System. Being V-1 chords, these are almost always extremely long stretches. They were all listed here, not with the intent that one would learn them all, but as a catalog for reference. If you find one or two chords that you like and can use, then the page may be considered a success. Redrawn grids to save your eyes from squinting and trying to decipher Ted’s itsy-bitsy tiny writing.]

In the Combined Groups section:
* V-System – Chord Numbers 6, 21, and 5, 2003-07-19, 2003-08-01. [In discovering and developing his V-System of chord voicings, Ted found that there are 43 4-note chord types. On this page Ted elaborates on chords #6, 21, and 5, by writing out all 14 V-system chords, each one presented with its systematic inversions. He does this in notation only here. We did not attempt to provide grid chord diagrams for each – that is left up to the student. However, don’t be discouraged if you can’t finger each chord, since some may be unplayable unless using some unconventional techniques, such as: using the right-hand to fret certain notes, using the left-hand thumb over the top of the fingerboard, or using natural or artificial harmonics. These pages are meant as a reference catalog – not a lesson to learn each form. One thing we can take away from this page is an appreciation for Ted’s systematic and mathematical organization for discovering all the chord possibilities. Re-notated for easy reading and reference.]

* Regular Major and Regular Major Extensions V-1, V-2 Top 4 Strings, 1985-02-02. [This page is another organization of chords based on the soprano note, using just the top 4 strings. Here Ted is looking at the outer voices: the 1st and 4th strings, the soprano and bass notes. He then organized them accordingly: 3rd in bass – 1st inversion; 9th in bass; Root in bass and soprano (a doubling); 7th in bass – 3rd inversion; 6th in bass; and 5th in bass – 2nd inversion. These are all major unaltered types, so no 4th or #11th chords are included. Ted intended to continue this study by next putting the 9th in the soprano, but never finished this series. Redrawn chord grids for clarity.]

FROM STUDENTS:
Posted in the section, “Contributions from Tomas Campbell.”
* Chord Forms for Visualizing Scales, Arpeggios, and Runs and Runs by Ted Greene. (compiled by Tomas Campbell). [This file explains in detail the voicings and chord tones for each string of each chord that Ted illustrated in his original grid diagrams HERE.]

Posted in the section, “Contributions from Tsuyoshi Ichikawa.”
* New Orleans Style by Ted Greene, 1997-01-27.  [Tsuyoshi Ichikawa shares his write-up of a private lesson he had with Ted in January of 1997. Written in standard notation and TAB, he also created a YouTube video demonstrating the lesson: https://youtu.be/gxk0wvw7jMw ]

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Winter 2024 • TedGreene.com Newsletter

"The Holiday Race"
By Leon White

The holidays are a perfect time to play music for your family, friends, or someone’s family. But are we ready? Uh-oh! Ted’s love of holiday music was enormous, and he often played the songs at non-holiday events. (At my sister’s wedding he moved to Christmas carols when some of the guests wanted to sing. Who knew?) That prompted me to think about his approach in more detail. Here’s what I think I found.

But then the holidays roll around and something totally different happens to us. Many of my students and others enter what I call “the race.” “The race” is that scramble to learn a couple of holiday songs to play in some social setting. In this haste to learn the songs, the beautiful subtle details and nuances that we’ve studied and practiced are lost or disappear – we’re just cramming for a new gig. But surprisingly, we often come away with a lot of knowledge that previously we didn’t have, which we couldn’t have recognized before just learning the tunes.

In a landmark private lesson I had with Joe Pass, I asked him what I should learn to be able to play in his single-line style. He looked at me for a moment and paused. I was sure I’d asked a stupid question. Then he came back with this response: “Learn tunes.” I must have looked blank because he went on to explain in more detail that, “Everything you need is in the songs.” (There was a lot more wisdom there, but I’ll revisit that another time.)

Ow! I wonder if we should all use the “holiday race” approach and just learn whatever of Ted’s arrangements are playable for us. THEN we come back and see what additional studies we feel are worth exploring. This approach will be different than if we focus on a musical idea first, and then later to seek a song to illustrate it. (That’s what some guitar teachers do – we present a musical idea and then find an example to expose it.) But without Ted to guide us, each of us must be our own teacher and guide. And we often make the mistake of putting the musical idea first, instead of the songs first.

At your family holiday gathering, the mother-in-law will be there along with Aunt Bertha. Your wife/mother/girlfriend/ landlord will want you to “play a little something” to entertain everyone. The pressure is on, the chips are down, the game is afoot, and the metaphor is dead. You’ve got to get something together on your guitar! Those who gig regularly usually have a few standbys they can brush up on and pull off rather effortlessly. The rest of us may not. “Should I get some well-known songs for accompaniment for a sing-a-long? What about that ‘Over the Rainbow’ arrangement I started working on earlier this year?” You finally come up with something that pleases the crowd and your own sense of musicianship. You survived with dignity intact. “Now, let me start working on those Christmas favorites in July!” (Wait, didn’t I say that last year...and the year before that?)

Each December our TedGreene.com Newsletter reflects on memories, feelings, and stories of Ted, as well as the many gifts from him that have appeared on the site as new downloads this past year. Below is a summary of some of those items from 2023.

The new year is also a time to feel the cheer and warmth of friends and family. This year, like previous years, we are also aware of the many challenges that exist in the world. In contrast, Ted’s music and teachings are here on this site to bring us a taste of beauty, of joy, and as some kind of relief from those world tensions, problems, and conflicts. The beginning of the new year is the most obvious time to celebrate Ted’s many gifts. Maybe we can just “learn tunes” a little more and get some of that joy. The nuggets of Ted’s knowledge will emerge through the tunes just as before, but the joy may clarify them, and hopefully keep Aunt Bertha at bay.

All of us at TedGreene.com wish you a joyful and peaceful holiday. (I’ve got to run – I have an afternoon gig at a department store with a solo piano player I’ve never met. Ah, “play tunes?” Anyone got some charts?)

* * * * *

For their help with this newsletter, we would like to thank the following contributors:

• Tsuyoshi Ichikawa for his “‘Round Midnight” fragment, and for completing Ted’s “My One and Only Love” arrangement.
• Mark Levy for his work on the V-3 Voicings page.
• Mike Deluca, for music proofreading.
• Tim Lerch, for “Blues in the Night” intro interpretation.
• Nick Stasinos for his audio lesson with Ted.
• Site maintenance, management, and updates: Leon, Jeffrey, and Paul.

One final word:
We wanted to let you all know that Tim Lerch has a new book out that you may find very helpful to your guitar playing. It’s called Melodic Jazz Guitar Chord Phrases.
Most of you know Tim from his YouTube videos and that he was a student of Ted’s and has been a long-time contributor, advisor, and friend to the TedGreene.com website.
Visit our Forums for a more details: https://forums.tedgreene.com/post/tim-lerch-new-book. Or to Tim’s site:  https://www.timlerch.com/#news.

Enjoy Ted’s new material!

~ Your Friends on the TedGreene.com Team

NEW ITEMS

ARRANGEMENTS:
* Blues in the Night – Gershwin-esque Intro, 1989-04-03. [This is a fun little bluesy thing Ted made for a student wanting an intro to “Blues in the Night.” Ted didn’t specify the rhythm for his grids, but Tim Lerch offers us a probable way Ted may have played it. Notation added for clarity. We also provided you with the lead sheet in the key of F.]

* My One and Only Love (fragment), 1995-06-08. [This is a very short segment for the second phrase of the song. The four grids that precede this fragment seem to correspond to the first phrase, but only harmonically, as Ted didn’t specify a moving melody here. Notation with Ted’s grids provided.]

* My One and Only Love, 1998-10-09. [This arrangement was posted a few years ago, but it only included Ted’s grids for the first two A sections. and we left the B and final A section blank for the student to complete the song. However, recently we learned that Ted taught the full arrangement to his student Tsuyoshi Ichikawa, and he has shared that with us. So this new updated version is now complete with Ted’s chords. Enjoy!]

‘Round Midnight (fragment, key of Fm), 1995-06-29. [This is Ted’s harmonization of the first phrase in Fm. This was taught by Ted to Tsuyoshi Ichikawa, who has shared it with us. Notation and grids]

AUDIO:
* When You Wish Upon a Star, 1993-03-25.  [Here’s an audio clip from a lesson Nick Stasinos had with Ted on March 25, 1993. He is playing “When You Wish Upon a Star” from his chord grid sheet which is available in the Arrangements section. Nick wanted to share this lesson clip as a supplement to that PDF. Please go to the Ted Greene Audio Section / Lessons with Nick Stasinos.

Nick wrote: “Winter 1993, Ted had just moved into apartment #8, still somewhat empty, which gives a somewhat cloudy ambiance to this recording. His next student, Barry (with a cough), is there waiting for his lesson to start and is listening to us. Setting my tape recorder under a squeaky wooden chair didn’t help my recording either. Once I mention changing the key to this tune, Ted launched into a variety of stylistic feels... mostly to no avail. Ted concluded with Chuck Berry playing what I think Ted called ‘WAF’ (Wife Acceptance Factor) which results in Chuck B, Ted, and Barry all being carted off to jail. I couldn't hear why I was ‘let off.’”]

BAROQUE:
* 1-to-1 Baroque Counterpoint – Organized Over 3-Unit Bass Lines, 1984-01-14. [Just as the title states, here Ted systematically used bass lines of CDE, then CDF, CDG, CDB, CDC, CDA – all with slight melodic variations. It seems that Ted liked to mathematically categorize and practice the endless possibilities in order to expose his ears and hands to anything and everything. New notation provided.]

* 3-Part Baroque Harmony and Counterpoint, 1983-10-07. [Five exercises Ted jotted down showing 3-part counterpoint, Keys of G#m, Cm, and F. He wrote some notes to himself: “Do lots of 3-part studies and experiments. First make that list of all vertical structures (3-part) of the Baroque color.” New notation with suggested Ted-style chord grids provided.]

CHORD STUDIES:
* 4-Part Harmony Triads. [Posted under the “Triads” header. This collection of 53 grids shows major triads with a doubling of one of the notes. Ted organized them according to the chord tone in the bass, and indicated it by putting a number under that string. It’s interesting to note that there are 19 with the 3rd in the bass, and 17 of both 5th and root in the bass. Can you find more? Ted would probably assign the student to write out the minor, diminished, and augmented triads.]

* 5-Note Voicings for Am11 and A9add11, 1980-02-17. [Posted under the “5-Note Chord Voicings” header, this page is from one of Ted’s work pages that are part of a series for 5-note chord voicings. He also indicates the related chord synonyms for these two, and provides a formula at deriving at the Am11no5: “Derived from Amaj9’s by lowering the 3 to b3, 7 to b7, and 5 to 11.” We’ve re-drawn the grids so they are clear and easy-to-read. Mind you, many of these chords are for the fearless player!]

* 5-Note Voicings for Minor 7th Type Chords, 1984-07-04. [Posted under the “5-Note Chord Voicings” header, this page is another attempt (probably quite successful) to catalogue all the 5-note voicings for the 8 basic minor 7th chords (no alterations), using Bb minor as the example. Many of these chords require some special techniques, such as the George Van Eps 5th Finger Principle, fingertip double-stops, right-hand fretted notes, use of open string harmonics, and ever some left-hand thumb under-the-neck tricks. New grids drawn for clarity and to save your eyes from squinting on Ted’s original page. We also added the chord names for each of the grids, instead having to rely on Ted’s numbers that he assigned for this page only.]

* Aeolian Sequences. [Ted gives us 23 examples of progressions using diatonic chords in the Aeolian (or Natural) minor key. Notation added to Ted’s original grid diagrams.]

* Low-End Playing 3-Note Chords on the 643, 653, and 654 Strings, 1986-03-04, 05. [Posted under the “Triads” header. For the “Triads” section: Here are three pages of chord forms for nice, rich, fat low-end sounds. Ted did not write any chord names or fret numbers with these grids, so you may consider this lesson as an assignment or quiz page for you to name them. Notice that Ted instructs the student to name each chord according to roots based on all 12 notes: “Name from all 12 roots where sensible.” Having a command of these triad voicings will give your playing a powerful dimension for comping and low-end chord style.]

* My Funny Valentine – Reharmonization of the 3rd Phrase. [Posted under the “Harmonization of a Given Melody” header. Here Ted wrote nine different examples for the phrase, “You make me smile with my heart.” This lesson shows how one could approach creating an arrangement. Notation provided.]

* Parallel Motion, 1995-01-30. [This untitled page shows some of Ted’s musings with moveable chord forms.]

OTHER:
* Main Courses for Teaching, 1986-10-05. [This is Ted’s list of important subjects for teaching students about harmony. It is incomplete, as he didn’t finish listing single-note soloing and blues subjects. Retyped.]

* New Book Ideas - 1. [This is a collection of 10 pages in which Ted made preliminary notes for starting new guitar instruction books. Including: 1) Bringing Chords to Life; 2) Developing a Superb Musical Ear; 3) The New (or Advanced) Key Signatures; 4) Wonderful Sustained Scales; 5) Blue Counterpoint; 6) Learning New Chords; 7) New Harmonic Vocabulary Course; 8) Walking Chords; 9) Chord Behavior (and Misbehavior); 10) Tunes by Their Harmony, for my book: The Harmony of American Music.]

SINGLE-NOTE SOLOING:
* Eb7#9 Pentatonic, 1996-04-21. [Here Ted wrote out six ideas for playing over Eb7#9 using a pentatonic scale. Notation and TAB included with Ted’s original grid diagrams.]

* Sustained Melodic Patterns Coalescing in Modern Chords, 1980-12-08. [This page has two basic parts: the first uses the F Overtone Dominant scale or C Melodic Minor scale (notice the key signature of 1 flat: Eb), and the second part uses the E Melodic Minor scale. Ted would have you pay attention to the notes that are sustained as others are added. Those lower or sustained notes make up the chord at the end of the example. (That’s a F13#11 for the first part). New notation and chord grids added for easy reading.]

THE V-SYSTEM:
* V-3 Voicings Organized by Top Notes (misc. pages), 1984-05-29, 1984-12-02. [Posted in the V-3 section, this page contains three of Ted’s work pages for organizing V-3 chords for minor and major types. Redrawn for clarity, and chord names are given where Ted omitted them.]