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Winter 2026 • TedGreene.com Newsletter

Warm Winter Greetings to all Ted Greene fans, friends, musical family, and lovers of harmony!

In this newsletter we wanted to share with you some of the introductory text from the book, My Life with the Chord Chemist by Barbara Franklin. If you haven’t read this book, then perhaps the following might inspire you to do so. If you already have a copy, I hope you don’t mind this reiteration.

An Excerpt from the Preface:

There are many musicians all over the world that have only experienced Ted Greene through his books. I have been told many times that the impression given through this view alone is of a music scholar, even a genius (always refuted by Ted), given the young age at which he wrote his first and most celebrated book, Chord Chemistry.

Since Ted’s untimely death from a massive heart attack in 2005, interest in his music studies and his amazing guitar playing abilities has soared. Ted has gained much new exposure through the Internet, through magazine articles and interviews with famous guitar players commending his talent and expertise as a guitarist and musician. Many of these musicians have noted the influence Ted had on their own musical growth. And the interest continues to build.

Besides being an amazing musician, a renowned teacher, and one of the greatest solo guitarists who ever lived, Ted Greene was an extraordinary human being who spent much of his life striving to enhance the quality of life on this earth in many ways.

In the San Fernando Valley, where he lived most of his life, Ted had acquired a mysterious aura. After several years of being featured playing with numerous Los Angeles area rhythm and blues bands where he garnered high acclaim and prominence for his dazzling guitar prowess, Ted took the surprising step of giving up the opportunity of a career in the spotlight. There were several reasons for this decision, one being Ted’s penchant for teaching. Due to his choice to teach rather than perform, and his preference for staying at home, many unfounded rumors of a reclusive existence proliferated. Perhaps the extensive book collections; books stacked from floor to ceiling in Ted’s apartment fed the rumors. However it happened, he took on the enigmatic aura of a secluded guru. Ted was well aware that many people misinterpreted his way of existence, and refuted these claims but to no avail. Ted’s lifestyle and intriguing demeanor were decidedly captivating, yet he did little to enlighten people when questions arose.

However, it is hard to convey what it was like to experience being in the presence of this singular, exceptional person. Therefore, since many people had asked me to write a book about him, this is my attempt at coming as close as I can to depicting who Ted was….

About This Book

This book is intended to answer some of the most compelling questions about Ted the musician and Ted the person. It contains some biographical information for a general knowledge of Ted’s background and as reference regarding Ted’s musical growth, but it was never my intention to write Ted’s definitive life story. The pages herein are divided into sections in order to feature Ted’s musical development as it occurred during the course of his life, and how Ted blossomed into the brilliant and innovative musician he was known as.

Foreword: (by Leon White)

So much has been said and written about Ted since his passing in 2005. His accomplishments in performing and teaching, his generosity, and his encyclopedic knowledge of so many things remain larger than life. Questions persist around “How did he do it?” whether the “it” was playing music, teaching, collecting baseball cards, or remembering who played rhythm guitar on the B side of a single released in 1955.

I was lucky enough to be among a group of folks who were around, in my case more than 30 years, as he created the life that has become both legend and legacy. Ted was a humorous, gentle, compassionate man who seemed to draw upon the entire history of music as the whim suited him to play, to teach, or to just amuse.

The questions of how he accomplished all that he did are probably more frequent now than they were when he was with us, as more and more musicians have become acquainted with him. I think the answer lies in who he was, how he lived his life, and what were his passions and frustrations – the humanity behind the incredible beauty of his music.

This book is about Ted and Barbara, and what life was like with Ted. It isn’t about chord substitution or inversions – but about his life and how he lived it. And I think it’s important because it sheds some light on Ted that few of his musical friends saw. In addition, I think it may answer the question “How did he do it?” for those that are interested.

I thank Barbara for her painstaking efforts to create this narrative. The more you know about Ted, the more you can appreciate his contributions to music, and the way in which he made them. That is inspirational. Further, I think you’ll find a life well lived – something we can all learn from, and I think that would please him.

~ Leon White

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As usual we want to thank our team members who generously contributed to this newsletter:

• François LeDuc for another brilliant transcription of Ted playing at Alec Silverman’s Home.
• Mike De Luca for music proofreading
• Jeffrey D Brown for the technical and marketing support.
• Leon White for his stewardship of this website.

And once again I’d like to encourage anyone who’d like to help with the writing up some of Ted’s musical notes to please contact us. There’s a lot of material to present (some of which is quite simple to notate), and we could really use your help. Thanks!

~ Paul and Your Friends on the TedGreene.com Team

NEW ITEMS

AUDIO:
In the “Joey Backenstoe Wedding” area:
* 12 – Medley of 5 Heartfelt Standards
* 13 – Ted Greene’s –Joey Backenstoe Wedding – Index of Songs
* 14 – Ted Greene’s Wedding Song Lists

BAROQUE:
* Ascending Major Scale Soprano Harmonization Neo-Baroque

Under the “Baroque Ideas” header:
* Baroque Idea #4, Breaking Up 4-Part Chords
* Baroque Idea #5, Baroquish Minor
* Baroque Idea #6, Baroquish Pedal Studies
* Baroque Idea #7, Using 10ths and Descending 3rd Progressions in Baroque

BLUES:
* Minor Jazz Blues

CHORD STUDIES:
* Systematic Inversions – Patterns to Learn
* Turnarounds for bVI-bIII-bVII-IV-I

Under the “Chording Ideas” header:
* Chording Idea #7, (1989-01-02)
* Chording Idea #8, Multi-Name Chords
* Chording Idea #9, (1989-03-13)
* Chording Idea #10, bVI-to-I
* Chording Idea #11, Modulation Cycles Using ii7-V7, ii7

Under the “Harmonization of a Given Melody” header:
* Dancing on the Ceiling – Harmonic Variations on the First 8 Measures

SINGLE-NOTE SOLOING:
* Dominant Sounds with Lines

Under the “Single-Note Ideas” header:
* Single-Note Idea #6, Melodic Chart of Patterns to Explore in Six
* Single-Note Idea #7, Examples Using Dominant 7th Scales

TRANSCRIPTIONS:
* Here’s That Rainy Day (from “Silverman” concert) – Transcribed by François LeDuc

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