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Spring 2025 • TedGreene.com Newsletter
ADVANCE TO NEW ITEMS >>
New Years Greetings!
A warm Spring greeting to all Ted Greene fans, students, and lovers of harmony! We begin this newsletter with some words from Barbara, writing about Ted’s original compositions.
Ted's Compositions
~ Excerpts from Barbara Franklin’s book, My Life With the Chord Chemist.
Ted composed many original “Baroque” pieces in this period of his life. His first piece was written in winter/spring 1968 and appropriately titled, “My 1st Classical Composition.” This was shortly followed by a “Processional in B minor.” In late October he began a “Fantasia in E Minor,” which he did not complete, but resumed work on it again several years later (June of 1970). Among other pieces written around this time, were an “Invention in F,” and in January of the next year his “Pastoral No. 1”. ~ p. 5
 From the summer of 1969 through spring 1970 two more changes of residence took place, the second landed the family in a house in Encino on Havenhurst Place. It was here in this house Ted observed, “I’m in Classical music listening Heaven & (doing) some of my very best composing.” Among his collection of compositions from this period there is a “Sarabande in B Minor,” and later that year a “Bachian” Invention, (however in 1999 when he reviewed the invention, he offered this comment, “but as usual as if thru a Russian ‘Autumn Leaves’). ~ p. 6
Sometime within the past month I had asked Ted if he would show me his original compositions. [This was in 1997] He was quite willing but first had to locate them. Ultimately his search turned up the missing envelope…. ~ p. 68
Now that Ted had re-discovered his compositions he noted, “My Solo Guitar Pieces: almost finished now with cursory retrospective work and play through. I really did compose a ton of stuff (from ‘68 through ’70 - ‘71) and some of its’ beauty holds up really well. Others are strong in spots with flaws that need revising. Given a month or two I think I can do it, if I’m willing to agonize over the ‘joins’ and/or the development – I sure used to. Be honest Ted, you gave 1000’s of hours of your life to these pieces, finish them, at least the most worthy, leave some beauty behind for others, if not for you. Not to literally compare but: what if Carl Maria von Weber had said “Aw heck, the world doesn’t need another Opus 11 Piano Concerto in C!” ~ p. 69
For Ted’s 54th birthday I requested hearing his original classical compositions, and Ted happily obliged. After playing through each one, he began reworking them from his now more sophisticated vantage point. ~ p. 119
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So, where are these compositions? Well, for starters, below are links to a few that have already been posted on this website:
And almost all the “blues” studies in the BLUES section are creations of Ted’s.
https://www.tedgreene.com/teaching/blues.asp
For this Newsletter New Items, we’ve added 4 new pages for Ted Original compositions:
“Fantasia in A minor,” “Ted Greene Original Jazz Tune,” “Ted Greene Original Theme for Development,” and “Two Ted Greene Original Pieces/Sketches.”
When it comes to creating new music, I don’t believe that Ted considered himself very much as a composer, but more as an arranger, a performer, and improviser, and teacher. He was able to instantly come up with 20 or more ways to play a given melody. One could argue that Ted’s compositions consist mostly of his thousands of musical examples that he wrote out for his students that can be found in his lesson pages or “sheets,” as he called them. However, during one of my lessons with Ted, I asked him about the beautiful intros on his “Solo Guitar” album. He humbly admitted that he was most proud of them, saying that much of the album consisted of improvised arrangements, but that he had spent considerable time composing the intros and ending to uniquely fit each song.
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The March 18, 2025 publication of Guitar World digital magazine features an article by Andrew Daly about two-hand tapping pioneer, Randy Resnick. Below are a couple excerpts:
…Ted Greene, who called [Randy] “one of the real legends of the LA guitar scene.”
Andrew Daly: Ted Greene cited you as “one of the real legends of the LA guitar scene.” That must have been gratifying.
Randy Resnick: “I took one lesson from Ted, and then I had a job and couldn’t continue. Ted and Lenny Breau were the most mind-blowing jazz guitarists of the day – so I’m very proud of being called a legend by Ted Greene. Chord Chemistry had a huge effect on my musical knowledge.”
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We’d like to extend a special thanks to Mike de Luca for proofreading all the new lesson pages. He has an eagle-eye for details, and a musical knowledge to match. Not to forget Leon White, as our commander-in-chief, and Jeffrey D Brown, resident technical consultant.
As a final word for this newsletter message, I’d like to invite anyone who might be interested in joining our “TG Team” in helping us with the writing up of Ted’s lesson pages, to please contact us either through the Forums https://forums.tedgreene.com/ or via email at help@tedgreene.support. We are a volunteer-driven website, and the donations that come in are used for the technical upkeep of the site. So, if you are willing to pitch in, it would be as a volunteer like the rest of us here – a labor of love. The “job” would require a very modest amount of graphics skills to notate and add Ted-style chord diagrams, and of course a fair degree of musical understanding and of the guitar. We’d be happy to work with you so you can help us serve Ted’s worldwide family. Thank you.
~ Paul and your friends on the TedGreene.com team
NEW ITEMS
ARRANGEMENTS:
Under the Classical header:
* Fantasia in A minor (Ted Greene Original), 1984-02-17 & 19. [A collection of ideas that Ted wrote for a classical piece. As mentioned in the lesson notes: “Fantasia (Italian for “fantasy”), is a name in music sometimes loosely used for a composition which has little structural form, and appears to be an improvisation; and for a combination or medley of familiar airs connected with original passages of more or less brilliance.” New notation provided.]
AUDIO:
The following 3 files are in the Audio section, under the heading:
Ted Greene Playing at Joey Backenstoe’s Wedding (1989-03-04)
* 7-Song Medley, Ted Greene at Backenstoe Wedding, 1989.
[320 kbps mp3 file, 17:39.
- 00:00 Somewhere, ("West Side Story.” Leonard Bernstein);
- 03:08 Both Sides Now (Joni Mitchell);
- 05:17 Danny Boy (traditional Irish melody);
- 08:50 Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (Sammy Fain. Missing portion due to a reel change.);
- 10:38 I Wish You Love (Léo Chauliac);
- 12:13 A Summer Place (Max Steiner)
- 15:31 I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy (“South Pacific,” Richard Rodgers)]
*A Certain Smile, and Tenderly, Ted Greene at Backenstoe Wedding, 1989. [320 kbps mp3 file, 5:12. [“A Certain Smile” 1958, Sammy Fain. “Tenderly” 1946, Walter Gross.]
* Wedding March, and Improvisation, Ted Greene at Backenstoe Wedding, 1989. [320 kbps mp3 file, 5:48. [Ted plays his solo guitar arrangement of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” followed by some improvisation for about 3 minutes while he talks with some of the wedding guests, touching briefly on “Tenderly” and “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”]
BAROQUE:
* Counterpoint Patterns/Progressions - Descending 3rd Progressions, 1978-06-28. [Several short phrases to be expanded upon for Baroque composition or improvisation. New notation provided.]
* Mozartean 2-Part Counterpoint, 1984-01-10. [Four examples of adding a counterpoint line to the same melody. New notation provided for easy reading.]
BLUES:
* Blues Counterpoint Chord Progressions, 1976-11-28. [Great little chord moves for filling on a dominant chord. New notation, chord names, and Ted-style chord grids provided for easy study.]
CHORD STUDIES:
* Choice Voicing Course, 1986-07-18 & 25, 1987-06-14, and 1987-10-14. [This is a compilation of four pages that Ted labeled as designated for the book he intended to write on Choice Voicings for Guitar. Unfortunately, he never got around to writing it. New notation and grids added.]
* Diversity of Parallel Harmonization of Blue Line, 1991-09-29. [Seven examples provided, demonstrating different ways to harmonize a “blue line.” Notation married with Ted’s original grid diagrams for easy reading/study.]
* Gm6 and Gm-maj7 Type Chords, 1980-08-17. [Ted seems to have catalogued every possible (and some impossible!) voicing for Gm6, Gm-maj7 and related chords. We redrew every grid diagram and added the chord names to each. On these pages Ted made extensive use of optional dots on the diagrams (hollowed dots or circles), and one needs to be aware that when using these optional notes, the chord name will often (not always) change. Keep as a reference page when you have a need for this type of sound, or simply if you want to expand your chord arsenal.]
* Modern 3-Note Harmonization of Dom 7 and Blues Scale Melodies, 1984-01-22. [Twelve examples of harmonizations of dominant 7 or bluesy lines. Some nice ideas for dominant fills. Ted subtitled this page: “3-Note Foundational 9th, 7/11, 3-Note 4ths, Benson Octaves & 5ths and 4ths. Mix in I, vi, bvii, V (open and close triads) for beauty.” Notation and new grid diagrams provided for easy study.]
HARMONY & THEORY:
* More Chord Progressions. [Ted gives 5 examples using I, VI, and V chords in the key of A, then discusses the “Sequence of 4ths.” Newly generated grids and typed text for easy reading.]
* Progressions Built from SWR Movements and SWB Lines. [This is Ted’s original page for a section in his book, Modern Chord Progressions. SWR = Scale-Wise Root, and SWB = Scale-Wise Bass. Typed text and notation provided for clarity.]
* Progressions for Intros, Endings, and Interludes. [Ted describes 30 different progressions (mostly using Roman numerals), and categorizes them in 4 groups: “Pretty Turns,” Blues Turns,” “Progressions,” and “Dominant Sequences.” Retyped text with new grids for easy reference.]
* Secondary Dominant Progressions. [Ted gives us 24 ii7-V7-I progressions in the key of D using chord grids. He then goes on to explain how to use ii7-V7 (or ii7b5-V7) on any diatonic chord, and he encourages us to experiment with II7 instead of ii7. Newly typed text provided for easy reading.]
OTHER:
* Ted Greene Original Jazz Tune. [In writing up Ted’s score for this jazz tune, we followed his instructions for repeats, inserted measures, and the modulation as best as we could interpret them - and we believe we have presented it accurately. In order to hear the composition as Ted envisioned it, we added another staff for guitar-voiced harmony, based on the chord names he used. Of course, the chord voicings presented here represent just one interpretation, and you will certainly want to create your own.
The piece has a modern sound reminiscent of “Dolphin Dance,” and it seems to have a sort of endless harmonic cyclical feeling, perhaps like “Giant Steps.” It sounds best at a metronome setting of about 135.]
* Ted Greene Original Theme for Development, 1978-10-16. [This is a theme Ted started, but stopped after 7 measure, and simply wrote: “etc.” We made new music notation and suggested voicings for the chord names that Ted assigned to each measure.]
* Two Ted Greene Original Pieces/Sketches, 1976-12-15, 1982-02-16. [These are just rough ideas of chord progressions, with only hints of melody here and there. Notated as best as we can decipher Ted’s intention. Perhaps you could come up with a melody?]
 Ted on YouTube
 Ted on Facebook
 Ted on Twitter
 The Official Ted Greene Forums
* Of course, most of the videos are posted right here in our Video Section
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - My Life with The Chord Chemist - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 My Life with The Chord Chemist
A Memoir of Ted Greene, Apotheosis of Solo Guitar
By Barbara Franklin
 BUY NOW - Available at amazon.com
Publication Date: Nov 24 2009
Page Count: 276
Trim Size: 8" x 10"
ABOUT THE BOOK
A retrospective of Ted Greene, virtuoso solo guitarist, beloved music teacher, world-renowned author and innovator of unique music concepts for guitar. This book also includes an overview of Ted Greene's early life and musical development, plus an insightful narrative of the 13 years prior to his death
Six agonizing months after losing my beloved Ted, I slowly emerged from a state of profound disbelief, almost coma-like. At that time I didn’t know what to do with the remnants of my life; then a path began to unfold before me. This website was started and became a saving grace.
During the ensuing years, I organized and categorized Ted’s material and personal studies. Upon completion of that massive undertaking, once again, I didn’t know what to do, so I began writing.
I wrote pages, and then threw them away, until once again a path began to unfold. What I wrote is mostly a personal memoir. I suppose it was what I had to write first.
From the preface:
“The decision to reveal parts of our personal life was something I deliberated over for a long time. Because our lives became so inextricably bound, I included what I felt necessary, but not without a considerable amount of apprehension. This book illustrates the many parallels between Ted the musician and Ted the person. I felt it was important to convey how Ted was driven compulsively not just to pursue music, but so many other things he loved.”
With this in mind, here is our story. It IS very personal and I still have apprehensions about publishing it. My hope is that it brings you closer to Ted, as you begin to get to know and understand this unique and extraordinary man and musician.
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