Fall 2026 • TedGreene.com Newsletter

ADVANCE TO NEW ITEMS >>

Autumn Greetings! We’d like to continue to share with you a few messages from some of the artists who played on the “Ted Greene Remembered” album: Jay Graydon, John Pisano, Mark Goldenberg, and Anthony Wilson.

If you don’t own a copy of this album, you can download it from the Audio section of our website HERE.

It’s a wonderful tribute recording to Ted, and it’s free… just like Ted would have wanted!

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Ted will always remain my mentor. He was such an incredible guitarist in so many styles. I first heard Ted play in a rock band in the early 70s. He floored me by “slurring” notes together in his solos, playing such musical notes over the stock rock chord changes. I then started taking lessons from Ted and he changed my life big time musically and personally. He had the best of every great attribute a person could have. I am one of so many people he educated, and am sure they feel the same as I do about “The Master.” I am honored to have known Ted and I miss him very much.
~ Jay Graydon

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Probably my closest encounter with a musical genius was Ted Greene. On the other hand, he was the most compassionate and loving human being I have ever known. He left me with a lifetime of musical information. I still don’t like that I have to use my nose for some bass notes for some of his beautiful but painful chords. I will always be grateful for the privilege of working with him in my lifetime.
~ John Pisano

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I loved Ted.

Whenever I would play for him at a lesson and would botch some line or chord progression, I would get completely flustered. Ted always had a word of encouragement for me though, and among my favorites was: “Mark, that was an interesting note choice!” (“Ted, it was a clam!”) “Well, Mark, remember you’re always only one fret away from a good note at any time.” (This was for really interesting note choices!) “One Fret Away”....has become my mantra.
~ Mark Goldenberg

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I remember meeting Ted Greene at Norm’s Vintage Guitar Shop in Reseda, CA* sometime in 1999. I can still see this odd fellow in a flannel shirt approaching me and commenting not only about the sound of the 1970s Gibson Johnny Smith guitar I was taking for a test-spin, but also offering fond and knowledgeable reflections about the blues tune I was playing, Freddie King’s “Hide Away.” I noodled a bit more on some standards while we talked. He then mentioned that I might like an old Epiphone, and did I know John Pisano? Had I ever seen his inherited Epiphone Deluxe from the 1930’s? I remember that he held a crumpled paper bag in his hand; inside it was a bottle of Diet Coke. He introduced himself as “Ted” and left the store immediately after our brief chat.

I didn’t know who he was, so one of the shopkeepers – pulling a book called ‘‘Chord Chemistry” off the shelves for emphasis – explained that my visitor had been Ted Greene, one of the greatest guitarists and guitar teachers alive, and asking if Ted had shown me anything.

That day at Norm’s was the first in a series of (chance? fate?) meetings that led to my studying with Ted. Though I can remember and execute only a small percentage of the things I was fortunate enough to learn from Ted over the following years, my mind is full of memories of that great friend and teacher: searching through drawers of hardware to find a rare part for my Gibson Byrdland; reminiscing about old episodes of “Columbo” (we were fans); transcribing (on paper) a live George Van Eps performance (in real time); showing me a rather foul-smelling collection of antique cellulose guitar picks; considering the genius of Wes Montgomery; raising his lesson rate by two dollars; accompanying Cathy Segal-Garcia on “Ode to Billie Joe” as though the song had been written by an ultra-soulful J.S. Bach, and following it up with a devastating solo version of “White Christmas.” There are so many moments to remember and I am honored to bring those memories of Ted to the music I contributed to this collection.
~ Anthony Wilson

[* Norm’s Vintage Guitar Shop in Reseda, CA is now Norman’s Rare Guitars in Tarzana, CA.]

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This newsletter features an audio recording of Ted discussing and demonstrating some whole-tone sounds. To compliment that subject, we are including several pages from Ted’s private notes on whole-tone chords, scales, as well as some related lessons on augmented sounds. We hope that these will aid you in learning to use these interesting sounds.

Recently, I made a pilgrimage to Norman’s Rare Guitars and spoke briefly with Norm about Ted. Naturally, Norm praised him as a great friend, guitarist, teacher, and music lover, (specifically recalling their shared love of Doo-wop vocal music), and mentioning that he sold many guitars to Ted over the years. Norm asked about the latest updates on the Ted Greene website, and sends his greetings to all of Ted’s students and friends, with an invitation to visit the store and check out some of his fine instruments.

We would like to extend a special thanks to the team members who generously contributed to this newsletter:

• Nick Stasinos for obtaining a copy of Ted’s audio lesson on whole-tone chords.
• for his comments on Ted’s V-System page, “The 4-Note Chords of Nature.”
• Mike De Luca for music proofreading.
• James Hober for his comments on Ted’s V-System page, “The 4-Note Chords of Nature.”
• Jeffrey D Brown for the technical and marketing support.
• Leon White for his stewardship of this website.

Anyone who might be interested in helping with the writing up some of the unpublished pages from Ted’s “Personal Music Studies” library, please contact us. There’s a lot of material to present (some of which is quite simple to notate), and I could really use your help. Thanks!

~ Paul and Your Friends on the TedGreene.com Team

NEW ITEMS

AUDIO:
* Ted Greene – Whole-Tone Lesson for Gary Friedman

BAROQUE:
Under the “Baroque Ideas” header:
* Baroque Idea #15, Counterpoint Ideas in Key of Dm
* Baroque Idea #16, Descending 3rd Progression
* Baroque Idea #17, V7/7 – I/3
* Baroque Idea #18, untitled, 1984-01-13
* Baroque Idea #19, Baroque Ideas for Teaching and Personal

BLUES:
Under the “Blues Ideas” header:
* Blues Idea #21, A Feature of Ray Charles Style

CHORD STUDIES:
* I – vi and I – vi – V – I
* bIII – V11 – I
* Augmented Family to Minor 6th Types
* Harmonized Descending Aeolian Scale From 2
* Reorganization of 13b9’s – Choice Ones
* Sharp 5 Whole-Tone Derived Chords – Melodically Grouped
* Some Useable Whole-Tone Structures for Guitar
* Whole-Tone Chords Grouped by Melody Note
* Whole-Tone Visual Structures

Under the “4th Chords” header:
* Diatonic 4th Chords (1987)

HARMONY & THEORY:
* 20th and 18th Century Chord Subfamily Types
* Augmented Family Harmonic Tendencies
* C Whole-Tone Structures
* Modulations Toss-ups and Some Important Progressions or Chords

OTHER:
* Systematic Inversions – Ted’s Notes for New Book, 1976
* Study Areas
* Tune for Wes, Ted Greene Original Sketch

SINGLE-NOTE SOLOING:
* Double 4-Note Tone Rows for Altered Dominant Color
* Ever-Expanding Intervals Against a Melodic Pattern
* Whole-Tone Fun

Under the “Single-Note Ideas” header:
* Single-Note Idea #16, 8-Note Dominant and/or Diminished Scale

THE V-SYSTEM:
Under the “Ted’s Comments on the V-System” header:
* The 4-Note Chords of Nature

Under the “V-System Lesson Sheets > Combined Groups” header:
* V-3 and V-2 Major Types – Top 4 Strings, Soprano Organization

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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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