Ted Greene facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ted Greene
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| Background information | |
| Born | September 26, 1946 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 25, 2005 (aged 58) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, blues, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, educator |
| Instruments | Guitar |
Theodore Greene (born September 26, 1946 – died July 23, 2005) was an American guitarist, teacher, and writer. He was known for his unique fingerstyle jazz guitar playing. He lived and worked in Encino, California.
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Ted Greene's Musical Journey
Ted Greene started playing guitar when he was 11 years old. By the time he was in high school, he was already a very skilled player. He sometimes played with local rock and R&B bands. He briefly studied accounting at California State University, Northridge. However, he soon left college to focus all his time on music.
Early Bands and Collaborations
In the 1960s, Ted was part of a rock band called Natural Selection. He also played in a blues rock group named Bluesberry Jam. This band included Fito de la Parra, who later became the drummer for the famous band Canned Heat. Ted was also friends with Joseph Byrd and worked with him. He played on Byrd's album The American Metaphysical Circus. Ted even came up with the funny name for the studio band on that album, "The Field Hippies."
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ted worked in studios, playing guitar for commercials and other projects with Joseph Byrd. In 1977, he helped Ry Cooder with his album Jazz. Ted wrote out guitar parts for three songs based on piano music by Bix Beiderbecke.
Teaching and Writing Music
Even though many people think of Ted Greene as a jazz musician, he could play many different types of music. He was especially well-known among guitarists for being an amazing music teacher. He taught private lessons and held special classes at the Guitar Institute of Technology. Ted also wrote articles for Guitar Player magazine.
He wrote several helpful books about music theory for guitarists. These books covered topics like harmony (how chords work together), chord melody (playing chords and a tune at the same time), and single-note soloing (playing one note at a time for a solo). Ted loved to read about music theory, especially from the time period between 1600 and 1900. He would take difficult ideas and make them easy for his students to understand. He often applied ideas from piano music to the guitar. For example, he would rewrite J. S. Bach's famous chorales for guitar, adding notes to help students learn.
Ted also played live shows sometimes in clubs in the San Fernando Valley. He often used a Fender Telecaster guitar for these performances.
Ted Greene's Unique Playing Style
Ted Greene usually played as an accompanist for singers. He liked this because he felt that playing in a group could be too limiting. He was a popular session musician, meaning he was hired to play on recordings. However, most of his money came from teaching. He wrote four important books about jazz guitar playing and music theory: Chord Chemistry, Modern Chord Progressions: Jazz and Classical Voicings for Guitar, and the two-part Jazz Guitar: Single Note Soloing.
His guitar playing style was very special. He used techniques like harp-like arpeggios, which are like playing the notes of a chord one after another very quickly. He also used a gentle vibrato (wobbling the pitch of a note) to make his sound "shimmer." Another cool technique he used was playing a walking bass line (a steady bass rhythm) at the same time as the main tune. Ted used counterpoint (two or more independent melodies played at the same time) to improvise in different styles. For example, he could play a jazz song like Autumn Leaves in a Baroque style, which is from a much older time period. He used many different ways to play chords, often making it sound like two guitarists were playing at once.
Solo Guitar Album
Ted Greene recorded one album called Solo Guitar. It was released in 1977. This album is special because it has no overdubbing. This means he played everything live in one take, without adding extra layers of sound later.
Influence and Legacy
Even though many people didn't know Ted Greene, he was highly respected by other guitarists. The famous guitarist Steve Vai praised Ted's album Solo Guitar. He said that Ted "is totally in touch with the potential of harmonic constructions," meaning he understood how to build beautiful chords and melodies. Steve Vai felt that Ted's music was "organic and inspired." In 1982, another great guitarist, John McLaughlin, described Ted as "really unbelievable." He noted how hard it is to play guitar in a harmonic way like you can on a keyboard, and said Ted was the only guitarist who could do it in a way that truly impressed him.
A book called Ted Greene: Sound, Time, and Unlimited Possibility was written by guitarist Terrence McManus in 2015. It is the most complete study of Ted Greene's work.
Ted also helped the Fender guitar company design a new version of their 1952 Telecaster guitar. He used his own collection of old Telecasters and similar guitars to help them make it just right.
Ted Greene passed away in his apartment in Encino at the age of 58 from a heart attack. In 2009, Barbara Franklin wrote a book about him called My Life with The Chord Chemist: A Memoir of Ted Greene, Apotheosis of Solo Guitar. She passed away in 2011.
Ted Greene's Recordings
- The American Metaphysical Circus by Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies (1969)
- Solo Guitar (Art of Life, 1977)
- Among Friends by John Pisano (1995)
- Conversation Pieces by John Pisano (1997)
- Mojo Blues by Will Ray (2002)
- John Pisano's Guitar Night by John Pisano (2007)
