Ted Greene

Theodore ( "Ted" ) Greene ( born September 26, 1946 in Los Angeles, † July 23, 2005 in Encino ) was an American fingerstyle jazz guitarist, textbook author and educator.

Life

Greene began playing guitar at the age of eleven. Already as a teenager he was an accomplished guitarist and played in various R & B bands. He began studying accounting at the University of Cal State Northridge, but gave this up again in order to devote himself to music.

Greene was regarded as a jazz guitarist, but was familiar with many styles. Guitarists knew him as a teacher and author. Occasionally he gave seminars at the Guitar Institute of Technology and wrote columns for Guitar Player. He authored four textbooks on the subjects of guitar chord melody voicings and improvisation. Even he studied his life all available books on music theory, especially classical music of the year 1600 until 1900. He succeeded in bringing closer his students very complex structures of Western music in the form of simple, playable etudes. He often wore pianistic concepts on the guitar. His repertoire ranged from jazz standards through pop songs to hymns of Johann Sebastian Bach, which he described. In many lessons leaves that are on the Internet today, he knew how musical techniques to analyze to understand and to communicate across genres.

Greene had a collection of guitars, his main instrument was a Fender Telecaster which enabled him due to their narrow neck gripping five frets. He was considered an expert on vintage Fender instruments and helped in the development of their 1952 Telecaster vintage reissue by drew on his experiences with countless old Telecasters, Broadcasters and Nocasters.

Ted Greene came mainly as a solo artist or companion of singers. His characteristic playing techniques were harp -like arpeggios ( achieved by the combination of artificial harmonics and regularly gripped tones). Its specific vibrato he produced not only with the gripping hand, but also by slight movement of the guitar neck. He was a master of counterpoint, the polyphonic chord melody playing and improvisation. His musical and technical mastery of the fingerboard and his vast repertoire of voicings are still considered unsurpassed. Although Ted Greene enjoyed a legendary status in his own lifetime by insiders (Steve Vai and Dweezil Zappa are among his admirers ) it has never been a greater public privilege. In addition to his guitar playing his modesty and self-criticism were a well known character of Greene. His interest was not of their own self-expression but to the study of music and its mediation. In addition, he committed himself to the homeless in California. In addition to some video recordings just an album of Ted Greene exists with the title "Solo Guitar" which was recorded in 1977. His livelihood denied Ted Greene mainly through teaching.

Ted Greene died at the age of 58 in his apartment in Encino, California, of a heart attack. His partner Barbara Franklin manages his musical legacy and made it to the public in Internet. In her 2009 published book My Life With The Chord Chemist she gave a personal insight into Greene's life.

Discography

• Ted Greene - "Solo Guitar" Art of Life AL1011 -2 ( 1977)
• Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies - The American Metaphysical Circus (1969 )

Publications

• Greene, Ted. Chord Chemistry, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-89898-696-6
• Greene, Ted. Modern Chord Progressions, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-89898-698-2
• Greene, Ted. Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 1, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-7692-0972-6
• Greene, Ted. Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing, Volume 2, Alfred Publishing Company ISBN 0-7692-1282-4