The life and legacy of one of the most brilliant and influential guitar instructors who ever lived.
Born: September 26, 1946
Died: July 23, 2005
Best Known For: Ted Greene devoted his life to unlocking the secrets of the guitarās fretboard and sharing them with whoever wished to learn. His four booksāChord Chemistry, Modern Chord Progressions, and Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing Volume 1 and Volume 2āhave taken literally untold thousands of players through the deepest recesses of guitar theory.
In life we sometimes encounter people who, like Virgil in Danteās Inferno, guide us along treacherous paths to our ultimate destination. For many on the path to guitar excellence, Ted Greene was that guide.
A heart attack claimed Greeneās life on July 23, 2005, yet he continues to teach through his books, videos, and lesson guides, many of which are posted on his official website, tedgreene.com. Ted Greene was many things: musician, friend, eccentric, mentor, and student. But to many, he was simply a hero.
Moving Torsos
Theodore āTedā Greene was born September 26, 1946, in Los Angeles, California. Music seemed to be woven into the fabric of his being. His mother recalled her baby rocking back and forth to rhythm from the time he could sit up. His intellect became apparent once he started school. He was a math whiz with an IQ of 160āwell into genius territory.
Greene received his first guitar in 1957 at age 11. āI had a horrible guitar with the highest action in the world, especially down at the nut,ā he later reminisced. āI almost quit, but my parentsā encouragement and a true love of music carried me through.ā
Though he was left-handed, he opted to play right-handed. He took lessons from local jazz guitarist Sal Tardella. Despite his later affinity for the genre, said Greene, āthe sounds of rock and roll were pulling my ears.ā In 1960 he joined his first band, the Cage Kings, and acquired his first good guitar: a Gretsch 6120. He later admitted he wasnāt ready to play in a group. āBut it didnāt matter,ā he said, ābecause we could make a lot of noise. That seemed adequate to get peopleās lower torsos moving on the floor.ā
Greene didnāt embrace guitar as a lifestyle until after high school. At 19, heād spend hoursāeven daysāin his bedroom, obsessively expanding his music theory knowledge. As his longtime partner Barbara Franklin wrote in her memoir, My Life with the Chord Chemist, āIf a book suggested doing an exercise in a few keys, such as spelling major triads, Ted would do the exercise in all keys, major and minor, until he had memorized them cold. Greene learned to instantly recognize everything from interval identification ⦠to knowing the quality of every chord on each scale degree, the many uses for each chord, the inversions, traditional voice leading, and more.ā
Ted Greene with jazz singer Cathy Segal-Garcia circa 1977. Photo courtesy of Leon White
To Teach Is to Love
In 1965, Greene found his calling when he accepted a teaching position at Ernie Ball Guitars in Tarzana, California. āI didnāt mean to be a guitar teacher,ā he said, ābut I just fell in love with it.ā His playing ability and musical knowledge quickly attracted a large pool of prospective students, and soon there was a two-year waiting list to study with him.
Students were drawn to both the method and the man. Hundreds of Greene students will expound at great length on his kindness, patience, humor and generosity. Leon Whiteāa Greene pupil and co-producer of Solo Guitar, Greeneās only solo albumārecalled that, āIf a guy came in and said, āIām a little short this week and I can only pay you half,ā Ted would say, āWell, can you afford that half? Do you want to keep it and pay me some other time?āā In fact, throughout his life, Greene charged criminally low rates for lessonsāusually no more than $25 per half hour. He just seemed to love teaching, and he believed that no one should be denied a chance to study with him because they couldnāt afford it.
Meanwhile, Greene continued to gig around Los Angeles with various rock and blues acts. In 1967, he joined a group called Bluesberry Jam that featured future Canned Heat member Adolfo āFitoā de la Parra on drums. The group regularly played the Magic Mushroom club, as well as the larger Shrine Auditorium, where they supported such acts as the Doors, Iron Butterfly, Joe Cocker, and Alice Cooper. While Bluesberry Jam gained a following around the city, they never made it to the next level, and the band folded when de la Parra departed for Canned Heat. Sadly, no Bluesberry Jam recordings survive. However, Greene did record with psychedelic rocker Joe Byrd, including on Byrdās 1969 album The American Metaphysical Circus.
Ted Greene's timeline
Greene then threw himself even deeper into teaching. Simple diagrams heād previously drawn to demonstrate his concepts grew increasingly more detailed. Barbara Franklin would later recall how he made charts of all closed-voiced triads in all major and minor keys. āOn the same page would be a list of the most common chord progressions to be memorized. The page went on to include adding the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th degree to each chord.ā
In fact, to say that Greene was systematic in his approach to teaching, playing, and writing music would be an understatementāto some it appeared to border on obsession. Others believe Greene might have suffered from an undiagnosed case of Asperger syndromeāan autism-spectrum disorder that typically affects social interaction and is often accompanied by restrictive or repetitive interests and behaviors. Those who subscribe to this theory believe it explains his later decisions to limit his exposure to the public at large. Franklin notes in her memoir of Greene that, "This thought or that, a moment split by the minds' idle chatter or a tune running through it and a week flies by."
Chord Chemist
Dale Zdenek, owner of the music shop where Greene taught, took note of these minutely detailed diagrams. In 1971, Zdenek, who had no background in publishing, proposed a book based on Greeneās work. Greene was interested, but instead of simply compiling his extant material, he decided to create something completely new.
The resulting book, Chord Chemistry, went on to become essential reading for players seeking a deeper understanding of chords. Its success established Greeneās name in the guitar community, and the desire to study with him and see him perform increased exponentially. In 1976, Greene published a second important chord book, Modern Chord Progressions. (Itās worth noting that while the contents of Greeneās chord books were meant to be absorbed in the order theyāre presented, theyāre not so much formal methods as encyclopedias of ideas.)
Meanwhile, Greene continued his own studies. He took eight weeks of lessons from the āFather of the 7-String Guitar,ā George Van Eps, and worked on expanding his knowledge of single-note playing. In 1979, he published two books on the subject: Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing Volume 1 and Volume 2.
Greeneās four books offer up a staggering amount of information, including many concepts never before available in print. Even if heād never done anything else, these volumes would have secured his place in guitar history.
Telecaster Crazy
Greene was best known for playing highly modified Telecasters, but he also loved classic Gibson guitars.
Photo courtesy of Leon White
In April of 1965 Greene acquired his first Fender Telecaster, a 1953 that cost $135. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the Tele. Greene estimated that he owned 200 Telecasters at one point or another. āThe versatility of the Telecaster is almost unmatched,ā he said in an interview.
When Fender decided to manufacture a reissue model of their famed 1952 Blackface Tele, the company turned to Greene and his vast collection while designing the prototype. Greene regularly offered suggestions about how to improve the reissue. Fender asked him to play the new guitars at their 1982 NAMM show debut, which he happily did.
In later years Greeneās favorite Tele was a hybrid: a ā52 body fitted with a ā51 Esquire neck. He routed the body himself, installing two DiMarzio Dual-Sound humbuckers in the neck and middle positions. He also replaced the stock bridge pickup with one from a 1954 model. Interestingly, Greene removed the pole pieces from a pair of stock Gibson humbuckers and installed them into the DiMarzios, which were then set low into the guitarābeneath the pickguard, evenāwith the pole pieces set high near the strings. His explanation for the unusual parts swapping and positioning was that he did it to āget rid of the mud.ā Another uncommon choice was Greeneās choice of rather heavy strings for his Telecasters, including a .013 or sometimes even a .014 for the high E.
While Telecasters held a special place in Greenās heart, he owned many other guitars, mostly Gibsons. His collection included a goldtop Les Paul, an ES-335, and a number of hollowbody archtops.
Photo courtesy of Leon White
Throughout his life Ted Greene preached the gospel of harmony. Everything from blues to Baroque was fair game, and Greene made every chord move a teachable moment. Since his passing, many former students have made his handouts, arrangements, and lesson notes available through tedgreene.com. Nearly all the material consists of scanned versions of actual lesson handouts, and they feature Greeneās unique method for diagramming chords. Many of these documents are signed and dated, and contain what could be thought of as one of Tedās Musical Commandments: āDonāt let the music die on the page.ā
In this lesson weāll look at two distinctly different (but sublimely āTedā) ways Greene approached the blues. Fig. 1 is a gospel-influenced blues progression that makes use of many concepts that Greene illustrated in his opus on harmony, Chord Chemistry.
This blues in G starts with a I-IV progression in the first measure to establish the sound of the key. One of the most essentialāand amazingāaspects of Greeneās style is his masterful command of voice leading, which is the technique of moving from one chord to another in the most musically economical way possible. To better understand this idea, think of each chord shape as a collection of individual voices rather than a āgripā or āshape.ā In the first measure, notice how Greene keeps the common tone (G) on top while moving the lower two notes up to the next closest chord tones.
Creating a smooth and melodic series of chords, while still sticking to a harmonic framework, is like solving a challenging puzzle. In the third and fourth measures, Greene uses a scalar bass line (DāEāFāEāDāCāB) to set up a G7/B chord going into the IV chord (C7). Greene uses a dim7 chord in the next measure to create some tension before returning to the I chord in the sixth measure. A diminished chord is made up of a series of minor third intervals, and this allows any note to function as the root. The scalar bass line technique gets a reprise in measures seven and eight before the progression heads to the V chord in measure nine.
While focusing on economy of motion and outlining the harmony, Greene creates a somewhat symmetrical melody line over the V and IV chords, above the ever-so-slightly shifting the harmony underneath. Finally, in the last two measures he combines the previous diminished harmony with a masterful bass line to create a turnaround thatās as functional as it is sophisticated.
In Fig. 2, we see how Greene combines a traditional form with more extended harmonies and substitutions. The first thing youāll notice about the voicings is that theyāre almost exclusively played on the 5ā4ā2ā1 string set. Greene was a devout fingerstyle player and these āsplitā voicings will expand your right-hand technique and suggest alternatives to typical jazz grips. When Greene originally presented this material, it was merely a bunch of chord diagrams on a page. Following his advice, I took those chords and added a more syncopated rhythm.
If you look at how Greene constructed these chords, all of them start on either the 3 or 7. Those two notes are the most essential harmonic elements because they define both the chordās quality and tonality. The first harmonic twist is in the fourth measure where Greene inserts a IImāV7 progression to create a stronger pull into the Bb9 chord in the next measure. The key changes momentarily to Ab in the sixth measure with a IIm-V7. The Eb13 in measure six keeps two common tones while the harmony gracefully shifts up for a return to the I chord in the next measure.
The eighth measure contains the standard altered VI chord, but this time its own altered V7 precedes it. In harmonic terms, this measure can either be thought of as simply a III7āVI7 progression in the key of F, or an added secondary dominant (V of VI). The final four measures begin with a dom7 chord built on the second degree of the scale. Usually in the blues form this would be a min7 chord, but Greene deftly adds a tritone substitution after this in order to let the lower notes of the chord remain while the upper notes shift. This sets up a proper IImāV7 progression in the next measure before ending with a IāVI7āII7āV7 turnaround.
Greene's genius survives through his books and recordingsāand the hundreds of students whose lives he touched.
Photo courtesy of Leon White
Solo Guitar
In 1976 Greene began performing his first solo gigs, taking up a Sunday night residency at the Smoke House in Toluca Lake, California. Southern California guitarists flocked to hear the master perform. One frequent attendee was Greeneās friend and sometime student Leon White. Recalls White, āIn the parking lot after the show I said to him, āWe have to record that. You don't have to prepare anything. Just come and sit down and play.ā We ended up having that same discussion in the Smoke House parking lot for two years. He just didnāt want to do it!ā
Ultimately, Whiteās persistence won the day, and Greene went into the studio with White and friend William Perry. Over the course of roughly 10 hours spread out over two days, Greene sat alone in the studio, playing almost continuously. There was no game plan, not even a song listājust Greene playing whatever came to mind.
Greeneās uncompromising meticulousness sometimes made for a grueling process. āHe played all those songs front to back, so each tune is a single performance,ā says White. āHe would start up on something, get three and a half minutes into it, not like it, and stop. We were going through reels of tape like you have no idea!ā
The result was Solo Guitar, a breathtakingly beautiful set of standards played as only Ted Greene could play them. The album received near-universal praise. āOn this record he defies the technical physics of jazz melody chord voicings but creates an organic and inspired listening delight,ā Steve Vai told Guitarist magazine. āItās a must for anyone who puts their fingers on an instrument with strings.ā Sadly, Solo Guitar is Greenās only solo release.
A Teacher Affects Eternity
Greene ceased writing instructional books after 1979, though he continued teaching and learning. For the rest of his life, he coached aspiring guitarists at his home, at Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, and at seminars throughout Southern California.
He stopped playing solo gigs, tooāreportedly because he disliked the way guitar players would scrutinize his technique and execution on the guitar rather than soaking in the music he drew from the instrument. According to Leon White, Greene often said, āIād rather play at a retirement home for blue-haired old ladies than at a club. At least the old ladies would listen to and enjoy the music and not watch my hands the whole time.ā
When Greene passed away on July 23, 2005, approximately 700 people attended his memorial, nearly all of them guitarists. Greene had many loves in his life: baseball cards, fast cars, and his partner Barbara Franklin. But above all else, he loved music and teaching.
As the noted writer Henry Adams once said, āA teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops.ā Greeneās legacy may outlive us all.
Ted Greene's Must-Watch Moments
Live footage of Ted Greene is quite rare, but the following three segments on YouTube show the genius in his element as both a performer and an instructor.
Ted Greene performs a masterful and completely improvised performance of the Beatles classic āEleanor Rigby.ā
Greene's performance of āEmbraceable Youā is a great example of his chord mastery.
Greene doing what he did best: teaching. Lovely examples of classical and jazz pieces throughout.
In a career defined by evolution, Joe Bonamassa is ready to turn the page once again. The blues-rock virtuoso has just announced Breakthrough, his most adventurous and genre-blending studio album to date, out July 18th via his own J&R Adventures.
At the heart of the announcement is the release of the albumās powerful title trackāāBreakthrough' āa soulful, hard-hitting anthem about letting go, moving forward, and finding your fire again, available today on all streaming platforms.
Crafted across multiple continents and infused with a worldās worth of inspiration, Breakthrough marks a bold new chapter for Bonamassaāone that leans on fiery solos, emotionally rich storytelling, groove-driven arrangements, and stylistic exploration. Produced by longtime creative partner Kevin Shirley (Iron Maiden, The Black Crowes, Journey), the album was shaped by sessions in Greece, Egypt, Nashville, and Los Angeles, resulting in a vibrant sonic tapestry that shifts effortlessly from funky blues and Texas swing to acoustic ballads and swaggering hard rock.
Joe Bonamassa āBreakthroughā - Official Lyric Video
Watch the official lyric video for "Breakthrough" by Joe Bonamassa
āI think this album, Breakthrough, marks a shift in the styling of Joe Bonamassaās recording output,ā says Shirley. āWhile there are plenty of guitar solos on this record, his emphasis has been on songs primarily. Each time Joe undertakes a new recording project, he seems to access a different part of his vast library of music genre from the jukebox-in-his-head! This album is a round-the-world musical tripāfrom Little Feat funkiness to Texas swing, from hard rock power to acoustic singer/songwriter-style songs.ā
The newly released single āBreakthrough,ā co-written with longtime collaborator Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd), captures the emotional core of the recordāan uplifting anthem about transformation, persistence, and letting go of the weight that holds us back. With gritty vocals, melodic guitar lines, and lush instrumentation, the track embodies Bonamassaās signature blend of power and finesse while ushering in a bold new direction.
āBreakthroughā follows the success of Bonamassaās recent singles āStill Walking With Meā and āShake This Ground,ā both of which hinted at the adventurous spirit behind the full album. āShake This Groundā delivered a moody, introspective edge, while āStill Walking With Meā leaned into warmth, gratitude, and classic soul. Each track reflects a different facet of Bonamassaās evolving songwriting approach, rooted in emotional honesty and anchored by his unmistakable guitar work.
The album announcement caps a stretch of extraordinary momentum for Bonamassa. Next up, Bonamassa recently began his extensive *European Spring Tour, followed by a June run with his powerhouse supergroup Black Country Communion* (featuring Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian). After another round of summer dates across Europeāincluding sold-out shows in Irelandāheāll return stateside for his just-announced* 2025 U.S. Summer Tour*, a limited amphitheater run featuring stops at The Greek Theatre, Red Rocks, and more iconic venues.
With over 50 albums, 28 #1 Billboard Blues albums, and a lifelong commitment to evolving the genre, Bonamassa shows no signs of slowing down. Whether headlining iconic venues, mentoring rising artists through Journeyman Records, or supporting music education via his Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, Bonamassa continues to shape the future of blues-rock with every note.
For more information on Breakthrough, tour dates, and VIP packages, visit jbonamassa.com.
Why is Tommyās take on āDay Tripperā so hard? And what song would Adam Miller never play with him? Plus, we get Adamās list of favorite Tommy Emmanuel records.
We call guitarist Adam Miller in the middle of the night in Newcastle, Australia, to find out what itās like to play with Certified Guitar Player, Tommy Emmanuel. Miller tells us just how famous Tommy is in Australia, and what it was like hearing him play from a formative age. Eventually, Adam got to open for Emmanuel, and theyāve since shared the stage, so we get the firsthand scoop: Why is Tommyās take on āDay Tripperā so hard? And what song would Miller never play with him? Plus, we get Adamās list of favorite Tommy Emmanuel records.
Adamās newly released trio album, Timing, is out now.
Plus, weāre talking about new recordings from Billy Strings and Bryan Sutton, as well as Brooklyn Mediterranean surf party band Habbina Habbina.
Patterns can be viewed as boring or trite, but a little bit of creativity can turn them into bits of inspiration.
Chops: Intermediate Theory: Intermediater Lesson Overview: ⢠Learn different ways to arrange scales. ⢠Combine various sequences to create more intersting lines. ⢠Solidify your technique by practicing unusual groupings of notes. Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation. |
I want to offer some food for thought on making sequences musical. Using sequences in our playing helps develop our musicianship in various ways. It can help us tune into the fretboard, develop melodic ideas all around the neck, and further our improvisation and compositional skills. So, spending time with sequences is certainly not time wasted. Please note that I sometimes use the word ārule" in this column, this is only a pointer to keeping on track of our exploration of these concepts. The intellect is very useful, but intuition is where the creativity comes from. When in balance lots of great things can be done. Let's get stuck in!
It's simple to play a scale from bottom to top, or top to bottom, but we can develop a sequence by shuffling these notes around. In Ex. 1 we have a C Major scale (CāDāEāFāGāAāB) played in thirds followed by a sequence highlighting the diatonic triads of the major scale. By following a ārule" we can develop many different sequences. The options are endless and a little overwhelming.
Click here for Ex. 1
Lets start by simply combining an interval sequence with an arpeggio sequence. In Ex. 2, the first two beats of the first measure feature ascending thirds. This is then followed by a triad arpeggio starting from the third note on the string. The next set of thirds then starts on the āand" of beat 4. The entire sequence is a seven-note pattern that is created by combining two thirds and a triad. It gives us a nice bit of rhythmic displacement as the phrase is now starting in a different place in the measure.
Click here for Ex. 2
Ex. 3 is a descending idea in A minor that basically flips the sequence we looked at in Ex. 2. Here, we are starting with two descending thirds before the triad. I'm using pull-offs and economy picking to articulate the triads. This one works well over D minor as well if you want a D Dorian (DāEāFāGāAāBāC) flavor.
Click here for Ex. 3
You can see the effectiveness of combining different sequences and groupings of notes to create interesting runs. It's also really effective for making phrases. In Ex. 4 we take a small fragment from Ex. 3 and change the rhythm. In the sound example I repeat this a few times over some implied chords in my bass line: Am, F, and Dm. It's great to get more from one line by seeing the different chord types you can play it over.
Click here for Ex. 4
In Ex. 5 we're going to start using fourths and fifths. It starts with an ascending A minor triad (AāCāE) before leaping to the 9 (B) and then hitting a G major triad (GāBāD). A similar pattern leads into the C major triad (CāEāG). Throwing in these wider intervals alongside triads is very effective for creating a dramatic sounding runs.
Click here for Ex. 5
For our next example (Ex. 6), we will take fragments from Ex. 5 and space them out a bit. I wanted once again to show how these sequence ideas can also be helpful for developing melodic phrases. Once we have a cool sequence or fragment, all we need to do is be creative with how we play it. We can change the rhythm, harmonic context, dynamic, and much more.
Click here for Ex. 6
Before we move on, it's important to remember that we can add colorful notes to our triads. Let's begin with some seventh-chord arpeggios. Ex 7 features are diatonic seventh arpeggios in G minor (functioning as a IIm chord) to get a Dorian sound.
Click here for Ex. 7
Ex. 8 is a little gratuitous of me. It begins with an idea made of several different concepts. First, we start with an Am7 arpeggio (AāCāEāG), then descend down an A5 arpeggio. I follow that up with diatonic thirds and end with a pedal-point sequence. If that's not enough, we then take this bigger idea and fit it around a chord progression. I move it to G7, Dm7 and then I break my ārule" slightly and outline notes of a C6 arpeggio (CāEāGāA). However, it does keep the same melodic contour of the initial idea. I used my ear and fretboard to guide me. It's always healthy to have a fine balance between intellect and intuition.
Click here for Ex. 8
We dig into C harmonic minor (CāDāEbāGāAbāB-C) for Ex. 9's monster two-measure lick. It sounds evil! In composing this phrase, I kept to the basic concept of finding seventh-chord arpeggios within C harmonic minor in the 8th position. I followed my ear as well as my slowly developing intellect. However, if you look closely you can see I was following a mini chord progression through this line. We start out with a CmMaj9 arpeggio (CāEbāGāBāD) in the first beat, followed by a G7b9 arpeggio (GĀāBāDāFāAb). Here we have a very strong Im-V7 movement in C minor. I then move back to our CmMaj9 arpeggio and in the second measure we start descending down an Eb augmented triad (EbāGāB). This is then followed by more CmMaj9 goodness.
Click here for Ex. 9
Ex. 10 is now taking Ex. 9 and extending it into a cool flamenco-inspired melody. The rhythms in this were inspired by the incredible Paco De Lucia. I follow the sequence from the previous example almost exactly, but I use a bit of artistic license to repeat certain fragments to fit into a ātop line" or āhead"-style melody.
Click here for Ex. 10
My aim here isn't to give you one rule to follow but instead to encourage you to take the sequences you know and love and start getting more out of them. Enjoy and stay safe!
MayFly Le Habanero Review
Great versatility in combined EQ controls. Tasty low-gain boost voice. Muscular Fuzz Face-like fuzz voice.
Can be noisy without a lot of treble attenuation. Boost and fuzz order can only be reversed with the internal DIP switch.
$171
May Fly Le Habanero
A fuzz/boost combo thatās as hot as the name suggests, but which offers plenty of smoky, subdued gain shades, too.
Generally speaking, I avoid combo effects. If I fall out of love with one thing, I donāt want to have to ditch another thatās working fine. But recent fixations with spatial economy find me rethinking that relationship. MayFlyās Le Habanero (yes, the Franco/Spanish article/noun mash-up is deliberate) consolidates boost and fuzz in a single pedal. Thatās far from an original concept. But the characteristics of both effects make it a particularly effective one here, and the relative flexibility and utility of each gives this combination a lot more potential staying power for the fickle.
āLe Habaneroās fuzz circuit has a deep switch that adds a little extra desert-rock woof.ā
The fuzz section has a familiar Fuzz Face-like tone profileāa little bit boomy and very present in that buzzy mid-ā60s, midrangey kind of way. But Le Habaneroās fuzz circuit has a deep switch that adds a little extra desert-rock woof (especially with humbuckers) and an effective filter switch that enhances the fuzzās flexibilityāespecially when used with the boost. The boost is a fairly low-gain affair. Even at maximum settings, it really seems to excite desirable high-mid harmonics more than it churns out dirt. Thatās a good thing, particularly when you introduce hotter settings from the boostās treble and bass controls, which extend the boostās voice from thick and smoky to lacerating. Together, the boost and fuzz can be pushed to screaming extremes. But the interactivity between the tone and filter controls means you can cook up many nuanced fuzz shades spanning Jimi scorch and Sabbath chug with tons of cool overtone and feedback colors.