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From: deparko
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  • which book of his has these explanations and tabs of his chord melody?? im trying to get into this, but its rather difficult without the actual music and explanation behind it

  • Theory being an infinite and daunting thing indeed..He was and is a great example of how infinite theory really is...

  • It's odd that i had never even heard of Ted Greene until a couple days ago..His knowledge is immense..It's terrible that usually the best of the best seem to come and go " under the radar" so to speak..From what i have read. I think he was content with what he did and preferred it that way..He seemed to have the total respect of any musician he encountered and was a major contributor to anyone wanting to develop a better understanding of theory.....

  • No words for it!

  • His playing is so beautiful.

  • breathtakingly beautiful...

    

  • jazzbox is just a troll. Only a fool would criticize this piece. Ted himself would never say he was better than any of the other guitar players mentioned here; he would only praise them. And I'd bet ALL of those guys would speak volumes about Ted. As for Ted not being "technically good", are you insane? Try learning 5 seconds of any of this and tell me it's not technically demanding. And for the record, we all know that he's plugging straight in, right? No effects except for reverb.

  • From what little I have learned about Ted on the net I would say he studied the guitar more intensely than any one else. Ted seemed to be a life long student that constantly was learning how to play new chords and inversions of scales. You know your good when you teach guys like Tommy Emmanuel the circle of fifths and how to use it in descovering new chord arrangements. It's hard to carry on the work of a genius but I hope someone will try.

  • Love the way this randomly twists into classical, then starts to sound like a harpsichord, then switches key. But it's like it was meant to be. Just sounds so natural.

  • This guy is the einstein of guitar. Literally, he was the guitar teacher of guitar teachers.

  • I typed in crap, and this came on!

  • chord chemistry is a masterpiece

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  • surprising turn to classical sound

  • Great Technique, very good player, but the sense of this tune is totally loss....inone word: CERVELLOTIC version......

  • This is pure improvisation, from traditional jazz to the art of fugue, all with a feel and sound of a cathedral. Thank you so much for this video.

  • Where can i find a tab for this masterpiece ???

  • autumn leaves to bach... must be one of the best videos on youtube ever...

  • It is tragic that Ted Greene didn't live long enough to make a 2nd solo album. One never says in jazz that anything is the "best." But you CAN say that something is your "favorite." Ted Greene is my favorite. I love Joe pass' "Virtuoso CDs, & now Howard Alden has come out with one on solo 7-string guitar. But I have Ted's books on jazz guitar & his solo album. They will be with me as long as I live. As a pro jazz guitarist myself now, I can tell you that a pro never retires,....out of space

  • Anyone saying that John McLaughlin is a so-so player has either never listenen to him, seen him play, or is weird. THAT is a weird thing to say... The guy is so immensely versatile, and brilliant. A so-so player would never have been hired by Miles, played with Paco and DiMeola, created Shakti and mahavishnu orchestra... Where are you from? Do you play the guitar?

  • @heikalo Stop being a cunt- and play the guitar. Maybe then you can impress us.

  • @heikalo It all comes down to presonal taste I guess. I know he's one of the most respected players in the business, but I just can't stand his style. Doesn't mean he's not good though. I love players like Steve Vai, Chet Atkins, Albert Lee and Allan Holdsworth, but I'm well aware that many people might not like their music. However it's pretty presumptuous to assume that just because you happen to not like someone's style they're not any good.

  • 11 people accidently came here looking for Rebecca Black.

  • This is my first time ever seeing this guy play. Never heard of him before...But I can tell that he is critical! So I look down and see all these comparisons to so and so.... That's not music. This guy gets music. He gets the dynamics of how to capture and then articulate what's between the lines.

  • tremendo genioooooooooooooooooooooooooo

  • I have the one CD that Ted made, & it is marvellous. Hard to belive there is only one guitar with no dubbing. I also have his book "Chord Chemistry" & Solo single note playing. It's unfortunate he died so young. I liked his virtuoso solo guitar even better than Joe Pass.

  • The beauty of genius.

  • Isn't what he says at the end a beautiful metaphor for life? I'm saddened that he's no longer around to share his talent.

  • I've played strats for many years, But I believe the tele to be the superior guitar these days. Especially if it includes at least one humbucker, and on dual humbuckers, coil splitting. SOme of the newer ones the coil splitting really captures the classic tele single coil sound while giving you the humbucker option.

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  • The part where he plays like Bach is so beautiful and convincing.

  • Oh how I wish I could have studied under his guidance!

  • loool went major i cringed

  • the only other guitarist who makes me feel the way I feel when I listen to Ted Greene play is Adrian Legg.

    R.I.P. Ted. You (and your unique talent) left us all too soon.

  • I'm so glad you posted this..... Ted's playing is sublime here, man, brings tears to my eyes, its sooooo beautiful, I'll be watching this over and over!

  • maybe bill evans

  • who else plays bach when they play jazz?

  • True beauty here...Anyone who knows music on any level will recognize the genius in this. And it was mostly improvised...

  • Dimwits Abound:

    Tempo rubato (Italian stolen time) is a musical term referring to expressive and rhythmic freedom by a slight speeding up and then slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion of the soloist or the conductor. Rubato is an expressive shaping of music that is a part of phrasing[1].

    Big Ron

  • 11 people who watched this video are obviously drummers....

  • He apologises for going from a minor key to major. The way he plays it sounds like it was meant to be.

  • Damn. If I can transcribe this one tune I swear I will play nothing else for the rest of my life.

  • They just don't have the fullness of a hollowbody.

  • Wow!..any (capable) musician will recognize his genius -his "Chord Chemistry"book is exhaustive and quite intimidating too!lol!..not for the faint at heart nor non-contributors.

  • He's pretty nice, but this is no Ed Bickert, Van Eps, Django, or Jim Hall in terms of musical capacity. Actually quite sloppy in parts.

  • @jazzbox111 i disagree. he's maybe not up with some of those folks technically, but musically oh boy... his sense for harmony is much more sophisticated than that of any of the guys you mentioned, including jim hall.

    ted greene could see the interconnectedness of different musical styles and epoches like not many musicians can, and this understanding continuously refined his melodic and harmonic skill to something very unique.

    he might not look like much on the surface, but this man was deep.

  • @trappedsoul7 Its not that he's not up there technically, its that he doesn't play good time, he's playing is broken up and amateurish. And if you really think that about Hall and Van Eps, then it shows your lack of education in the jazz guitar department, no offence. This guy may have been a nice guy, but he's no guitar giant. Lets see a chordmelody from you on guitar, and then Ill put one up and will see who has the authority to make these statements. :)

  • @jazzbox111 look, if you really think ted's playing is amateurish, then there's no point in engaging in a conversation on the subject of jazz guitar with you.

    moreeover i never said van eps' or jim hall's playing was amateurish. what i said was ted's sense for harmony had evolved to a point of enormous depth.

    naturally jim hall, van eps, are all great jazz masters, yet in terms of harmonic sophistication ted greene was ahead of them, IMO of course and I'm not here to convince you.

  • @jazzbox111 Hi mate. I'm not an expert in Jazz guitar as you guys here seem to be, but what do you mean when you say that Greene 'doesn't play good time...'? Are you refering to his timing? thanks

  • @jazzbox111 How does you playing chord melody better than someone give you more authority to make statements? Joe Pass plays many of his chord solos rubato as well, does that make him an amateurish guitarist? Your ability to play jazz makes your opinion no more or less valid. Too bad your university taught you to play music without opening your mind.

  • @jazzbox111 hmm, interesting, I just started up at SCU in Lismore, our guitar tutor here is a guy named Jim Kelly, I presume you have heard of him. He suggested all his senior students (of which I am not one as I just started) come and have a look at this guy. I can see your point, but I think maybe you are missing something? Just a thought. And also, who are you playing with these days?

  • @jazzbox111

    For a guy playing an ash ping pong paddle with a few magnets wrapped with wire,, he sounds great.

    Awesome Chord vibrato with no bigsby or any other goofy things like that.

    I love how this this guy speaks with his guitar.

  • @ControlCults You don't know how he speaks with his guitar cause you can't hear jazz guitar music, clearly.

  • @jazzbox111

    I may not be able to hear from years of screaming Tele's but everything I play is a passing tone.

    Not gas mind you, a passing tone as in.. never mind.

    Also, I am learning to play the chromatic scale on each string starting at every fret up and down the neck. 

  • @ControlCults I studied Jazz guitar with Bruce Clarke for 6 years. Look him up on Wiki :)

  • @jazzbox111

    You got me beat.. I just make organized noise, but enjoy it.

    Have a good day and thanks for the chat.

  • @ControlCults You should try to create beautiful music one day.

  • @jazzbox111

    have you listened to me trying to play?

  • @jazzbox111 dude you shouldn't judge Ted based on this video alone, you should check out his books and his website. He excelled as a teacher and wrote tons of material to study. The same guy who uploaded this video uploaded hundreds of hours of private lesson audio footage that can be found by googling: "deparko public me ted greene" and going through the first link to a forum post and finding the link where it says "The download site is here"

  • @junka22 Thanks! The link still works as of March 9th, 2011!

  • @MikeRoePhonicsMusic hey no problem, hope you get a lot out of the tapes! I used to listen to them all the time before going to bed... they're awfully soothing in a weird way

  • @junka22 But how would any mature musician judge him based only on this video? Only as a true genius.

  • @junka22 

  • @jazzbox111 a memoir about him titled "My life with the Chord Chemist" by his long time partner Barbara Franklin is also a most magnificent read about his life.

  • @junka22 who cares, he's a great. maybe was nice guy, but the attention is not justfied.

  • @jazzbox111 From the viewpoint of technique, Ted was not a great player (although still above average). But he is the most advanced guitar player I know when it comes to innovative and beautiful sounding harmonies. Of course, there are other players with much better technique playing complex harmonies (I like Jody Fisher, for example), but I find the harmonies produced by Ted more appealing – and that's the reason we all listen to him.

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  • where's the playing? he's just noodling with some smooth jazz chordal harmony. this would put me to sleep in and damn elevator to the second floor.

  • @RaymondFRevalee So pretty melody, soothing harmony and relaxed tempo is "just smooth jazz"? Maybe you should go listen to those idiots playing "noise music", philistine.

  • @RaymondFRevalee let's see you do better. oh wait, you can't, and you'll never be able to. Ted Greene is, in essence, the King of Chords. If there are any voicings for chords on guitar that he didn't know, I would be utterly astounded. He was an amazing musician. Even if stylistically you don't like him, if you have a brain you surely will acknowledge that he's a brilliant musician.

  • Really Beautiful

  • wow.just wow.

  • bach comes to my mind

  • Chord-gasm! That Tele reminds me of Danny Gattons. With the Ash tray and the Narled Knobs.

  • Chord-gasm

  • Realy would love to know the exacts on this guitar so I could get and/or recreate it!

  • this a beautiful melting pot of the all the good in music thanks, peace, Ted

  • I love his comment... "I don't know how I wound up in a major key!" I have totally been there!!! Sometimes music controls you!!!!

  • If Segovia could have heard this, he might have changed his opinion of the electric guitar...at least in Ted's hands.....

  • @FrankGrigonis Great comment, but I doubt it. I read where he became even more militant toward the end of his life, in terms of his opinion on any electric stringed instrument.

  • I feel like an old, old man looking at a lovely young woman when I hear this......

  • This gave me chills... and almost tears.,,

    I didn't hear about this guy before today. Wonderful music from an insightful person. Love it.

  • this just actually made me cry

  • Anybody know what amp he is playing to get this jazzsound from the tele?

    Thanks! btw this is amazing!

  • @Elimnio thats a Fender Deluxe or twin reverb IIRC

  • I have an instructional book by him......it seems so easy......then you flip the page and there lies a systematic diagram of 100+ chord shapes.........(facepalm)

    I love life.

  • @cosmogang chord chemistry?

  • nice man.

    beautiful playing.

  • Wow! i actually like this guys playing..

  • genius

  • oh my god......those harmonics....

  • Has he got a tic?

  • @conor30000 I've thought that too.

  • So good... those bass lines at 0:15 are swinging not walking!

  • @thebytegrill I'm pretty sure they are walking not swung, why do you say they are swung?

  • @kweerb8

    Oh brother, I was merely referring to my elated emotions on hearing that beautiful 'walking bass', not a technical comment in any way! Peace.

  • @thebytegrill LOL there is something in jazz called swung 8th notes, i thought that's what you meant hahaha sorry.

  • @kweerb8

    :) Actually to me Ted is implying a swing feel on the back beats just for a brief moment right at that turnaround 'followed' by that walking bass. Swing's like -b-x-b-b-x-b.. but feels like b-b-x-b-b-x.... ;P triplets in 8ths with the center beat silent.

  • @thebytegrill you are probably right, i am relatively new to jazz and guitar in general. could you tell me the difference between shuffle and swing? I'm a little confused on that, thanks.

  • @kweerb8

    I'm a noob too, but to me a shuffle swings when it's more loosely played. Essentially the same thing, just a mood/feel thing.

  • @thebytegrill Shuffle is based on triplets. Swing is based on feeling, it can't be written down.

  • John McLaughlin said during an interview by Robert Fripp:"The same thing with piano. It's so difficult to move around on a guitar in the harmonic way one can do on a keyboard. I mean, it requires...it can't be done...except (snaps fingers) Ted Greene! (whistles) This guy is really unbelievable. He's the only guitar player who accomplishes this thing that really turns me on."

  • @dmetax2009 No. He's not. Joe Pass is WAY better at solo guitar. George Van Eps is the master. John McLaughlin is a so-so player.

  • @dmetax2009 Robert Fripp interviewed John McLaughlin?!?!? I had no idea.

  • What a great talent. Remarkable to heart that kind of tone out of a Tele. But as they say, it's all in the hands.

  • So much love for his instrument you can just tell the way hes moves to the song..What an inspiration.

  • Mi ha tolto il respiro.

  • Need the sheet music for this arrangment. its nice.

  • magic

  • I can't even fathom someone being so good! It blows my mind! Every time you think you might be getting good watch this video! Ha ha!! We all have our own talents but not this kind of talent! Joey Vaughan "World Blues Attack"

  • exquisite!

  • my dad was teds first guitar student and ted was a huge part of my dads life R.I.P

  • when i was a s tudent i GIT i when to his clinic for 3 times I talked to him all the times,man. He is amazing human being and greatest teacher and player. My friend took lesson with him. He charted only 20 dollars for an hour lesson,man. I know you in heaven now Mr. Green.

  • LOVE THE TONE!

  • There is something very special about a good tele. One of my other favourite modern players, Bill Frisell, plays one too. Gorgeous, heart-melting tone. If a strat is a beautiful woman, then a tele is like an old freind who is always by your side. It's a different kind of love; a very special, irreplaceable one.

  • @imatube2

    I play a Telecaster too and your comment was one of the best I've ever read on YouTube. It's just the way you described it :)

  • @imatube2 Bill Frisell is in a different league.

  • @imatube2 im sorry i just have to point this out one of my best friends is the son of i cant remember his first name but the last is miles and they are great friends with bill frisell

  • @imatube2 I agree. Ever heard Ed Bickert play? Amazing tele tone.

  • @imatube2 I completely agree!!! I bought a strat when i first started out, cause i didn't know much about teles, but now, whenever i step into the guitar shop, Im always looking for the teles

  • All that knob flipping and way he destroys any semblance of tempo just doesn't do it for me. His style is very laborious. I guess I'm a bit spoiled; I grew up watching the likes of Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Peter Sprague. No disrespect intended, just my opinion.

  • @gotrottin : i'm sure if you had any ear for music you'd not only hear a tempo and the chord changes, but the fact that this is(without a question) a masterpiece

  • @gotrottin - This was a response to a student request at a seminar - he's proving a point and showing the difference - Jazzin' on the neck pickup and Bach-style with some bridge pickup thrown in to help demonstrate the difference.

    This guy wrote the book on modern jazz guitar harmony - literally - his "Modern Chord Progressions" is in almost every serious jazz guitar student's library these days.

    Listen to him when he's performing for an audience, not a class. He is one of the best.

  • @zzmook Man, some people are really sensitive (not you zzmook) I think Ted is an awesome player OK folks??!! I just found his excessive fiddling here distracting. That'll teach me to leave a comment on a fans video! If you check me out, you will find I am a music person, and yes I have a background. Be well all.

  • @gotrottin you say it's fiddly - baroque is like that if you look at it that way

  • Exquisite guitar playing! As for jazz not being on Leo's mind when he metamorphosed his lap steel into the Tele - I doubt he had anything other than trying to increase sales on it by listening to guitarists ( incredibly he didn't play guitar himself) and giving them what they wanted. And almost by accident he created the most exquisite guitar in the world.

  • "I don't know how i ended up in a major key. That wasn't supposed to happen." LOL Best compositional secret i've ever learned: make it look like you never mess up.

  • I love seeing people use a specific instrument in a way other than intended. I can guarantee Leo Fender Wasn't trying to make a jazz guitar. Sounds amazing to me though. Doesn't have to be a gibson archtop to be good.

  • i got a cd with ted green from a friend, he play standards(dont know the name on record).  my kid at the time was about 8 years old, he and hes friends always put the cd on when having fun and runing around in the room, its strange feeling to observ, everytime cd end, they put it on again. i think ted greens music and way of playing it, will fallow me rest of my life, with a smile

  • This man was an amazing guitarist whose music will live for as long as time last!

  • awesome sensitivity of spirit... true art of motion in the moment... peace

  • I, along with Ted's students and friends have been trying to share the magical and phenomenal music and spirit of Ted Greene with the world. There is TedGreene(dot)com. There are the TedGreene Video Archives on Youtube. Ted has so much to offer the world. How does one get the word out?

    Or should I just be patient, knowing Ted's energy will draw people through some unknown sense of connection?

  • @Tedsbarbara I try as much as I can to share Ted's lessons with my little following on Twitter, Facebook, etc and as we learn and play his concepts it lives on through our playing as much as we can attempt to absorb what we can.

  • A lot of older guitar players will remember the book "Chord Chemistry"

  • someone really needs to promote his videos its crazy that this only has 106,120 views

  • absolutely amazing!!

  • Wow-I'm astounded-the transition to Baroque and back to swing was unreal! I'm sorry he's gone.

  • Chords: Autumn Leaves in D minor.

    ( haven't checked it yet, that's what Ted said himself)

  • chords

  • Wonderful ! I'm speechless!

  • I still can't watch him without crying, I miss his spirit and gifts terribly - surely unmatched!!!!

  • What a great guitarist !!

  • You can hear Bach's soul in Greene's playing.

  • Absolutely incredible O_O

  • WOW.

  • Hadn't heard of Ted Greene before today. Had to listen because I just read this gushing commentary about how amazing he played and how blown away the author was by Ted's playing, etc, etc... Finally got to the bottom of this commentary and it was signed Steve Vai. He was right.

  • I love his tone. I just got a Tele, running through a Super-Sonic, I think it's so smooth and warm on the neck pup..

  • He's obviously very talented, but I don't like that tele tone at all for this song. I'm going to have to go listen to Joe Pass to get the sound out of my head.

  • Greetings from the newly started "OFFICIAL Ted Greene Video Archive page" please come on over to the page, subscribe and be our friend.

    Many great RARE surprises from the archives will be posted along the way!

  • WOW!!! I like these artifical harmonics!!

  • best version of autumn leaves played instrumental i've heard. the original(s) one(s), don't know if theres one real original, sung by juliette greco or yves montant are also very toutching.

    anybody knows what he sufferd of?

  • I believe he suffered of music genius

  • @tazmaniaco65 I dont think he suffered from musical genius.. I think he quite enjoyed it :)

  • Modern Chord Progressions and Chord Chemistry: a few years' work in each...great books by an absolutely incredible guitar player. Thanks so much for this video.

  • This man was a genius, & clearly a great human being. Viva Ted! Thanks a lot for posting this - it made my day!

  • Very odd choice of guitars for this style of music but he is obviously making it work. Amazing playing.

  • i dont see whats so bad about using a telecaster they are perfect for jazz?

  • what are you talking about dude, teles make awesome jazz guitars. you dont need a full hollow body and buckers for jazz. It's more in the fingers. IMO telecasters are the most versatile guitars in the right hands

  • JD0x0 , totally agree with you! The Telecaster is a suberb guitar for ANY use, it all depends on how it's set up, the type of amplification, and most importantly -- who's playing it... (e.g.: Jimmy Page used one for many early Zep studio tracks, most people thought he only played a Les Paul!)

  • absolutely right. entire debut LP is played on a tele, as well as stairway's solo.

  • Wow - amazing improv. BTW - I just picked up Ted's Book "Modern Chord Progressions - Jazz and Classical voicings for Guitar". I thought I knew a lot of chords until I started reading this book. It is packed with beautiful voice leadings for standard chord progressions. Probably the best $15 I ever spent on guitar instruction. Ted - we miss you.

  • WOW... that's a beautiful tone. Never heard a tele sound like that. Ted is amazing!

  • ted greene plays angelic guitar for the angels in the meanwhile. his mastery is beyond grasp and what glenn gould is to classical piano to my opinion ted greene is to jazz guitar. he is a masters master!!!

  • i like the sound of jazz on a tele

  • Ted greene has set a height which may not be reached again by modern jazz artists. His extensive harmony, his jaw-dropping improv, and the pure beauty found in his music all reach me where nothing else has, because this man is beautiful. He was in pursuit of the most beautiful, and, though he may not have felt that he found it, we can certainly see it in his creations. God, I love this man's music.

  • Agreed. No doubt about that one. RIP Ted! God bless your soul.

  • @d00dicus THANKS FOR POSTING THIS. My face is wet.....

  • This is a master who devours music the way of our daily breathe, Beautiful

  • One of the most impressive feats of improv I've seen.

  • Very very goooooooooooooooddd !!!

  • It's called vibrato...

  • is that what he's suffering from?

  • guitar playing of olympean standard.utterly masterful.

  • a truly missed genius!