Text Material Preview
Trail Guide to SIX STRING LOGIC Your Essential Road Map to Understanding Ted Greene’s Book CHORD CHEMISTRY LEON WHITE This Guide is Available at NO CHARGE Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 This Guide is Available at NO CHARGE Trail Guide to Your Essential Road Map to Understanding Ted Greene’s Book CHORD CHEMISTRY LEON WHITE ©2016 Six String Logic, LLC | All Rights Reserved | Version 1.0 | SixStringLogic.com No reproduction or distribution in whole or in part is permitted without express written permission from the publisher. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 3 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Contents Preface ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Overview of This Guide ..................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction to Chord Chemistry (CC) .............................................................................................. 6 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Architecture of the Book .................................................................................................................... 6 The Section Summaries ..................................................................................................................... 8 Section 1 – Fingerboard Chart and String Relationships ................................................................... 8 Section 2 – Chord Reference Chart Explanation ................................................................................ 8 Section 3 – Right Hand Technique ..................................................................................................... 9 Section 4 – The Major Scale – The Foundation of Musical Theory .................................................. 9 Section 5 – Chord Formulas & Families ............................................................................................ 9 Section 6 – Polytonal Chords (“Polychords”) (Bi-tonal Chords) ...................................................... 10 Section 7 – Essential Chords, Synonyms .......................................................................................... 10 Section 8 – Chord Reference Charts .................................................................................................. 10 Section 9 – Ear Training .................................................................................................................... 12 Section 10 – Moving Chords a Fourth ............................................................................................... 12 Section 11 – Chord Substitution and General Information ............................................................... 12 Section 12 – Dominant 7th Chords and the Cycle ............................................................................ 13 Section 13 – Moving Voices (Voice Leading) and Systematic Thinking ......................................... 13 Section 14 – Chord Melodies ............................................................................................................. 14 Section 15 – Triads ............................................................................................................................. 14 Section 16 – Fundamental Harmonies of Scales ............................................................................... 15 Section 17 – Other Chords Built from Scales .................................................................................... 15 Section 18 – Blues Progressions ........................................................................................................ 15 Section 19 – Miscellaneous Concepts ............................................................................................... 16 Section 20 – Rock Type Progressions................................................................................................ 16 So Where Do You Start with Chord Chemistry? ............................................................................ 17 Possible Trails through Chord Chemistry ........................................................................................ 18 Greensleeves Chord Melody Arrangement ...................................................................................... 20 About Modern Chord Progressions ................................................................................................. 23 Reference Sections ........................................................................................................................... 24 Major Scale Spellings........................................................................................................................ 24 Spelling Triads and Seventh Chords ................................................................................................. 24 Photo Album of Selected Guitars ..................................................................................................... 25 More from Six String Logic ............................................................................................................. 32 Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 4 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Preface This free guide is designed to help people get more out of Ted Greene’s book Chord Chemistry. Ted would never want anyone to come away from the book being frustrated, but he knew that happened. Hence his kidding nicknames for the book: “Chord Calamity,” “Chord Catastrophe,” and so on. (There were dozens of these names, but I never met any player who actually said them except Ted, somewhat sheepishly.) This guide will not teach you the book. What I want it to do is to give you a few ideas about what is in the book and how to use the content based on your interests and playing experience. I don’t claim to know as much as Ted about chords or most musical things. I do have an advan- tage over Ted however because I was a student of his, and I have watched other players work with the book for 30 years. Chord Chemistry is extremely powerful. If you read comments in forums (like the forums at TedGreene.com), you’ll repeatedly see players saying this or that idea opened up a whole new area to them. You’ll also see players asking how to start using the book, what is the book about, and so on. Based upon the large number of forum comments, and questions I’ve received per- sonally, I thought a short overview of the book could do a couple of things: • Put new readers of the book more at ease • Help readers get an overview of what is in the book before they start plowing through it • Identify major nuggets of great info so readers could zoom in on things they’re looking for • Help players understand just how powerful the ideas can be If you’re new to Chord Chemistry, or totally baffled by it, this guide may help you get more comfortable with the book, and understand when you’re ready for a particular topic. Think of this guide as a treasure map. The goal is to show where things are, and what each thing might mean to you. Then you can decide what to pursue, when, and how. To keep my narrative simple I’ve used a lot of lists and outlines in the text. I’ve also broken up paragraphs so that individual comments are easier to recognize as you read. This document is a guide, not a tutorial of any kind. Given that Chord Chemistry is by Ted, a tutorial would be redundant (and a bit presumptuous on my part). I offer this guide humbly. Ted created some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard. He devoted himself to sharing this beauty with students for most of his life. He is rightfully revered as a kind and generous man. He hasinfluenced thousands of guitarists world-wide. If this guide helps him continue to do that, then I’ve done my job. Good Luck! - Leon White Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 5 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Overview of this Guide This Trail Guide is divided into the following sections: • High level overview of the book and the individual chapters (which Ted calls “Sections”) • A section-by-section summary highlighting important topics • Recommendations on how to use the book and the individual sections • Appendices and reference pages to help you with the book • Chord melody examples translated from pure music notation into chord box notation. (Ted referred to the box diagrams as “grids” while “chord boxes” is a phrase often used by others.) Chord Chemistry and Modern Chord Progressions are available from the great folks at Alfred Publishing (http://alfred.com). Music stores worldwide usually carry the book as do online retailers like J.W. Pepper (http://jwpepper.com). Additional information including over 1300 lessons and transcriptions, as well as audio recordings, videos and more are available on the Official Archive Site, TedGreene.com. Over the last 10 years, TedGreene.com and the Ted Greene Forums have welcomed hundreds of thousands of guitar players and enthusiasts from around the world who have benefited greatly from content that has been (and continues to be) delivered freely. The continued operation, updating and growth of the TedGreene.com platform relies solely on contributions from supporters internationally. Moving forward, there are plans to substantially upgrade, expand and improve the site in many ways (a major undertaking), but user support is needed to make that happen. To contribute to this effort, make whatever donation you can at http://TedGreene.com. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 6 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Introduction to Chord Chemistry (CC) Overview Chord Chemistry can show you new ways to make music with chords. The book has two major ways of doing that: 1. Showing you new chords and chord progressions 2. Explaining and demonstrating ways to add or change chords in music to make you, and the music, sound more interesting Ideally, this new information helps you communicate the musical emotions you want, when you want, by giving you more harmonic ‘words’ to use and more ways to use them. You should be able to gain: • New chord voicings and fingerings • Examples and techniques for using the new chords, and • Harmony ideas you can apply to chords and chord progressions Architecture of the Book Chord Chemistry is a chord reference book. It has two major objectives: 1. To show you various chord voicings (DICTIONARY), and 2. To show you how to use chords in various situations by example (APPLICATION). The book is not a method book. You should not expect to work through the book from front to back. Any sequence of topics can be ok — it really depends upon you. The chord dictionary feature presents chords of every kind that Ted thinks you might find useful. He used all the chords shown in this book. The application part of the book provides powerful ideas, with examples, of how to make music with chords using various techniques. Each appli- cation idea is introduced by itself, but as the book progresses to the end, Ted combines the ideas in his examples to create some inspiring music. Most players gravitate to the application sections of the book (like Chord Substitution and the Cycle of 5ths). Typically players using the book play electric guitar, play rock and blues, and use a flat pick. An electric guitar is helpful, as some of the voicings cover six or seven frets, or sound best above the 10th fret. BUT . . . You need to play with your right hand fingers for about half the examples in the book. Ted cov- ers this idea in the opening sections. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 7 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY This is the first challenge for many players. Strummers will find many of the chords cannot be strummed. They need to be “plucked” in a fingerstyle manner. Ted addresses right hand technique in Section 3 – Right Hand Technique. In the examples to the right, various chord fingerings are shown. The first group are strummable on adjacent strings: Or, three adjacent strings and a separate bass note: This fingering, with 2 muted strings in the middle, must be plucked for most players. There are a lot of chord shapes like this in Chord Chemistry. Please Note: In these diagrams, the dot represents a note to be fretted while the ‘x’ indicates a string that should not be played. (That is a standard usage. Ted’s own teaching pages use the dot and ‘x’ in a different manner.) Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 8 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY The Section Summaries Following is a very, very brief overview of each section of the book. There are twenty sections altogether. The book begins with basic ‘foundation’ sections on terminology, how the diagrams work and so on. In the middle of the book there is a dictionary-style section showing various chord fingerings using chord boxes. Later in the book, Ted focuses on applying chords, discussing voicings, voice leading, and several different kinds of chord substitution. He applies all these ideas to chord melody, blues progressions, and rock progressions. In general, when discussing the application of chord voicings he’ll give a “plain” version of the progression and follow it with his magical examples of how to “spice it up” or enhance the progression. I’ve included the number of pages in each section to give you an idea of how detailed a topic is treated. Ted was a powerful writer, however, so even one page can have some power-house information. Section 1 – Fingerboard Chart and String Relationships Page Length: One page Content: This is a basic section almost every guitar book has in some form. Ted includes the following: Note names on the fingerboard The importance of the 4th interval (C-D-E-F. C to F is the interval of a fourth). As it relates to string tuning (the guitar’s open strings: E to A is a fourth, A to D is a fourth, D to G is a fourth). This is an interesting introduction to an idea that surfaces later. It’s not often found in chord reference material. Approach: Good for any level of player. The sections give you an orientation to how Ted thinks and writes, and spells out important terms and ideas used later in the book. Section 2 – Chord Reference Chart Explanation Page Length: Two pages. Content: Another reference section. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 9 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Symbols and graphics used in the chord diagrams. Terminology about chords and chord families Approach: Good for any level of player. The section gives you an orientation to how Ted thinks and writes, and spells out important terms and ideas used later in the book Section 3 – Right Hand Technique Page Length: One page. Content: A brief overview of options for right hand techniques. It is here that he notes you’ll need to use fingers for some of the chord forms. Approach: Good for any level of player. The section gives you an orientation to how Ted thinks and writes, and spells out important terms and ideas used later in the book. Section 4 – The Major Scale – The Foundation of Musical Theory Page Length: One page. Content: Another reference section that briefly discusses the major scale and the related termi- nology. Approach: Harmony and Theory are the focus of this section. The more you know about har- mony the better. To maximize the rest of the book, learning to spell a few major scales, like C major, A major, and E major will be helpful if you don’t already know how. (See the reference section of thisguide for help.) Section 5 – Chord Formulas & Families Page Length: Three pages. Content: This section combines explanation with reference. It is a basic explanation of chord spellings, inversions, moving chords across the strings, and a listing of the numerical formulas for spelling most chords (i.e. a major triad is spelled with the notes 1 3 5 from a major scale). Approach: Harmony and Theory are the focus. Chord spelling will be important throughout so this section should be a go-to section if you’re not comfortable with “the ninth of A major is B” type thinking. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 10 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Section 6 – Polytonal Chords (“Polychords”) (Bi-tonal Chords) Page Length: One page. Content: This section departs from the reference style to introduce a different way of looking at chord structures. The approach is basically stacking different triads on top of each other to get various sounds. This material is often new to many guitarists and can be a real eye-opener for both chord structure and improvising as well. This section is an introduction to the idea with example chords shown. Here is where Ted begins revealing important ideas on applying chords, their usage and inter- changeability, and how to construct chord sounds with multiple triads. Important stuff for many reasons. Approach: If you can play barre chords and short chord licks in your style of choice, dig in here. If you’re still learning open chords and strumming, take a taste of parts of the section. If nothing sparks you, wait a while and come back. If you’re intrigued, learn more about chord spelling and dig in here. Section 7 – Essential Chords, Synonyms Page Length: Four pages. Content: Ted discusses chord fingerings he feels are essential, and then provides two pages of chord diagrams he suggests you learn as you progress. Several important concepts are illustrated in the text. Following the essential chords discussion is one page on the idea of chords that can have two names (or chords of different names can share the same notes; Ami7 – A C E G = C6 – C E G A.) This also includes chords that have particular voicings that can overlap with other chords. This section can also be an eye-opener for players who haven’t recognized this before. Approach: If you can play barre chords and short licks in your style of choice, dig in here. If you’re still learning open chords and strumming, take a taste of the section. If nothing sparks you, wait a while and come back. If you’re intrigued, learn more about chord spelling and dig in here. Section 8 – Chord Reference Charts Page Length: Thirty eight pages. Content: This section is composed of chord boxes with brief comments inserted as needed. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 11 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Each box is labeled with the chord name. Chords are organized by chord type: all major chords together, all major add 9 chords together, etc. Comments are sprinkled throughout with various notes regarding the sound or spelling of the chords. There are many beautiful voicings here. Chords are shown from the root A and from the root E for the most part, so you’ll get some A major chords and E major chords in the section on major chords. When necessary, Ted has indicated the fingering for the chord (usually if he is using one finger to play two strings – what is sometimes referred to as a “double-stop.”) In general, easier chord fingerings, on adjacent strings (like the 5-4-3-2 stringset) are shown first. At first glance though the groupings can seem somewhat random. As noted before, you can use this reference section by highlighting chords that look playable for you, and starting with those to get the sounds. If you can, turn to page 17 in CC and look at the chord diagrams displayed. Several things pop out: 1. The chords in the first 4 rows are very large interval voicings, and cannot be strummed. 2. By “three note voicings” Ted is referring to chords spelled with three unique notes - here Root, 3, and 5 of a major scale. By row 6, there are diagrams showing 4 notes on the fin- gerboard, but one of the three notes is being doubled (R-3-5-R, R-3-5-3, etc.) . That can be confusing if you’re new to this type of thinking. 3. Starting in the middle of row 5, Ted starts showing fingerings on adjacent strings. Here is where I would start highlighting or marking the rows or fingerings as ones I could strum, if I were new to this approach. 4. Scattered among the rest of the fingerings are chords that can be strummed because they fall on adjacent strings (6-5-4-3 or 5-4-3-2 for example) or with one string between the bass note and the other three notes (6-4-3-2, or 5-3-2-1 for example). 5. Ted has also included some chord spelling observations, as on page 21, where he notes that a 6/9 chord with no root can also be thought of as a 7sus chord from a whole step higher. If you’re interested you might mark that kind of comment, but if you’re a beginner, you may be best served by ignoring it until you’re more comfortable spelling chord voicings. 6. I should note that the comments in Section 8 about synonyms are NOT all included in Section 7 on Chord Synonyms. If this is important, you might collect all his comments on a separate sheet for your own reference. 7. When I first looked at this section I thought that these ‘synonyms’ might be helpful for modulating to a new key. This presentation did not help me in that regard. Approach: This is the chord fingering dictionary. You can use it to find a good sound for chords you may not know, like B13#11, or you can browse the fingerings trying them on for size and sound. The second approach is best done as part of your experimenting, or when you feel your playing is getting stale. It can be used by all levels that can play barre chords. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 12 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Section 9 – Ear Training Page Length: One page. Content: This topic is often excluded from chord reference books, but Ted’s explanation of how to work on it by yourself is very valuable. Learning to hear chords is part of being able to play what you hear, and learning what others are playing. He covers the different type of chords (major, minor, etc.) as well as inversions (root in the bass, 3rd in the bass and so on). Many great progressions in popular music exploit chord inversions as a way to add variety and emotion to music, and this section gives you a start on how to work on recognizing these sounds (and their musical emotion). Moving a C major chord from a voicing with a C in the bass to a voicing with an E (the third) in the bass is an example of a sound you’ll recognize in many songs. And it does tend to “pull” the feel of the progression “up.” That kind of thing is included here. Section 10 – Moving Chords a Fourth Page Length: One and a half pages. Content: This section is about how to apply chord knowledge (and a little harmony). Ted saw this idea as a powerful tool for ‘seeing’ similar chord shapes on different sets of strings – a powerful way to find new fingerings. He shows how to see a chord on one group of strings, and then move the chord (and the root) to the next higher group of strings. C major seventh on the 5-4-3-2 stringset becomes F major seventh on the 4-3-2-1 stringset (with a slight fingering adjustment). Approach: The idea of moving chords a fourth can be appreciated by any level of player. This is another section everyone should read. Section 11 – Chord Substitution and General Information Page Length: Eight pages. Content: This section is perhaps one of the most important sections of the book. Text and chord boxes spell out an idea with a playable example. Ted also sneaks in voice leading ideas without really belaboring them. He provides lots of organization and examplesthat can open your ears and your music. This section is also a lot of fun. A personal favorite of mine, and probably the reason a lot of players buy the book. In this section the chord substitution idea is given a Roman numeral (I, II, etc.) while the Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 13 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY examples for the rule are numbered with 1,2,3,4 etc. at first. Later he adopts a “1) Basic” numbering scheme. Approach: One of the major sections on chord substitution. Regardless of your level, try and dig in here. Anything you can take away from these sections is gold. Don’t feel you have to master anything the first time through. Section 12 – Dominant 7th Chords and the Cycle Page Length: Two pages. Content: Ted uses the cycle of 5ths (or 4ths) to illustrate chord movement, and chord substitution (by preceding a given chord with a chord a 4th or 5th away.) This section, like the prior one, is very very popular. The harmony discussed can be a bit daunting if you’re a harmony beginner, so don’t be troubled if it isn’t all clear at first. Go for the music and the rest will follow. Approach: One of the major sections on chord substitution. Regardless of your level, try and dig in here. Anything you can take away from these sections is gold. Don’t feel you have to master anything the first time through. Section 13 – Moving Voices (Voice Leading) and Systematic Thinking Page Length: Seven pages. Content: Ted discusses seeing the individual notes in chords and how they move from one chord to another. He provides guidance on ways to use the idea to create chord motion that is more powerful and beautiful. Given that it is seven pages of text and chord box examples, you can see that the topic was important to him. However, this is not a beginner topic. If you are a beginner you may be able to play the examples and hear what he’s doing without understanding why “moving the third of one chord to the seventh of the next” does something. The theory and structure requires patience to acquire. You’ll need to be comfortable with scale and chord spelling too. But even if that isn’t a strong suit for you, go for the examples. Approach: This section focuses on voice leading, which is an advanced topic for most guitarists. Taste it if you’re a beginner or intermediate player, but if it doesn’t feel useful, put it aside for the moment. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 14 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Section 14 – Chord Melodies Page Length: Seven pages. Content: Yahoo! Ted begins to explain creating and playing chord melody style song arrange- ments. He starts by showing you how to work off the sheet music of a song – a unique approach. He discusses moving the melody to a useful octave, how to decode chord names as used in sheet music, and provides examples. He uses ideas from the chord spelling, chord substitution and chord cycle sections to find chords to use in the arrangement. However, the section requires you to be able to read, or at least de- code, traditional music notation (notes on the staff.) The ideas are great, and the arrangements are great. They’re not as accessible as other parts of the book however. While I hope you’ll learn to read music, if you don’t, you’re kind of stuck here on the examples. For the intermediate player, or very hungry beginner-intermediate, this section can be incredible. However it will take patience and concentration. I’ve decoded one of these examples into chord diagrams on page 22. Approach: This section is for those players who want to play solo guitar chord melody arrange- ments. If you’re one of them, this is a gold mind. If not, you can postpone this section. Section 15 – Triads Page Length: Four pages. Content: If you get a group of Ted’s students together, there usually comes a time when some- one talks about “the triads” and everyone else chuckles or grimaces humorously. Ted loved triads. The first lesson many of us got included him giving each of us his “sheets on triads.” But most of us will acknowledge these three note chords are so powerful you almost can’t over- state it. If you get a chance you can see them in action on Ted videos where he is performing ‘contrapuntal’ or ‘Bach-like’ passages. And they make up a big part of rock and country playing as well as being part of jazz and the ‘triad-stacking’ discussions of altered chords. So, yes, this is the section where he spells it out. The section has explanation and application as well as fingerings for many basic triads. He dis- cusses the spelling and inverting of triads. Some of the examples are in music notation only, so you’ll have to deal with that if you don’t read. Approach: The triad discussion is essential for anyone playing rock, country, blues, jazz, or pop styles of guitar. This section is the foundation for many of the “chord licks” we all search for – those little fills like A to D back to A that appear in rhythm guitar sounds so much. The triads Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 15 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY also set you up for the chromatic jazz sounds of polychords, so there is something for almost everyone if you haven’t focused on triads yet. Section 16 – Fundamental Harmonies of Scales Page Length: Five pages. Content: This section discusses the chords found in scales, their use in progressions and how to improve the progressions. There are chord box examples and great discussion. This is another popular section of the book that most players can use. Approach: The focus here is theoretical. Ted is explaining where various chord sounds come from, how you can build them, and chords with extensions like 11ths, 13ths and such. Good for intermediate and above. Probably a stretch for beginners. Section 17 – Other Chords Built from Scales Page Length: One and a half pages. Content: Another powerful section for intermediate players. Ted discusses chords with diatonic extensions (chord + other notes from the scale resulting in 9th, 13th etc. chords). Then he de- livers one of the most important examples: the idea of streaming a series of chords in place of a single chord, and thinking about the chords as a group. For example – given a G13 (or other G dominant chord), replace it with a series of chords creat- ed by moving the chord up its scale – in this case G Mixolydian. There’s the germ of another major idea: Treat the G13 chord as its own tonal center, G Mix- olydian (despite the chord being the V chord of C major) and move the voices of one voicing up to the next note in the scale. This is often used in jazz, and the idea of treating the Mixolydian mode as a tonal center (or a scale, like the major scale) is very powerful. Approach: Play the examples and love the sounds. Digest the harmony over time if it is too difficult. Section 18 – Blues Progressions Page Length: Twelve pages. Content: I nominate this section as the most inspiring section in the book. Ted takes the basic blues progression structure and shows how to transform it using the ideas of chord substitution, Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 16 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY synonyms, cycle of 5ths, etc. The examples are in chord box form, the ideas are illustrated with great sounds, it’s fun, and you’ll apply some of his great chord sounds to a familiar song format. It doesn’t get better than this. If the harmony is troublesome, just play the examples. Approach: This section is a masterclass on chords, chord substitution, and the blues. A must for everyone. This might be a good place to start (after sections 1 through 3) to just have fun and see what the results of this book can be. There is a ton of value in every example. Website: Look for the “Blues Examples” found on TedGreene.com for more examples of comp- ing and walking bass using the ideas here.Section 19 – Miscellaneous Concepts Content: The first thing discussed is the idea of moving the 3rd and seventh of any chord (in fact just those two notes – E and Bb in C7) a half step to suggest the sound of a new chord that is a 4th away. E moves to Eb and Bb moves to A. The Eb now becomes the seventh of F while the A is the third of F. An important concept with many applications. The harmony may be diffi- cult for some, but playing the examples is still great. The second concept is the use of diminished triads in some interesting ways. Good for everyone to review. Approach: Two intriguing discussions here: • The half step movement of the 3 and b7 notes, and • The use of diminished triads. These discussions stand on their own, so you can investigate any time, and regardless of level if you’ve got some experience. Section 20 – Rock Type Progressions Page Length: Two pages. Content: A very popular section, as Ted takes rock progression examples and uses chord substi- tution to enhance them. Play the examples and have fun. Approach: Re-harmonization of rock progressions is a fun section with great examples. Every- one should check it out. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 17 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY So where do you start with Chord Chemistry? Of course where you start depends upon what you’re trying to learn. But let’s begin by identify- ing what you might need to know to start a particular section. Everyone needs to go through Sections 1 through 3 before the rest of the book. If you need help on harmony, Sections 4 and 5 should be next. If not, take a tour of Section 8, the dictionary part, and consider following Ted’s ear training advice in section 9. To learn new ways to use chords, head to • Section 6 - Polytonal Chords (“Polychords”) (Bi-tonal Chords), • Section 7 - Section 7 – Essential Chords, Synonyms, • Section 10 – Moving Chords a Fourth, • Section 11 - Chord Substitution and General Information, and • Section 12 - Dominant 7th Chords and the Cycle. Each of these sections discusses applying chords and harmony in music. These are the most appealing parts of the book as there are lots of new uses of chords, new ideas, and explanations for things you might have glimpsed elsewhere but not fully understood. There are a lot of answers in here potentially, depending upon your level. Mastery of these sec- tions is not mandatory at first. Get some cool stuff and run with it, then come back and get some more if that works best for you. • Sections 13 and 14 (Voice leading and Chord Melody) are advanced topics. Take a peek, but unless you understand these terms, you can postpone investigation of these topics until you know why you want to know them. • Section 15 on triads is good for everybody, but if you’re a beginner you’ll probably just experiment here. Intermediate or above players should probably be learning and applying triads. Put it on your to-do list. • Sections 16 and 17 are focused on chord extensions and harmonized scales. Typically these are interests of solo guitarists, or intermediate players looking for more chord licks and ideas. The sections are not essential unless you already know how you’ll use them. However, take a taste and proceed if it you like it and are a beginner. • Section 19 falls into this area too as the discussion of the diminished chord usage is theo- retical, but with the usual great examples. • Section 18 and 20 – Must reads for everyone. The examples and ideas you see in action here will be fun and exciting, and may very well drive you backwards in the book to find out more. You can actually start with these two sections. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 18 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Possible Trails through Chord Chemistry Trail 1 If you’re a beginner or beginner-intermediate level player try this order: 1. Sections 1-3 2. Sections 4-5 if your harmony knowledge could use a boost or some refreshing 3. Sections 18 and 20 – Play this material and see what you can achieve if you knew the other sections 4. Go back and grab section 15 on triads and section 9 on ear training, and just work slowly through those. 5. While doing that, begin exploring the ideas behind sections 18 and 20. That would be the following sections in this order: 6. Sections 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, and maybe 19 (diminished chords). 7. If you’re ready, and after some work on other areas, go ahead and tackle sections 13 and 14 on voice leading and chord melody. Trail 2 If you’re starved for the “why?” of chord usage and substitution, you could take this path: 1. Sections 1-3 2. Sections 4-5 if your harmony knowledge could use some refreshing 3. Sections 6,7,10,11 and 12 4. Sections 18 and 20 5. Other sections as they interest you. Trail 3 If you’re interested in chord melody playing, but have not mastered it, try this: 1. Sections 1-3 Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 19 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY 2. Sections 4-5 if your harmony knowledge could use some refreshing 3. Section 18 4. Sections 11, 12, 16, and 17 Trail 4 If you’re bored with your chord playing, or feeling stale in your music, try this: 1. Sections 1-3 so you know what Ted is saying 2. Section 8 – the Chord Reference Section. Wander through it sampling as you wish. In any given chord family, try playing a voicing from the root A, followed by one from the root E to give yourself a mini-progression. Just have fun and experiment. Anything you find is yours to keep. 3. Section 18 on Blues Progressions Trail 5 Trying to get the hang of basic jazz sounds for the first time? Try this: 1. Sections 1-3 2. Section 19 on diminished chords 3. Section 18 on Blues Progressions 4. Sections 6,7,10,11, and 12 in a casual manner. Visit each, see what catches your interest and work on it. OR . . 5. Section 8, find the cool strummable chord sounds in the Major 7, 6/9,11 and 13 sections and repeat for Minor chords and Dominant chords. The majority of chords will be on four adjacent strings, or will be four note chords with a muted unplayed string between the bass note and the rest of the chord. Please see the section of this guide entitled “Architecture of the Book” on page 6 in this guide. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 20 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY “Greensleeves” Arranged by Ted Greene Chord Melody Arrangement from Page 79 It is hard to write about Ted without including something of his music. On the following page is a “chord-box” version of Ted’s arrangement of the English folksong Greensleeves (16th Century). In Chord Chemistry, Ted wrote this arrangement in music notation, but not using his usual box diagrams. I’ve diagrammed his arrangement in the style he later used where he included beat markings (slashes) and bar lines to separate the chords. You still need to know the song to play this arrangement, but he’s made it work with mostly quarter and half notes, so the beat markings under the boxes can really help. In this section of his book Ted took a very plain arrangement and illustrated how to provide additional chordal harmony using multiple examples. This is the last example - the most enhanced version. It illustrates chord enrichment (adding diatonic colors to chords), chord substitution, and back-cycling. The explanation in the book discusses what he’s thinking. This chord-box version is provided so that those who do not yet read music notation can still enjoy playing the arrangement. If you like the arrangement, Ted’s book can show you how he got here and how you can do it. About the Arrangement The boxes show chords by using black dots on the frets where you should place your fingers. Black dots above the box indicate an open string to be played with the chord. All black dots are sounded together. In several places you’ll see an ‘X’on the diagram. This represents a note to be played after the black dot notes. In this arrangement, the “X” note is played on the next beat. That is not a standard however. Ted’s other arrangements may have the melody shown with the “X” but played in a different rhythm. The arrangement can be played fingerstyle or strummed. I recommend fingerstyle if you’re new to solo guitar playing as there are chords with muted strings in the middle of the fingering. The arrangement is in 4/4 and can be worked up to be played at a metronome setting of quarter note equals 110 or so. “Greensleeves” (or “What Child is this?”) is often performed in 3/4 or 6/8, but you can establish an appropriate feel as you learn it. Ted suggests you give it a jazz-swing feel. I have selected fingerings that are lower on the neck to enable nylon string and acoustic players a chance to play this more in tune. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 21 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Emin7 Emin7/11 5 A13 5 A7♯5 7 A9♯5 5 F♯min7 4 F♯7 7 Bmin7 F♯7 B7 Emin7 Emin6/B C B7 G7/6sus C♯min7/11 F♯7♯5 Bmin 4 Emin7 Emin7/11 5 A13 5 A7♯5 7 A9♯5 5 F♯min7 4 F♯7 Bmin7 F♯7 B7 Emin7 F♯min C7 B B7 4 Emin/G Amin6 5 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / 2 2 2 32 2 3 Greensleeves 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Playing Order: X Continued on Next Page Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 22 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY End Emin G 8 Cadd9 8 Gmaj7 10 A7 7 Gmaj7 5 F♯min7 4 F♯7 Bmin7 F♯7 B7 Emin7 Emin6 C B7 G7/6sus C♯min7/11 F♯7♯5 Bmin 4 G 8 Cadd9 8 Gmaj7 10 A7 7 Gmaj7 5 F♯min7 4 F♯7 Bmin7 F♯7 B7 Emin7 F♯min 5 C7 B B7 4 Emin Amin6 Emin / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // // / // / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / 3 2 4 2 2 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Emin7 Emin7/11 5 A13 5 A7♯5 7 A9♯5 5 F♯min7 4 F♯7 7 Bmin7 F♯7 B7 Emin7 Emin6/B C B7 G7/6sus C♯min7/11 F♯7♯5 Bmin 4 Emin7 Emin7/11 5 A13 5 A7♯5 7 A9♯5 5 F♯min7 4 F♯7 Bmin7 F♯7 B7 Emin7 F♯min C7 B B7 4 Emin/G Amin6 5 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / // / / / / / / / / 2 2 2 32 2 3 Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 23 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY About Modern Chord Progressions Ted’s second book on chords was entitled Modern Chord Progressions. While Ted’s musicality and humour shine through this second book, it couldn’t be more different from Chord Chemistry. I had met Ted by the time he started this book, and organization was becoming extremely important to him in his material. It shows here. In many ways I think Modern Chord Progressions can have greater impact on players because its presentation is much more orderly. The book contains the usual “getting started” sections and then dives into chord progressions by example. Hundreds and hundreds of tasty short chord progressions are given in a variety of keys, locations, and stringsets. The progressions are illustrated with Ted’s notation on chord grids: play the dots, then the “Xs,” then the squares, with optional chord tones shown as open circles. He explains the notation in the front of the book. (Somewhere around this time or just after it he added the use of the triangle as well. I couldn’t find any in the book, but they might be there.) You get great sounding chords with wonderful connecting notes to show you how to move from chord to chord. His examples also show you some great ways to “break up” a chord, playing different voices together. This is introducing voice leading sounds and thinking, but he doesn’t harp on it. This book was titled “Volume 1” but no other volumes were created after this. I’m not aware of any notes in his papers that suggest where he was intending to take the series, but TedGreene.com has his pages so I encourage you to check out the site. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 24 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Reference Sections Major Scale Spellings C major scale C D E F G A B C G major G A B C D E F# G A major A B C# D E F# G# A E major E F# G# A B C# D# E MAJOR Minor Dominant 7th Triad 7th Triad 7th Triad (major) 7th C C E G B C E♭ G B♭ C E G B♭ F F A C E F A♭ C E♭ F A C E♭ G G B D F. G B♭ D F G B D F D D F♯ A C♯ D F A C D F♯ A C A A C♯ E G♯ A C E G A C♯ E G E E G♯ B D♯ E G B D E G♯ B D B B D♯ F♯ A♯ B D F♯ A B D♯ F♯ A B♭ B♭ D F A B♭ D♭ F A♭ B♭ D F A♭ E♭ E♭ G B♭ D E♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ E♭ G B♭ D♭ A♭ A♭ C E♭ G A♭ C♭ E♭ G♭ A♭ C E♭ G♭ D♭ D♭ F A♭ C D♭ F♭ A♭ C♭ D♭ F A♭ C♭ F♯ F♯ A♯ C♯ E♯ F♯ A C♯ E F♯ A♯ C♯ E G♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ F G♭ B♭♭ D♭ F♭ G♭ B♭ D♭ F♭ *From the reference section of my book Styles for the Studio Spelling Triads and Seventh Chords* Below are shown the basic triad spellings as well as the major, minor, and dominant seventh chord spellings. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 25 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Photo Album of Selected Guitars Ted’s Guitars The number and variety of Ted’s guitars was incredible. Over his lifetime he owned some of the most sought after vintage guitars ever made. I’ve selected just a few pictures to share and to show the diversity of his interests. I’ve included these just to share a little more of Ted. “Goldy” This is a very early Les Paul gold top. Note the trapeze bridge/tailpiece with the strings under the bar as intended from the factory. I’ve played this guitar and found it to be a “warm and cozy” feel when holding it, although it is very heavy. Sadly the guitar had experienced a neck break at the headstock, but the repair was extremely strong and the guitar intonation was not effected. Because of the bridge, the intonation was not ideal anyway. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 26 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY The Famous Gibson 355 This is the guitar on the cover of Chord Chemistry. It is shown here lying on the bed in his apartment. Items of Interest 1. This is a mid 60’s 355 as far as I know. It could be earlier, and have PAF pickups on it. 2. Ted owned the guitar multiple times starting in the late ‘60s (if not earlier), and owned it at his death. 3. As it sat in his apartment after he passed away the guitar was strung with strings in the range of 13-58, and was in tune at concert pitch. It has a few modifications . . . 1. There is an extra coil (from a hum- bucker) between the neck pickup and the fingerboard. 2. There is an additional humbucker pickup in the middle. 3. The strings come through the top and over the bridge from the back of the guitar(like a Telecaster). 4. The Varitone is active, but modi- fied to permit true by-pass and no resistors in line. 5. There are a few switches added (9 mini switches, 2 taller chrome switches and one more knob). The back of the guitar has a tortoiseshell cover over a hole about 4 inches across to access the mass of wires inside. The wire Ted used was mostly the cloth covered Fender pickup wire here. The switches added or subtracted capacitors, resistors and chokes to various coil combinations, among other things. The year before he died he said he couldn’t remember all the stuff he did to it, and was planning to dig in and pull it all out. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 27 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Early Gibson ES-330 Dot Inlay There are a number of pictures of Ted playing this guitar but I have no information on its age or features other then it is a dot inlay, with P-90 pickups, and it looks like it has “mickey-mouse” ears shape for the ‘horns’ by the cutaways. The pickguard is the multi-layer black model with a large portion of it running along the fingerboard. This type of pickguard is commonly associated with very early 335 family guitars. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 28 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Late Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster Ted rarely played stratocasters and didn’t own any at the time of his death. But, he sure loved 3 pickup guitars (remember his 355). This Switchmaster was probably built in the 1990’s though I do not have anymore information on it. You can almost see the 355 re-emerging here, but no modifications were made to this guitar by Ted. The ES-5 is in the family of the Gibson L-5 guitars, so the guitar has 20 frets, and a 25 1/2” scale length (the same scale length as Ted’s beloved Telecasters.) The switch has 5 positions (like a Strat), and there is a volume and tone control for each pickup, allowing a lot of blending capabilities. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 29 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY Guild Three Pickup Archtops I guess you can’t have to many three pickup archtops. These two vintage beauties have Guild’s version of the Gibson P-90 pickup, and the very unique “push button” switches. These switches are mechanical - pushing down on one button engages one pickup choice and raises all other “buttons.” They were beautiful guitars and these two had a wonderful electric sound. An archtop guitar with a three pickups - rare, but obviously a favorite of Ted’s. Push buttons . . . Has anyone seen my 1957 Dodge? Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 30 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY A Flock of Guilds Shown below are two archtops and one blond semi-hollow Guild. Later in Ted’s life he acquired many Guild guitars, owning some 30+ at the time of his death. Guild scale lengths vary on their vintage instruments, so some may have a 25 1/2” scale while others have a ‘24 3/4”’* scale. I’ve had the privilege of playing two of these. They were setup with heavy strings, and the thinline and blonde archtop were tuned at concert pitch when I played them. Ted can be seen playing Guild guitars in some of the seminar video’s found on TedGreene.com. *I feel the 24 3/4” scale is approximate. Builders in the 1950’s and 1960’s seem to have somewhat ‘fluid’ interpretations of this scale length. Guitars from Gibson and others may have any of these scales when described as having a 24 3/4 inch scale: 24 12/16 (3/4)”, 24 11/16”, and even 24 10/16 (5/8)”. I do not know the actual scale lengths on Ted’s particular instruments. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 31 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY A Family Portrait The only thing missing from this photo is Ted. The picture was taken in his apartment, and is an excellent example of his broad taste in guitars. Included here are several of his favorites not commonly seen. There are a total of 9 guitars in the photo if you count the edge of the sunburst guitar in the lower right. From left to right: • The very early gold top Les Paul (“Goldy”), • A brown-burst Fender Jazzmaster, • A Guild single cutaway semi-hollow body (with De Armond single coil pickups), • Two vintage black guard Telecasters • A red sunburst Jazzmaster (newer then the brown sunburst, but still very vintage) • The famouns Gibson 355, • His less well-known but equally loved Gibson ES-345, and • A phantom sunburst guitar, model unknown. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470 32 TRAIL GUIDE TO CHORD CHEMISTRY More from Six String Logic Styles for the Studio Leon White’s latest release is Styles for the Studio and was reissued in May, 2016 as the 40th Anniversary Edition. Originally issued only in print, Styles now includes over 100 new backing tracks and 12 concise videos available as immediate digital downloads along with the 88-page printed book that features updated material, new typeset and graphics. Information about the author is available at: http://leonrwhite.com Styles for the Studio is available at: http://stylesforthestudio.com New Chord Melody Arrangements Over the coming weeks and months, Six String Logic will be releasing new material for guitar, including chord melody arrangements with multiple videos and chord boxes, and a new approach to learning solo guitar chord melody. Beginner through advanced arrangements are included. To view our quick video preview, please visit: http://sixstringlogic.com. Downloaded by Luis Guadarrama, luis.guada.enrique@gmail.com #12649470
