The legacy of Ted Greene

[zenguitarguy]

Many of you know of the untimely passing of Ted Greene a few years ago, and most recently his partner Barbara Franklin. I was blessed to know and call both of them friends. Ted was perhaps the most important musician and teacher in my life. Aside from the Mozart level deep musicianship, Ted was also possibly one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever known, as was Barbara. They were both great teachers and incredibly supportive of my evolution as a musician and guitarist. Barbara's passing is an unfortunate milestone as she was dedicated to organizing and keeping alive Ted's archives and treasure trove of materials. I believe a few folks have access to and will be working with materials, I am just not sure how that will play out.

It is really important to me personally that Ted's work does not disappear. Many new guitarists stumble on his teachings or arrangements and are not sure what to do, and it is almost impossible to teach what he taught because one would have to know what he knew, and I think that is a rare musician. ted loved Scotty Anderson, and there are a few others like that, but far and few in between.

I would like to invite a discussion, amongst those who care, about ways we can continue his legacy of generosity and music. Please feel free to comment with ideas and suggestions. Also please know that this space is a space to look at positive and constructive possibility.

I have some ideas and will look forward to hearing from you guys your thoughts and suggestions.

Best

John

[Bryan T]

I didn't realize Barbara had died. She had posted a few things on facebook about her health, but I didn't realize it was life-threatening. RIP.

[billy budapest]

All I know about Ted Greene is that his playing is/was incomprehensibly brilliant and nearly unfathomable.

Anything that further illuminates his teachings is more than worth supporting.

[sfarnell]

I took lessons from Ted in 1968 and wish that I had some materials to contribute. What I learned and retained is in my head. It would be great if someone who studied with Ted and has access to what he left behind put a lesson book together with running commentary from some of his more accomplished students who could explain his teaching methods and decipher his materials.

What I liked best about Ted's method is hard to find in a teacher, at least in my experience. Ted would assess where the student was in his development as a guitar player and would tailor each lesson to further that development. Then, at the end of each lesson I was given sheet music to a song that incorporated the days lesson. A lot of teachers ask "what do you want to learn today." I never got that from Ted. He always seemed to have a plan.

I didn't know that he had died until a couple of years ago when I tried to track him down. I was going to be in the L.A. area and wanted to see if Ted was open to meeting with me for a lesson on something that I was having a hard time with. The news of his death was surprising and sad.

Someone must be in charge of the estate so anything that is done to preserve Ted's materials will need to go through the estate.

[diego]

I've always wished that all of TG's lesson sheets could be scanned and indexed and made available on CD. I wonder if that could happen somehow?

[Nurk2]

Please visit:

http://www.tedgreene.com/default.asp

There are reams and reams of free materials available there, and it appears that Leon White, a life-long friend to Ted and Barbara, and "The TedGreene.com Team" is still active.

[Cuthbert]

I have no ideas. I do think his materials are priceless and I hope to God somebody will curate it. Ted was an International, universal treasure. I will be following this post.

[Nurk2]

John -

I just updated a thread where I spoke with Barbara about one of Ted's guitars, which I am now most fortunate to be a custodian of.

http://forums.tedgreene.com/post?id=3294248

Thanks to your post, I also just found and purchased her memoir of his life. Knowledge of this man and his work should be REQUIRED prior to registering to post in this, or any other, guitar-related forum.

[WheelchairBandit]

I've been working out of Ted's books and listening to his "Solo Guitar" album for years. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but his work influenced me greatly - and still does. He was an absolutley superb guitarist and an even better teacher.

Brian.

[WheelchairBandit]

Originally Posted by Nurk2

John -

I just updated a thread where I spoke with Barbara about one of Ted's guitars, which I am now most fortunate to be a custodian of.

http://forums.tedgreene.com/post?id=3294248

Thanks to your post, I also just found and purchased her memoir of his life. Knowledge of this man and his work should be REQUIRED prior to registering to post in this, or any other, guitar-related forum.

I just read that whole thread. I got a little teary eyed here and there.

I'm glad that one of Ted's guitars landed in your hands - it obviously has found a good home. BTW, you can see Ted playing one of those Guilds at a seminar that is on YouTube. I'll see if I can find it for you.

Best Wishes,
Brian.

[WheelchairBandit]

Here's the video. Ted gets out the Guild about a minute into it.



Brian.

[Redbell]

I discovered Ted her at The Gear Page and since then I have bought his solo guitar album, as well as the Chord Chemistry book. The videos posted on his site have been a wealth of information and entertainment to me (and I'm sure I don't understand half the stuff there.) He's become an inspiration to me to be a better musician.
Curious as to exactly what kind of help is needed?

[Nurk2]

Brian - what a great video! The website is full of gems like that. Unfortunately, though, that's not my guitar. This is what it looks like:

http://www.ggjaguar.com/x-50.htm

[WheelchairBandit]

Wow, I've never seen one of those before! Looks like a cool little guitar. Ted certainly had an eclectic taste in guitars. I'd sure love to have one of his highly modified Gibsons or Telecasters. Seems like he was sort of like Danny Gatton - always trying to build a better mouse trap.

Brian.

[zenguitarguy]

Wow great responses!

I had many talks with Barbara about Ted's legacy and teachings. I actually spent a year learning and recording a bunch of his arrangements, and when I was done I showed then to Barbara and asked if she thought they were good enough. I then made a website and dedicated it to Ted and donated most of the proceeds to The africa vulnerable children's program and Barbara, although lately she was donating her portion to the kids in africa. It is and was a place I had hoped would spark discussion and also inspire others to do the same. I think 30,000 people have visited the site to date. I plan to continue to talk about Ted and his work forever. When I teach at MI his name always comes up and I do my best to introduce new players to his work.

Tons of materials here: http://tedgreene.com/

Tribute page; http://www.zenbluesmusic.com/tedgreenetribute.html

Ideally I would like to keep awareness growing about Ted's site and materials but more importantly, and this is something Barbara worked so tirelessly to do, is to keep the ideas and arrangements alive.

Let's keep this discussion going!