Ted Greene - Chord Chemistry

ROD_OLSEN · #1 08-30-2010, 10:04 AM

Hy guys...
It´s great to share information with you...
I just got the Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry and the Modern Chord Progressions and I was wondering... because it´s a lot of information, you tend to be kinda lost in between your study... so i wanna make some questions here to share with everybody this:

1 - Which book is better to start first to study?
2 - How can I fix a kind of method to study this books?
3 - Is there a complementary book of any author that would help developing my study with this books? (takind considaration that the person have already full knolege of harmony and theory).

Ok... That's it for all...
My best regards!!!
PLAY A LOT GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#2 08-30-2010, 10:42 AM

Howdy. I would strongly suggest checking out his site, lovingly maintained by Barb Franklin. There are a zillion lessons on harmony, tunes, etc there that will be more helpful in distilling down this information in a 'lesson' format.

I would also keep in mind that Ted considered Chord Chemistry an encylopedia of sorts. It is useful for pulling out new voicings, but I don't think it was ever intended to be studied from beginning to end. I use it when I am working on a tune and I need or want a new voicing. I will generally use it to find voicings based on how tight the harmony is. In other words, I'll want a min9 voicing w/ all of the intervals voiced very closely. Ted will have dozens.

Modern Chord Progressions could be studied from top to bottom, however. You will literally get tons of I-vi-ii-V voicings. He wrote many of the changes based on the top note of the chord so you can focus on what is happening in the 'melody' as the chords change.

I would really spend a ton of time at this site in the 'Lessons' section. There is enough information there to last a lifetime and it is in very usable chunks. Some nice treats in the Video/Audio section as well!

www.tedgreene.com

ROD_OLSEN · #3 08-30-2010, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffstocksmusic

Howdy. I would strongly suggest checking out his site, lovingly maintained by Barb Franklin. There are a zillion lessons on harmony, tunes, etc there that will be more helpful in distilling down this information in a 'lesson' format.

I would also keep in mind that Ted considered Chord Chemistry an encylopedia of sorts. It is useful for pulling out new voicings, but I don't think it was ever intended to be studied from beginning to end. I use it when I am working on a tune and I need or want a new voicing. I will generally use it to find voicings based on how tight the harmony is. In other words, I'll want a min9 voicing w/ all of the intervals voiced very closely. Ted will have dozens.

Modern Chord Progressions could be studied from top to bottom, however. You will literally get tons of I-iv-ii-V voicings. He wrote many of the changes based on the top note of the chord so you can focus on what is happening in the 'melody' as the chords change.

I would really spend a ton of time at this site in the 'Lessons' section. There is enough information there to last a lifetime and it is in very usable chunks. Some nice treats in the Video/Audio section as well!

www.tedgreene.com

Thanx Jeff...
That´s what I imagined... It´s too much to study from top to bottom... But those are 2 really great books...
Thanks for the tips...

My goal with this study is to improove my chord vocabulary which is not all that good. I want also to get a little touch with improvising with chords and chord melody... also learn some quartal harmony patterns...
Does anyone has any tips for practicing that? Books? Videos?
If I find anything, I´ll post here for sharing with you.

Great day everybody!!!!!!!!!!

C.A.JO. · #4 08-30-2010, 01:43 PM

I truly believe that Ted was musical wizard, and an amazing human being.

But though his books contain lots of great insight and value, I don't think they're "pedagogic" (I don't know the right spelling of this word?) in any way. It's way too much info at once, and I wouldn't study them as a method.

They're absolute great as encylopedia, if you want new ideas, new inspiration, etc.

derek · #5 08-31-2010, 09:17 AM

I would echo what the fellas already said. I use CC as a reference book. There are times when we need to expand our chordal vocab, and this is an excellent resource for that.

guitarist · #6 08-31-2010, 09:26 PM

When i decided to get into jazz playing I went to the library and borrowed JodyFisher's Intermediate Jazz book with CD --very good start.

I can speak a hundred languages with my guitar. Larry Garnett

Silence · #7 09-01-2010, 08:35 PM

I have both books as well. What worked for me was taking a couple of progressions out of "Modern Chord Progressions" and internalizing them to the point where I could play them without thinking.

Just get inside a few of those progressions and try to make them yours. I think you would get a lot more out of several ideas rather than trying to tackle the whole book.

At least for me that has worked; handpicking ideas from various books and videos rather than trying to undertake the whole thing. It keeps things fresh.

Hope that helps.