Chord Chemistry

by Ted Greene

Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry was originally published in 1971 and has become the classic chord reference book for two generations of guitarists. Whether you are just beginning to search beyond basic barre chords or are already an advanced player looking for new sounds and ideas this is the book that will get you there. Designed to inspire creativity this book is a musical treasure chest filled with exciting new ideas and sounds.

Genres: Music, Reference, Jazz

108 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1971

Reviews

[Ghola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, this book is a mother f**ker. It is THE book on chords for guitar. It is also EXTREMELY hard to follow and poorly laid out. If you are willing to spend some time cracking through the layout, then this book could revolutionize the way you play guitar. If not, it can be extremely frustraing.

Also, this is one of those books that people like to rave about...having never actually cracked the cover.

[Cain S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The topical arrangement of chord types in order of increasing theoretical complexity is excellent, and better than in any other book of its kind. There's enough here to teach anyone at any level a thing or two. An essential reference book.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The famous "chord catastrophe" book. There are TONS of interesting voices throughout this book, however it is not organized well. Players looking for some interesting new voices couldn't go wrong looking here - if they are willing to do the work. Greene's other book "Modern Chord Progressions" is perhaps a better book to learn how to use some of these voices in context.

[Frank Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's some gold in this, obviously the chords, but also the practice tips and general learning philosophy and I think those are important too.

But it's worth noting that this is a slog to read, mostly because it seems to apply its own conventions. You'll spend a fair amount of time flipping back to definitions.

Anyway, I think I'll be referencing the chord charts for many years to come so it's certainly a valuable resource.

[Matt Gile · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many chords! Like, so many so many. This is for the serious player serious about their craft looking to get into jazz or incorporate jazz into their playing. I am none of those things. If you are all of those things, boy do I have a book for you!

[James Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that you read and practice a little bit here and there, kind of like the way a connoisseur sips at scotch instead of doing shots. It is full of great ideas that can be adapted, adopted, twisted, and rendered into one's own style of playing.

[Sam Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart. More of harmony reference book for the guitarist...takes a lifetime to master, but every moment a joy.

[Michael Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book. I got it from Clark Urie and his friends. I showed it to the Jazz Band at the University of Utah in about 1986. The professor was a terrible miser named Weight, and he gave me an F. I was playing a black Gibson Les Paul with gold Humbuckers and piano with gold rings on all my fingers. He stole my Ritalin, turned all my music class grades to F, and he died shortly after. Greene's book suggests every chord you can think of and introduces flat 5, 13th to the root note and 9th notes,augmented, etc.

[Teemu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that provided harmonic knowledge formation for the generation of guitar players. I was patient enough to go throught the provided examples. One disadvantage is that the prints are not always sharp and it's a pity the examples are not interleaved with some description regarding the usage in the context. It requires patience but the payoff is large.

[Aaron Zwirn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique perspective

[Craig Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it !!! this is Ted Greene. You can never go wrong with Ted Greene. Work through it very methodically.

[Carter Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit intimidating, so I think it is best understood as a supplement to Ted's other work, namely the performances and lectures available on YouTube and his website. Ted's main interest was incorporating the harmonic ideas of Bach and Baroque music into the jazz styles of players like George Van Eps and Wes Montgomery, but he also threw in some Lenny Breau-esque harp harmonics into his live performances that made his playing mind blowing and truly angelic. As far as the structure of the book goes, speaking as a pianist-turned-guitarist, I personally enjoyed its focus on understanding chord progressions and interval relationships, which to me is more intuitive than trying to memorize modes and blindly shred my way through a song. I won't pretend like I understand everything in this book, but I do know enough to say it is a great resource with a bunch of content for serious musicians. If you are an intermediate guitarist/instrumentalist looking to really step up your harmonic understanding, you will definitely enjoy working through it.

[Erik Oldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must for learning jazz guitar comps and getting out of barre chords

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative but chaotic

[Eric Amble]

Extremely complex, layout and typography is not terribly modern.
However, some of this stuff? You will not get it anywhere else!