Ted Greene Teaches “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” 12/05/96 – Part 2

Ted goes through his guitar arrangement of the Gershwin tune he played on his “Solo Guitar” LP. Part 2 takes us from the middle of the song to the end with that very cool tag and his ‘signature stamp’ #11 chord. Video Credits: Nick Stasinos 12/05/96.

Ted’s “Solo Guitar” LP was released in 1977 at the same time I started taking lessons from him. I picked up the LP at Valley Arts Guitar that same year and this song was the very first track on the album. I knew this was a ‘mountain’ for me to climb in the future! In 1996, with lessons at $23 an hour, I could finally afford a decent camcorder. Camcorders were very pricey back then. This was my very first video lesson with Ted where it was my intention to start transcribing songs from Ted’s “Solo Guitar” album. Sorry about the guitar headstock showing up in frame from time to time. Fortunately for us, it doesn’t block the fretboard nor cause Ted’s hands to go out of focus.

This is an excellent overview of how Ted played the entire song from start to finish. He did it all without referring once to the audio . . . 19 years later. What remarkable recall! Not only does Ted explain ‘why’ he chose to play what he played, but also as a bonus, he gives us some nice alternatives along the way. Important Note: Ted is tuned down a half step from concert pitch.

Ted lays it out: Arpeggios or “Bach-ian textures”? In the real world, you can skip a string while playing harp-harmonics. They don’t all have to be adjacent! Ted sets us up for the bridge in iii. The chords move on each beat, walking chords, much like walking bass, and Ted inserts contrary motion within these chord movements. How the half-diminished chord sets us up for a new key center and a brief visit to the early 60’s for songs with similar progressions. Returning to the head of the song, he now uses ascending harmony, rather than descending, almost all being a chromatic bass movement per chord. Some nice chord substitutions follow. Yes, there are more of those tricky left-hand fingerings with the barred pinky finger. The transition to the ‘swing’ section, modulating to the new key of F, Ted plays the swing section in real time. He adds his signature tag and #11 chord, complete with harp-harmonics.

If you take the effort grasp these concepts, you can use them in other songs you are working on. This song is not exactly as it is on Ted’s “Solo Guitar” LP, but very close to it. I worked out the “Solo Guitar” version later on with Ted, note for note, but now I actually prefer this version.

There are many of resources including chord grid diagrams and a transcription of this song that can all be found at https://tedgreene.com/

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