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Substitute and embellishing chords

ALBERTO BETANCOURT
(albetan)

Sometimes we may use substitute chords in order to re-harmonize a piece.

There is only a rule for substitute chords: Good taste and no abuse.
We must respect the original harmonic context of a song.

For instance: Coltrane composed IMPRESSIONS with IIm7 along all the piece,
improvisinig in dorian mode. If you think that it is very poor and enrich your
perfomance filling all bars with substitutes... you are killing Coltrane’s work.
Remember the only rule: Good taste and no abuse.

There are two tips for substitute chords:

1) Substitution by chord in same quality.
2) Substitution by chord with same top notes.

With one of these two tips, or combination of both, we may do substitutions.

1) Substitution by chord in same quality:

A chord may be substituted by other with same quality.
So bass note is not changed.
EXAMPLES:

2) Substitution by a chord with same top notes.

A chord has two parts: bottom part with bass and top part with chord notes.
A chord may be substituted by other with same top notes and a different bass.
Here top notes are not changed.
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EXAMPLES:

Tritone substitute: I7 _ bV7

A seventh chord may be substituted by a seventh chord done over flat

fifth:
In example we see in top notes F B, a tritone, it is two notes with an interval of
3 tones,
Adding bass G = G7 chord
Adding bass Db = Db7 chord
For that reason we call them tritone substitutes, because they have a same
tritone.
G7 and Db7 have same top notes, they are substitutes.

Here we used only notes 3 and 7 as elements of tritone, but we may play
complete chords.

G7 and G7b5b9 are substitutes of same quality.

Db7 has same top notes as G7b5b9, then is substitute of G7.
Db7 and G7 are substitutes.
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EXERCISE: Look for all seventh chord tritone substitutes.

C7 _ Gb7; F7 _ B7; Bb7 _ E7; Eb7 _ A7 ; Ab7 _ D7 ; Db7 _ G7

Im6 VIm7-5 IV9 are substitutes:

Diminished chords with same top notes are substitutes:

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I IIIm7 are substitutes:

I VIm7 are substitutes:

V7 IVdim are substitutes:

V7 IIm7 are substitutes:

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Other substitutes:

A substitute may be before or after or in place of original chord.

EXAMPLE: In Mr LUCKY by Mancini:

Gb7 substitutes C13
E9 substitutes Bb13:

Embellishing or ornamental chords

A chord half tone upwards or whole tone or semitone downwards is an

embellishing or ornamental chord.

Ab7, F7 and F#7 are embellishig chords of G7.

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An embellishing chord may go before or after original chord.

F7 G7
G7 F7
Ab7 G7
G7 Ab7
F#7 G7
G7 F#7

We may go to embellishing and return to original chord:

G7 F7 G7
G7 Ab7 G7
G7 F#7 G7

EXAMPLE:
In bar 26 of TANGERINE by Peterson:
G13 is an embellishment chord of F#13
C9 is an embellishment chord of B13.
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EXAMPLE:
In bars 7 and 8 of SUNRISE SERENADE by Frankie Carle:
Db7 is embellishment chord of C7
Gb7 is embellishment chord of F7
B7 is embellishment chord of Bb7.

EXERCISE: Re-harmonize MACK THE KNIFE with substitute and embellishing

chords:

Eb7 is an embellishing chord preceding Dm7.

Good luck and enjoy substitute and embellishing chords.