The possible substitution solution to in minor (Example 18).

Example 18. Yesterdays, triton substitution used in bar 2.

*original chord progression

*substitution, Eb7 is the tritone substitution of A7.

ANALOGY

If chord tones are the letters, the chords are the words and the progressions are sentences. The whole chord
sheet (of a song) is the story.

PURPOSES OF REHARMONIZATION

Some people might argue: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. In modern jazz though reharmonization is more
the rule, than the exception. So why do we reharmonize?

(1) To personalize a tune

(2) To get a bigger or thicker sound (more possible voices and density)

(3) To create variation (different chords, allow different scales)

(4) To harmonize a nice back ground

(5) To harmonize a strong bass line

As numbers 1, 2, and 3 are mostly self-explanatory, lets start with the last one.

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 HARMONIZED BASS LINES

A standard harmonized bass line (also known from BiaB) that can be used when a dominant 7 th chord lasts
for one or two bars (Example 19).

Example 19. Harmonized bass lines over dominant 7 th chord.

*original

*harmonized bass line

Or from Hallelujah I Just Love Her So (Example 20).

Example 20. Harmonized bass lines over partial chord changes of Hallelujah I Just Love Her So.
*original

*harmonized bass line

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 I have used the slash chords the same way they work in BiaB, in other words the note behind the slash is the
bass note. (G7/B = is a G7 chord, with the B as it’s bass note).

Of course you could do the opposite of harmonizing a bass line by letting the bass note remain the same
(called pedal bass, as shown e.g. in the Chord Options window in BiaB), while moving the chords (Example 21).

Example 21. Harmonizing a bass line by utilizing pedal bass.

*original

*harmonized by utilizing pedal bass

Even greater tension will be created by applying “counter movement”: the bass line descends, while the
melody ascends or vice versa. We will get back to this in example 29.

HARMONIZATION OF BACKGROUND MELODIES

If the reharmonized chords are two subsequent II > V7 progressions, and if the melody allows, you could
perhaps use a chromatic descending background melody to establish a new reharmonization (Example 22).

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Example 22. Harmonized with chromatic descending background melody.
*original

*new harmonization by utilizing the chromatic descending background melody

This would bring us to the subject of musical “short hand“. Every progression has some built in little
counter-melody, which;

• Can identify the progression and

• Let you create instant skeleton arrangements.

I just mentioned that the “short hand” for | Em9 / A7#5 / | Dm9 / G7#5 / | could be F# > F and E > Eb, as
shown in example 22, which of course could be embellished in many ways.

For instance, some possibilities of utilizing reharmonization and its associated shorthand in the basic
progression are as followed (Example 23).

Example 23. Basic chord progression and its possible reharmonization with counter-melody.
*basic chord progression

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*adding color tones and its associated counter-melodies

*adding more color tones and its associated counter-melodies

The biggest prerequisite for chord substitution is common tones in the original chord(s) and the substituted
one(s). The fewer common tones the more tension, the more common tones the less tension. Take the start of the
tune Misty by Errol Garner in the key of Eb as an example (Example 24). if you use the substitution shown in the
example 24, the only common note in the D chord in bar one is the melody note of D, which you will hear creates a
lot of tension.

Example 24. Common tones in original chord progression and its substitution in Misty, bar 1.

*original

*substitution

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 In every tune you will find one or more turnarounds, such as bars 7 and 8 and 31 and 32 in Rhythm Changes
(Example 25). Depending on the melody there are may variations, which also indicate some possible
reharmonizations. Usually you will find one long melody note at the turnaround.

Example 25. Bars 7 and 8 and 31 and 32 in Rhythm Changes.

*basic turnaround

Possible reharmonization of basic turnaround with G as melody line. Em7 descends chromatically to Eb.
From Eb to Ab and to Db is following the cycle of fifths. Db descends chromatically to C, and Db7b5 is also the
tritone substitution of G7 (Example 26).

Example 26. Possible reharmonization of basic turnaround with G as melody note.

Possible reharmonization of basic turnaround with E as melody line. Bb descends chromatically to A. From
A to D to G and to G is following the cycle of fifths. If you wanted to, you could of course substitute; Dm9 > G13b9
with Abm7 (or Dm9) > Db7b5 (Example 27).

Example 27. Possible reharmonization of basic turnaround with E as melody note.

Possible reharmonization of basic turnaround with C as melody line. Em7#5 contains the same notes as
“Cadd9”. The E descends chromatically to Eb and then we move along the cycle of fifths to Db, from where we
move chromatically to the I chord (Example 28).

Example 28. Possible reharmonization of basic turnaround with C as melody note.

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 A practical example of how one could reharmonize the Rhythm Changes in C, by the way Rhythm Changes
are almost always played in Bb at Jam sessions, so please learn this and the other progressions, in keys that are used
by you and others you play with (Example 29).

Example 29. Reharmonization of Rhythm Changes in C

*a variation/reharmonization of example 4

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 Variation is one of the reasons for reharmonizations, it allows different chords and different chord scales.
This is, according to me, one of the main drawbacks in BiaB. Once you have filled in the spreadsheet with chords,
the only variation you will hear, are the ones built into the style you are using. While, when listening to your favorite
jazz records, you will hear that the chords changes may differ from chorus to chorus and from turnaround to
turnaround, this is of course possible in BiaB, if you unfold the tune and then manually change the chords from
chorus to chorus.

LEARN SCALE AND CHORD INTERDEPENDENCE

As mentioned using different chords allows the use of different scales. Therefore I suggest you read one of
the many good books on the relationship between chords and scales from one of the many books on the subject, like
e.g. Jamey Aebersold’s Scale Syllabus. Examples are the use of the Dorian scale over a IIm7 chord and the
Mixolodian scale over a V7 chord. But remember there are often more than one possibilities depending on the color
tones.

CHORDS ARE FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS

In closing I would like to mention that chords are for all instruments, also instruments that cannot play
chords!

So try to learn the progressions on a keyboard or guitar, even if it is just in the key of C.

Then try to learn those standard progressions in the keys that you normally use on your own instrument by
using the suggested shorthand melodies. Once you know these progression and their substitutions, you will be able to
learn (and remember) new tunes much faster and of course be able to improvise over them with more flair.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

Four reharmonized versions of There Will Never be Another You (first four bars only). The first two
examples come from a book by the late Dutch guitar player Wim Overgaauw, called European Jazz Guitar. The last
example is by yours truly (but others might have arrived at about the same reharmonization before) and will let you
hear a very chromatic bass line: Bb > A > Ab > G > Gb > F > E > Eb, which forms a nice counter-movement to the
melody (Example 30).

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Example 30. Possible reharmonization for the first four bars of There Will Never be Another You.

ONE LAST WORD OF ADVICE

Remember that changes have their own “rhythm”. So changing chords e.g. every beat (lots of tension),
followed by staying on one chord for two bars or more (hardly any tension), is usually not a good idea, unless it fits
in with the melody, mood or arrangement. On the matter of density: you do not have to use all the notes in a chord,
leaving out a few can often improve it’s sound.

Here and there I might have used words like “basic rules”, “always move up or down a half step”,
“prohibit” etc. Remember that if something sounds OK to you, chances are that it that others will like it too. So nice
changes come first and the so-called rules are only there to explain why!

Now you should be ready to try some stuff on your own!

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 RECOMMENDED PUBLICATIONS
On the subject of reharmonization there are so many books that below you will just find a very small
selection. I have listed relative inexpensive books, ready available in most music stores and on the Internet. Many of
play-along books by Jamey Aebersold Jazz Inc. contain nice reharmonizations (They include CDs so you can
actually hear the accompaniment resulting from the reharmonization). Many of today’s fake and real books also have
nice examples of reharmonizations. Some even give two or more alternative changes. It is not always necessary to
compare the reharmonizations with the original chords. As soon as you hear something nice or interesting, just try to
analyze how the changes have been put together and why they work in the actual situation. I am sure you soon will
be able to (re)use it in other tunes/situations in the future. Mr. Aebersold and Mr. Liebman’s collaboration The
Scales Syllabus demonstrates the basic theory of chord scales, Mr. Ricker and Mr. Weiskopf’s Coltrane, A Player
Guide To His Harmony demonstrates the harmony structure of John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and Countdown and its
extended uses, Mr. Aebersold’s Nothin’ But The Blues contains information of blues riffs and blues play-a-longs,
and Mr. Jaff’s Jazz Harmony demonstrates harmony and voicings with examples from known tunes.

Aebersold, Jamey. Nothin’ But The Blues. New Albany: Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 1981.

Aebersold, Jamey, and David Liebman. The Scales Syllabus. New Albany: Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 1996.

Jaff, Andy. Jazz Harmony. Tübingen: Advance Music, 1996.

Ricker, Ramon, and Walt Weiskopf. Coltrane, A Player Guide To His Harmony. New Albany: Jamey Aebersold
Jazz, 1991.

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 ABOUT AUTHOR

Tonnie Guitar is my user name in the FSG. My real name is Tonnie van der Heide, born in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands and now living in Bergen, Norway. In the FSG I have contributed some reharmonizations of other
members’ postings and have posted some arrangements of my own as well.

My main instrument is the 7-string guitar and I do sing, mainly through my Digitech Vocalist Studio Ex, to
sound a little like a.o. The Four Freshmen.

I use BiaB for live jobs and for writing arrangements.

In order to let all the instruments from BiaB’s output sound as good as possible I use two MIDI-sound
modules, one for the bass and one for all other instruments. On MIDI-channel #5 I output chords from BiaB to my
Vocalist (The bass voice goes into a bass amp, the rest a PA).

To accomplish this I use the MIDI-mapper in MS Windows 98, as this facility is not found in the newer
versions of Windows (XP & 2000).

For further technical details please visit http://home.no.net/tonnie

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have comments, advice or questions.

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