Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chord Substitutions Survival Guide PDF
Chord Substitutions Survival Guide PDF
We can reharmonize any chord progression in just about any style of music.
Chord substitutions can be described as what I like to call “new harmonies
with the same function.” However, this isn’t necessarily a black and white
thing as you’ll see throughout this lesson.
Being able to take liberties with the harmony of a given tune is an important
skill set for jazz guitarists to have in their arsenal.
1
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
It is easy to find chords with common notes in the context of a key signature.
Go ahead and examine the 7 chords in a given key. You will find that every
chord has an alternative. The way to find these is simple: each diatonic sub is
separated by a diatonic third. Let’s explore this.
(A is a third below C)
and
(E is a third above C)
2
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
In the context of a band, if you play Am7 while the bassist is playing C root, it
sounds like C major 6th. Pretty neat, right? Again, in a band context, if you
play Em7 while the bassist is playing C root, it sounds like C major 9th. How is
this happening, exactly? The following diagram shows us that an Em triad is
the same as Cmaj7 without the root.
When you add the b7 to that Em, you get a D which is the 9th of C.
Other chords in the key – or outside of the key, for that matter – may offer
interesting options for jazz guitar chord substitutions. They are yours to
discover. Analyze, research, explore to make sure it sounds good to you! It is
not as simple as merely knowing the musical math. You have to figure out
which voicings fit the best and which you might want to avoid in certain
situations.
3
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
While still exploring common tone substitutions, let’s get into a specific chord
type: [vintage horror film tone] the dreaded dominant 7b9 chord! The
spelling for this chord is fairly simple; 1 3 5 b7 and b9. It can be used as a
resolution in most V-I situations such as G7b9 to C.
The dominant will get the symmetrical characteristics of its related diminished
in heritage! That’s like the chord’s “genetic code”.
4
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Try it for yourself. Do you hear how each of these is a possibility over G7b9?
Or, more simply, play a diminished 7th chord from the 3rd, 5th, b7th or b9th of
any dom7(b9) chord.
Caution: nothing works all of the time! Make sure you keep the chord’s
functionality when it’s needed in the context.
5
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Jazz musicians play the II-V cadence most of the time when resolving to the I
chord. Therefore, the V-I can become II-V-I. This concept is known as
interpolation.
In this example, let’s try adding the V’s related IIm7 chord before it.
This principle works fine even if there’s no resolution to the I chord. Simply
add the appropriate II chord in front of the V. A good place to try this is in the
bridge for any “rhythm changes” tune. Each dominant chord is a target for its
6
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Previously, we had V-I becoming II-V-I. Next, we can add another II-V a
whole-step above this II-V to get III-VI-II-V. Further, we could even add one
more II-V upfront. This would mean our progression now begins at the #IV,
which is F# if we’re in the key of C.
7
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
This concept is called back cycling. The added II-Vs each contain the
dominant of the next II chord. In other words, A7 is the V of D, G7 is the V of
C, and so on. Beyond the II-V to the tonic chord, these back cycling
progressions should be treated as minor II-V progressions. In other words,
m7b5 to dom7b9. (see below)
8
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Naturally, other possibilities exist. Once again, the other chord substitutions
are yours to discover. Listen to pianists and guitarists on jazz recordings and
find your own favorite back cycling tricks.
This type of substitution is the classical Neapolitan Sixth for dummies. Uh, I
mean, for jazz musicians! Sorry (-;
9
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Two dominant chords that are a tritone apart (three whole-steps) share the
same 3rd and b7th, except they are inverted. (see below)
The interval created by the 3rd and the b7th is commonly known as a tritone.
That can be a little confusing!
Remember, dominant chords that are a tritone apart share the same tritone !
The presence of this tritone interval means that the bII chord has the same
function as the V chord. Why? The tritone interval, present in both V and bII,
tends to resolve the same way to the I chord. Try it!
10
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
11
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
[The last example is present in the tune “Lady Bird” by Tadd Dameron.]
This one might seem a bit obvious but I want to talk about it briefly. It’s like the
“cherry on top” for jazz chord substitutions.
12
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Any chord can be played using another color. It works particularly well on
chords than have already been substituted. For instance, if you use a tritone
sub of Db7 instead of G7, you can make that chord a major 7th, diminished,
major 6th, or whatever you want.
The main consideration with this is to be aware of the melody note when
applying it. In other words, watch for any clashes or strangely voice intervals.
Another really nifty technique is to simply use the bass note as the focal point
for your reharmonizations. It’s actually really neat how moving around one
note can yield a bunch of different sounds. This is usually up to the bass
13
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
player, but if you’re playing in a solo or duo setting, you can take advantage of
some of this stuff as well.
If you have an Em7 chord, adding a C in the bass would create a Cmaj9.
C E G B D
Let’s try the same idea against a C major triad by adding A to the bass. This
one gives us Am7.
A C E G
So far, these have all been pretty standard and mostly based on diatonic
substitutions. Let’s try something a bit more adventurous.
If you have a G major chord and you put an A in the bass – a whole step up
from the root – it gives you a cool sus type of sound. A G(7) B(9) D(4)
A G B D
I definitely suggest exploring this idea and seeing what kind of cool sounds
you can come up with. Always analyze your findings and take them through
different keys to make sure you’ve got it!
What’s Next?
Check out these other articles about jazz harmony, chords, and more!
14
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
15
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Final Words
16
JazzGuitarLessons.net - Improve Your Jazz Guitar Playing with a REAL Teacher
Have fun!
Speaking of which, here’s great book with countless examples from jazz
recordings to cover all that jazz theory: The Jazz Theory Book, by Mark
Levine. I highly recommend it.
17