What are chord substitutions?

[Dale Lee]

I have read this term (or "substitute changes" as in Bobby Seymour's latest newsletter) but I don't know what it means. I would appreciate an explanation in as elementary of terms as can explain it. Thanks.

[Bill Hatcher]

It means taking the simple chords to a song and making them more interesting by adding some that make the song more harmonically challenging.

Jazz musicians do this a lot to give the soloist some interesting chords to improvise over.

[Dale Lee]

Thanks, Bill. Are there rules or anything for what chords to substitute?

[Orville Johnson]

the simplest way to think about them is this: realize that every chord triad (the basic chord with no extensions like 9ths, 11ths, etc) has three notes. If there is another chord that has two of those three notes in it you can probably use that as a "substitution" for the first chord.

For instance, an F chord has the notes F,A. and C in it. A Dminor chord has F, A, and D in it. Since they share F and A, they can be interchanged. The sound will be different but the harmonic role they play will be the same. It gets much more complicated than this, of course, but this is the nugget of the idea.

[Dale Lee]

Thanks, Orville. Does everybody in the band have to substitute the same chord at the same time, or does it still sound good if only one instrument does it?

[Orville Johnson]

here's another ferinstance. If the bass player plays an F note while you play a Dminor you will hear a tonality that says Dminor7th but you could use that as the first bars of a blues in F and while you would be in the key of F it would give it a "jazzy" sound as opposed to a straight blues sound.

[Larry Lorows]

Hi Dale, Here is another example. While the band is playing a C chord, you can play C, CMaj7 or (Em7), C6 or(Am7),and back to a C. Do the same thing when they're playing the F chord. F, FMaj7, F6, to a F. When they play the G7, you will play what ever extension fits the song. The bass ties it all in and helps to name the chord. I hope this helps. Larry

[Brint Hannay]

Thanks, Orville. Does everybody in the band have to substitute the same chord at the same time, or does it still sound good if only one instrument does it?

Dale, the only answer to that is "It depends". Some substitutions will clash if others aren't doing it, many won't. Putting in time with trial-and-error and/or analysis is the only way to find out.

It's hard even to enumerate the possible substitutions unless you know the basic terminology of music theory.

[chas smith R.I.P.]

To add to what has already been said. The 2 most important notes in a chord (beyond triads) are the 3rd and 7th. These define what kind of chord it is, whether it is a major 7th, minor 7th or dominant 7th (diminished chords are "outside" of the diatonic scale).

So for instance, the 3rd and 7th of a C7 chord are E and Bb. If you leave out all of the other notes in the chord and you play E and Bb, the tritone, it will sound like a C7. The other dominant 7th chord that has the same tritone is F#7; F#, A#(Bb), C#, E. Because they share the same 3rd and 7th, they can substitute for each other.

This gives rise to the "rule" that dominants, a tritone apart, can substitute for each other.
C7-F#7, A7-Eb7, D7-Ab7, G7-Db7.... and so on.

[Jim Cohen]

...otherwise known as the 'flat-five substitution' (which I find easier to remember than 'tritone'. With 'tritone', I'm mentally counting up 3 steps from the root. With 'b5', my mind 'jumps to the 5' and then quickly flats it, so it's faster mentally for me. Of course, if I were really facile at this, I'd just jump straight to the b5 or tritone directly...)

[Mike Perlowin RIP]

A word of caution here about the tritone or flatted 5th substitution. Sometimes it sounds really cool, and sometimes it doesn't.

I remember getting into an argument with a guitar player who insisted on playing a Db7 instead of an G7 in a Beatle song (Here There and Everywhere from Revolver) where it was totally wrong. They guy told me the same thing Chas said and theoretically, he was right, but in the context of that particular song, it sounded like fecal matter.

It's great to experiment and find interesting things that work well and add to the harmonic colors of the song, but when something doesn't work, you need to recognize that too.

[Marc Friedland]

Dale,
I admit I don't know the content of Bobby Seymour's newsletter, which may explain it, but------
My initial thought was the opposite of the responses you've received so far. I was thinking of making it simpler. For example, if someones tells you the chords in a particular section of a song are chords you don't know, what chords can you substitute for them and still have it sound OK. I've seen this happen a lot when I've taught 6-string guitar to new students. They might get some sheet music that tells them to play a chord they don't know. I then have to decide if they're ready to learn that particular chord, or perhaps give them a substitute chord that will be easier for them to play right away. If this is what you mean, perhaps I'll have some ideas that may help, if not, I apologize for intruding on your thread.
-- Marc

[Tony Prior]

Generally substitutions are used by a primary player when he or she knows they will NOT conflict, but rather ADD...

A Guitar player or keyboard player in a TRIO has full reign of the substitutions, but in a band where there may be a another guy or gal plunking/strumming chords, they may conflict.

Here's a worst case scenario, a Guitar player who is trying to comp (fill) SUB chords underneath the song while a 3 chord strummer is blaring away...

[Leon Grizzard]

The most basic jazz chord subsitution is to substitute the first part of the V7 chord with ii7, ie in the key G, instead of:

|D7 / / / | G / / / |

play

|Am7 / D7 / | G / / / |

Most substitutions, like this one, work because of overlapping notes between the two chords.

[Mike Perlowin RIP]

Rule of thumb- play the substitutions high up the neck.

If you play an Em chord while another player plays a C chord in the same register, you get a clash, but of you play that same E m chord an octave higher, you get a pretty sounding major 7th.

[chas smith R.I.P.]

The most basic jazz chord subsitution is to substitute the first part of the V7 chord with ii7.....

What you are doing here is cycle V, leading the V with it's V. (I know that II-7 is not a V chord, but the II functions like a V of V in diatonic harmony) That's what turn arounds are. VI-II-V, like A-7, D-7, G7 or A7, D7, G7.

So, in your example, you're adding complexity by replacing 2 beats of D7 with the II, A-7, but according to how I understand substitutions, you are not substituting D7 with another chord, like Ab7.

Most substitutions, like this one, work because of overlapping notes between the two chords.

Yes, to add to that, they work because of the voice leading of the 3rd and 7th. With cycle V, the 3rd and 7th voice lead to the 7th and 3rd of the next chord in the cycle. If, instead of an A-7, it was an A7, the 3rd, C# would lead to the 7th of the D7, C, and the 7th, G, would lead to the 3rd of the D7, F#.

Because it's and A-7, the 3rd, C is already there, at the 7th of the D7. So, continuing, G leads to F# and the voice leading of D7 to G, the F# leads to G, the root and the 7th, C, leads to the 3rd of G, B.

[Dale Lee]

Thanks to all you guys. Some of it is a little over my head (which doesn't take much). I think I need to study chord theory a little bit, which I plan to do. It looks to me like this is important.

[chas smith R.I.P.]

"I think I need to study chord theory a little bit,"

Chord theory and scale theory, they go together. It will make a huge difference in your comfort level. The kind of stuff that you're probably playing has lots of chords and the more you know about why they are positioned where they are, the easier it will be to navigate through them.

[ebb]

dick hyman's "professional chord changes and substitutions for 100 tunes every musician should know" published by ekay music is very instructive

[Joey Ace]

Does everybody in the band have to substitute the same chord at the same time?

Definatly not.

You are depending on the notes they play to complete the altered chord you are playing.

[Howard Kalish]

You steel players will appreciate this Jimmy Day advice. Jimmy used to play a regular Monday nite gig with Don Walser at a place called Henry's. Typically, we played a set and then started having sit ins. We had a singer and a hot guitar player sitting in. The singer called I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, a tune on which Jimmy could bring a tear to a wild boar's eye.

The guitar player starts doing the substitutions - I, IMaj7, I6, etc. Jimmy looks over and says, "I know all those chords too, but they don't go in this song."

Words to live by, though it's sure hard to resist those substitutions sometimes.

[Tim Harr]

V7 - I
(ii - V7) - I
(iii - VI) (ii - V7) - I

[Papa Joe Pollick]

What Howard said is all too true.After workin with jazz players for a while,I have to really work to play the right chords that are called for. Been "let go" a few times just for that reason.
I make it a point to dig out my old Mother Maybelle,Roy Acuff,etc records every once in a while to get my head screwed back on straight. PJ

[Gary C. Dygert]

"I know all those chords too, but they don't go in this song." Great advice. The trick seems to be to learn from experience. I've heard "The Last Letter" done with a pile of chords jammed onto it, and I've heard it the way Rex Griffin did it--simply and beautifully.

[George Keoki Lake]

I have a pianist in my jazz trio who illustrated an example of "chord substitution" to me last Christmas by playing a 'different' chord to every note in "Silent Night" ... sure sounded great!