Spice It Up Part Deux

Welcome back for part two of our discussion on "spicing" up ordinary chord progressions. Last time we talked about altering the existing chords in a progression. Today is all about chord substitution.

Two ways to begin substituting chords are:
- diatonic substitution
- chromatic substitution

Diatonic substitution means you replace one chord with another chord from the same major scale.
For example in the key of G, the relative minor to G major is E minor. What does this mean?
The notes in G major: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G
are the same notes as in the E minor scale: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E

So if the song calls for a Gmaj7 chord, you could substitute that chord for an Emin7.
Or, instead of replacing the chord altogether, if 2 bars of Gmaj7 are written, you could play one bar of Gmaj7 and one bar of Emin7 to break up the monotony.

What if the song calls for 4 bars of Gmaj7? Now you have even more options. You could play: Gmaj7, Emin7, Gmaj7, Emin7.
You could also incorporate a 2-5-1 movement. 2-5-1 refers once again to the scale degrees. In the key of G, the 2 represents Amin, the 5 represents D7, and 1 is the root G. So four bars of your basic Gmaj7 could become Gmaj7, Amin7, D7, Gmaj7. This movement creates interest!!
There are so many other possibilities with substitution; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

What about chromatic substitution? The chromatic scale includes all 12 semitones of Western music. Chromatic substitution can mean raising or lowering a chord tone by a half step.
This progression can be heard in many "romantic" jazz standards. Play one measure of each chord:
Cmin - CminMaj7 - Cmin - Cmin6

Or this famous progression from my man George Harrison's "Something."
C - Cmaj7 - C7 - F

There's a familiarity to that sound of movement that is timeless. How about My Morning Jacket's "Sec Walkin'?"
G - Gmaj7 - G7 - G6

I must stress that this is just a starting point. I don't want to bombard you with examples but in our earlier 2-5-1 progession in the key of G, you could substitute the 5 chord chromatically from a D7 to a D7b9 for a progression of Gmaj7, Amin7, D7b9, Gmaj7. The D7b9 adds so much tension that the resolution to Gmaj7 is extra-pleasing to the ear. Have I lost you or does this make sense?

Over the next month I will be expanding the Jazzmaster Journal to include video lessons so the lessons will be more clear and helpful. Please email me or refer to an online chord finder if you have any questions! Rock out your jazz and jazz up your rock!!