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Substitution

Are we not formed, as notes of music are,

For one another, though dissimilar?
- Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Often chords can be substituted for other chords in various harmonic functions. For
example, a major chord may be replaced with its relative minor chord (Amin7 for Cmaj7),
a chord with another chord of the same name (C6 for Cmaj, Amin7 for Amin), or a half
diminished or minor7b5 chord may stand in for a dominant seventh chord (Bmin7b5 for
G7).

A relation between two diatonic chords is established by the common chord tones
they share.

C major = CEG, A minor = ACE; two out of the three tones in the basic triads are identical.

C maj7 = CEGB, Amin7 = ACEG; they share three out of four chord tones.

So, the basic guideline for substitution is the degree of similarity of chord tones.

Although there are no particular voicings suggested in this chapter, it may be helpful
to check out the examples with your instrument at hand.

1. Some common substitutions

As discussed, in the Ionian chord family, the vi is the I’s relative minor; the ii the IV’s
relative minor, the iii the V’s relative minor - all these may replace their respective
relatives (e.g. Amin7 for C, Dmin7 for F, Emin7 for G7); however, more often iii is
substituted for I instead of V (Emin7 for C).

Any four-note chord derived from an Ionian major scale shares three notes with at least two other chords in this key.

Practical examples of simple substitution include I6 or I7for I (C6 or Cmaj7 for C), vii7
for types of I (vii7 = I6), and substituting the first half of a bar of a dominant seventh
chord with the supertonic, i.e. ii7 for V7 (Dmin7 for G7).

Arguably, replacing a straight major chord with a maj7, or a minor with a min7 or min9,
might be called an added extension rather than a substitution.

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 Passing note: Combinations of substitutions with altered chords are particularly
effective. When substituting ii7/ V7 for a whole bar of V7, or just instead of a regular G7
try adding #5, b9, or #9 to the V7 for a bit more harmonic tension.

As a general rule, where you can substitute chords, you can substitute scales or
arpeggios when improvising or creating melodies over those chords. So, among several
other options, over a Cmaj7 you could play an E minor scale; or over a G7 you could
play a scale that includes the G7’s #5, or b9.

Arpeggios are chord tones sounding in succession instead of simultaneously.

Passing note: The common question “which scale fits over this chord?” puts the cart
before the horse. Chords come from scales, not vice versa. Both chords and arpeggios
are basically ‘every other note of a scale’.

2. Tritone or ‘b5’ substitution

The guide tone principle (see Chord Types) is the explanation to the b5 or tritone
substitution. In the key of G, the dominant chord D7’s guide tones, the major third and
minor seventh, are F# and C, two tones a tritone (three wholetones) apart.

If the functions of these notes are switched so that C becomes the major third and F#
(=Gb) the minor seventh of a new chord, the chord obtained is an Ab7, a chord a tritone
apart from the original D7.

Therefore in the key of G, a D7 may be replaced by a Ab7; or, in general, a V7 may

be substituted by a dominant 7th chord built one semitone above a given major tonic.

Passing note: An Ab7 chord’s 1, 3, 5, and 7 are Ab C Eb Gb, which relate to the original
D7 as its #5, 7, b9, and 3; its two guide tones plus two common alterations creating more
tension between a dominant seventh chord and its tonic.

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3. Advanced substitution

When approaching this material, it will be helpful to have worked

through the chapters on basic harmony, chord types, and fretboard organization before.

3.1 ‘Extended’ substitutions

Often a chord can be substituted by a chord built on some of the original chord’s
added extensions.

For example, for a min7b5 (1b3b5b7) you can substitute a minor/maj7 chord (1b357)
built on its minor third degree (b3):

Bmin7b5 = BDFA; Dmin/maj7 = DFAC# (adds 9 to the original chord)

Or you may substitute a maj7b5 on its b5:

Bmin7b5 = BDFA; Fmaj7b5 = FABE (adds 11)

Or a maj7#5 on its b5:

Bmin7b5 = BDFA; Fmaj7#5 = FAC#E (adds 9 and 11).

Passing note: There are a lot more possibilities, so keep investigating. Keep in mind that
you can substitute a viib5 for a V7, e.g. a Bmin7b5 for a G7, to begin with; so all the
th
above and the following examples can work as substitutions for a dominant 7 chord. -
At the end, these rivers begin to flow into one sea: You could substitute a dominant 7th
chord on the viib5’s 2: Bmin7b5 = BDFA; C#7 = C#FG#B (equal in result to b5 “sub”,
th
Db7 for G7). Substitute a minor 7 chord on its b3: Bmin7b5 = BDFA; Dmin7 = DFAC
(adds b9), also similar to replacing a G7 with a Dmin7.

4. The Diminished Connection

In the Ionian system, all discrete chords (I,ii,iii,IV, V7, vi, vii) can occur as extensions
of any other discrete chord. To wit, a Cmaj13 chord consists of all notes of its parent
scale. Therefore, theoretically any chord native to a given scale can be substituted for
any other chord in its key.

One way to realize this is to apply the “diminished connection” (see Fretboard
Organization). Take for instance an Abdim7 (AbBDF), which is essentially the same as
a G7b9 (no root). This chord is also related to Bb7 (b7/b9/3/5), Db7 (5/b7/b9/3), and E7
(3/5/b7/b9); and lowering any one of its notes by a semitone will, again, produce the
respective four-note dominant seventh chord.

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 Consequently, not only can an Abdim7 chord be substituted for any of the dominant
chords above, but any of these four dominant chords can replace any other more or less
successfully, depending on which voicings are used.

Note once again how these diminished connections and substitutions travel the
chromatic universe – and your fretboard – in steps of minor thirds (Ab0 - B0 - D0 - F0; G7
- Bb7 - Db7 - E7).

Tritone and diminished substitution are essentially the same thing, and the 3x4
multiplication holds true as an organizing principle of not only the chromatic universe, but
the guitar as well.

Passing note: The principle above can be extended to chords other than dominant
sevenths; in fact, it is a truism inherent to the twelve-tone chromatic scale, and can be
applied in various astounding ways. Keep looking, and listening deeper.

THIS which is seeking is THAT which is sought, and

THAT which is sought is THIS which is seeking.
- Wei Wu Wei

© 2002 by Nick Naffin.

On the web: www.nicknaffin.com
Please send questions, suggestions and comments to chops@takenotepromotion.com

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