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Excerpt from Chord Progressions For Songwriters 2002 by Richard J. Scott

Chord Substitution


Chord substitution refers to the art of changing and/or adding chords to a progression in
order to create harmony that is different and more interesting. The general chord
substitution rule holds that chords that share two or more notes in common can be readily
substituted for each other (Money Chords A Songwriters Sourcebook Of Popular Chord
Progressions). Substitutions that share two or more notes in common are referred to as a
common tone substitution. Any chord substitution must sound good and your ear is always
the final arbiter of acceptability. The box below shows several examples of frequently used
common tone substitutions.

Original Chord Substitute Chords Original Chord Substitute Chords
I VIm; IIIm C Am; Em
IV IIm; VIm F Dm; Am
V7 VIIo; IIIm; bII7 G7 Bo; Em; Db7

Bass Line Movement

One of the main goals of chord substitution is to create more interesting bass line movement
to compliment a songs melody. An understanding of logical bass line movement can help
you make better chord substitution choices. Below are examples of five types of bass line
movements that have been repeatedly used to create hits songs.

Chromatic

Chromatic bass lines ascend or descend in half steps. The first example is the opening A
section progression to Aint Misbehavin (Standard 1937) shown below that is an example of
an ascending chromatic bass line. The second example is the opening verse progression to
Walk Away Renee (Left Banke 1966) shown below that an example of a descending
chromatic bass line.

Ascending
Cmaj7 / C#o7 / Dm7 / D#o7 / C/E / E7#5 / F6 / Fm6 /

Descending
C / / / G/B / / / Bb / / / F/A / / /
Abo7 / / / C/G / / /

Cyclical

Cyclical bass lines follow circle of fifth movement descending by fifths (three and a half
whole steps) or by fourths (two and a half whole steps). The first example shown below is
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the bridge to I Got Rhythm (Standard 1937) that moves counterclockwise around the circle
in descending fifths. The second example is the chord progression to Hey Joe (Leaves 1966)
that moves clockwise around the circle in descending fourths.

Descending Fifths
E7 / / / / / / / A7 / / / / / / /
D7 / / / / / / / G7 / / / / / / /

Descending Fourths
Ab / Eb / Bb / F / C / / / / / / /

Diatonic

Diatonic bass lines ascend or descend in scale steps. The first example is the main verse
progression to Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan 1965) shown below that an example of an
ascending diatonic bass line. The second example is the opening verse progression to Mr.
Bojangles (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band 1971) shown below that is an example of a descending
diatonic bass line.

Ascending
C / Dm / Em / F / G / / / / / / /

Descending
C / / C/B / / Am / / C/G / /

Pedal Points

Pedal points sustain the same bass note through a series of chord changes. The main verse
progression to Billie Jean (Michael Jackson 1983) shown below is an example of a tonic
pedal point.

Am / Bm /A / C/A / Bm/A /

Tritone

Tritone bass lines move up three whole steps then resolve down a half step. Bars nine to
twelve of the A Section to Heres That Rainy Day (Standard - 1949) shown below includes two
examples of bass lines that move by three whole steps, then have a downward half step
resolution.

Fm7 / / / Fm7 / B9 Bb9 Ebmaj7 / A9 / Abmaj7 / / /

In the remainder of this section, you will look at a dozen must-know chord substitution
techniques for any songwriter, performer, or arranger.



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Backcycling

Backcycling is a technique used to create movement in a chord progression that has little
chord change by utilizing the circle of fifths shown below.

C
F G

Bb D

Eb A

Ab E

Db B
F#

Backcycling essentially works backwards from a place you want to get to. For example if you
want to get to a G7 chord (the target) as in the simple four bar folk progression shown
below, you work backwards from the G7 to the C chord by inserting as many
consecutive chords as you want from the circle of fifths creating the backcycled progression
below. Then, through the use of chord quality changes and embellishments, the standard
progression is created.

Original Progression
C / / / C / / / G7 / / / G7 (target) / / /

Backcycled Progression
C / / / A / / / D / / / G7 (target) / / /

Substitute Progression (Chord Quality Change & Embellishment)
Cmaj7 / / / Am7 / / / Dm7 / / / G7 (target) / / /

Next, we will backcycle the first five bars of the twelve-bar blues progression. The first
example below shows bars one through five of the twelve-bar blues progression. The second
example inserts backcycled chords leading to the targeted F chord. The last example
completes the substitution with chord quality changes and embellishments to create a cycle
of IIm-V chords.

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Original Progression
C / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / F (target) / / /

Backcycled Progression
C / / / B / E / A / D / G / C / F (target) / / /

Substitute Progression (Chord Quality Change & Embellishment)
C / / / Bm7b5 / E7 / Am7 / D7 / Gm7 / C7 / Fmaj7 / / /

Chord Quality Change

The quality of any chord (e.g., major, minor, or dominant) can be changed to another quality
as long as the root remains the same as shown in the box below.

Original Chord Quality Chord Quality Substitutions
Major Minor or Dominant
Minor Major or Dominant
Dominant Major or Minor

Chord quality changes were used to create the two examples shown below. The replacement
of a major chord by its minor quality, or vice versa, is referred to as a parallel major/minor
substitution. Two examples of this type of substitution are shown below. The first example
changes the quality of the F chord to Fm transforming the doo-wop progression into
the main verse progression to Sleep Walk (Santo & Johnny 1959). The second example
changes the quality of the G chord to Gm transforming the rock and roll progression
into the Louie Louie (Kingsmen 1963) progression.

(1) Original Progression
C / Am / F / G7 /

Substitute Progression (Parallel Minor/Major)
C / Am / Fm / G7 /

(2) Original Progression
C / F / G / F /

Substitute Progression (Parallel Minor/Major)
C / F / Gm / F /

Diminished Seventh

Replacing a dominant seventh chord with a diminished seventh chord whose root is a half
step higher is referred to as a diminished seventh substitution. For example, a C can be
substituted by a C#o7 chord. Keep in mind that there are only three different diminished
seventh chords (C#o7, Do7, and D#o7) with each having four possible names and roots
(C#o7=Eo7=Go7=A#o7, Do7=Fo7=G#o7=Bo7, and D#o7=F#o7=Ao7=Co7).
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Another way to look at this type of substitution is that the VIIo substitutes for the V
chord. Two examples of this type of substitution are shown below.

Original Progression
Dm / / / G7 / / / C / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (Half step Substitution #1)
Dm / / / G#o7 / / / C / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (VIIo for V Substitution #2)
Dm / / / Bo7 / / / C / / / / / / /

Dominant Seventh

A dominant seventh chord can be replaced by another dominant seventh chord whose root
is a note contained in a diminished seventh chord based on the root of the original dominant
seventh chord. For example, the C7 (C-E-G-Bb) shares two notes in common with the
Eb7 (Eb-G-Bb-Db), Gb7 (Gb-Bb-Db-E), and A7 (A-C#-E-G) chords. Notice that
the root of each of these chords is contained in the Co7 (C-Eb-Gb-A) chord. Three
examples of this type of substitution are shown below.

Original Progression
C7 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (Dominant Seventh #1)
C7 / / / / / / / Eb7 / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (Dominant Seventh/Tritone #2)
C7 / / / / / / / Gb7 / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (Dominant Seventh #3)
C7 / / / / / / / A7 / / / / / / /

Embellishment

Adding extended (7, 9,11 or 13), altered (b5, #5, b9, #9, or #11), and/or other tones to a
chord is referred to as embellishment. Below is a table showing commonly used
embellishments by chord qualities that are used to add color and interest to chord
progressions. Keep in mind that the m7b5 chord can replace diminished chords.

Major (I) Chords
6, 6/9, add9, maj7, maj7b5, maj9, maj9#11, maj11, and maj13

Minor (IIm) Chords
m6, m6/9, m7, m7b5, m7#5, m7b9, m9, m9(M7), m11, and m(M7)

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Dominant Seventh (V) Chords
7b5, 7(b5/b9), 7#5, 7(#5/b9), 7b9, 7(b9/#11), 7#9, 7(#9/#11), 9, 9b5, 9#5, 9#11, 11, 13,
13(b5/b9), 13b9, 7sus4, and 7+

The example below shows an example of how the standard progression can be dressed up
by using embellishments.

Original Progression
C / / / Am / / / Dm / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression
Cmaj7 / / / Am7 / / / Dm9 / / / G13 / / /

Half-Step

Inserting a chord a half step above or below another chord is referred to as a half-step
substitution. A diminished seventh chord is frequently used as a passing chord between two
other chords creating chromatic ascending or descending bass line progressions such as the
first example below. The second and third examples create interesting walking bass lines by
approaching each chord of the progression from a half step above. The last example
approaches each chord from a half step below.

(1) Original Progression
C / / / / / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Ascending Chromatic Bass Line)
C / / / C#o7 / / / Dm7 / / / D#o7 / / /

(2) Original Progression
Cmaj7 / / / Am7 / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Half Step From Above)
Cmaj7 / / Bbm7 Am7 / / Ebm7 Dm7 / / Ab7 G7 / / Db7

(3) Original Progression
C7 / / / A7 / / / D7 / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Half Step from Above)
C7 / / Bb7 A7 / / Eb7 D7 / / Ab7 G7 / / Db7

(4) Original Progression
Cmaj7 / / / A7 / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Half Step from Below)
Cmaj7 / / Ab7 A7 / / Db7 Dm7 / / Gb7 G7 / / B7

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IIm-V

Replacing a dominant seventh chord by the IIm-V progression is referred to as a IIm-V
substitution. In jazz, there seems to be an unwritten rule that says that all dominant seventh
chords must be replaced in this manner. The first example below shows a folk progression
transformed into a jazz progression using this type of substitution.

Original Progression
C / / / / / / / G7 / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (IIm-V for V)
C / / / / / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

The IIm-V progression can also be inserted a half step above or below another IIm-V
progression as shown in the examples below creating a chromatic IIm-V embellishment.
This can also be looked at as a half step substitution with the additional IIm-V
substitutions.

Original Progression
Dm7 / / / / / / / G7 / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (Half Step from Above #1)
Ebm7 / / / Ab7 / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Half Step from Below #2)
Dbm7 / / / Gb7 / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

Similarly, replacing a dominant seventh chord by a bVII-V progression in this manner is
common in country music.

Inversions

The term inversion refers to the lowest sounding note (bass note) in a chord whether it is
the root or not. If the root is the lowest note, the chord is said to be in the root position.
When the third is the lowest note, the chord is said to be in the first inversion. Likewise, if
the lowest note is the fifth or seventh note, the chord is said to be in the second or third
inversion, respectively. Inversions are particularly useful in creating ascending, descending,
and pedal point bass line movement as shown in the three examples below.

(1) Original Progression
C / / / C / / / F / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Ascending Bass Line)
C / / / C/E / / / F / / / G7 / / /

(2) Original Progression
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C / / / G / / / F / / / G / / /

Substitute Progression (Descending Bass Line)
C / / / G/B / / / F/A / / / G / / /

(3) Original Progression
Am7 / / / D / / / F / / / Am7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Pedal Point)
Am7 / / / D/A / / / F/A / / / Am7 / / /

Mediant

Replacing the IIIm for the I chord, or vice versa, is referred to as a mediant
substitution. For example, the C (C-E-G) can be replaced with the Em (E-G-D) chord.
Conversely, the Em can be substituted for the C chord. The example below shows how
a rock and roll progression can be transformed into a rock ballad progression by applying
this type of substitution.

Original Progression
C / / / / / / / F / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Mediant)
C / / / Em / / / F / / / G7 / / /

Relative Major/Minor

Replacing a major chord by its relative minor, or vice versa, is referred to as a relative
major/minor (or submediant) substitution. For example, the C (C-E-G) can be replaced
the Am (A-C-E) chord. Conversely, the Am (VIm) can be substituted for the C
(I) chord. The example below shows how a doo-wop progression can be transformed into
a standard progression by applying this type of substitution.

Original Progression
C / / / Am / / / F / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Relative Minor/Major)
C / / / Am / / / Dm / / / G7 / / /








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Scalewise

Replacing two or more bars of the I chord with fill-in chords taken consecutively from the
harmonized scale is referred to as scalewise substitution. An example of this type of
substitution is shown below.

Original Progression
Cmaj7 / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (Scalewise)
Cmaj7 / / / Dm7 / / / Em7 / / / Dm7 / / /

Tritone

Replacing a dominant seventh (or a minor seventh) chord by a dominant seventh chord
whose root is a tritone away is referred to as a tritone (or flatted fifth) substitution. A tritone
is an interval of an augmented fourth or diminished (flatted) fifth (three whole steps). The
box below shows a listing of tritone substitutions.

Original Chord Tritone
A7 Eb7
Bb7 E7
B7 F7
C7 Gb7
Db7 G7
D7 Ab7
Eb7 A7
E7 Bb7
F7 B7
Gb7 C7
G7 Db7
Ab7 D7

Another way to look at this type of substitution is that the V can be substituted for the
bII7 chord. The first example below shows how a tritone substitution can be used to
create a chromatic descending bass line in the jazz progression. The jazz progression bass
line movement is changed from cyclical to chromatic. The second example shows how a
tritone substitution was used to turn a standard progression into the opening verse
progression to Our Day Will Come (Ruby & The Romantics 1963). Then, using an inversion
and another tritone substitution, the progression is further transformed into a chromatic
descending bass line progression.

(1) Original Progression
Dm7 / / / G7 / / / Cmaj7 / / / / / / /

Substitute Progression (Descending Bass Line)
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Dm7 / / / Db7 / / / Cmaj7 / / / / / / /

(2) Original Progression
C / / / Am7 / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Our Day Will Come)
C / / / Eb7 / / / Dm7 / / / G7 / / /

Substitute Progression (Descending Bass Line)
C/E / / / Eb7 / / / Dm7 / / / Db7 / / /



Excerpt from Chord Progressions For Songwriters 2002 by Richard J. Scott