Chord Substitution

how to change your chords for other chords and still have your melody supported

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your cool chord progression is just not long enough for a verse

or

you want to experiment with a songs chords, but don't know where to start.

here is a specimen chord progression

|| G / / / | C / D / ||

there are 3 substitute groups.

group#1

I III VI

a I chord may be exchanged for a III or a VI in the same key.

in G Major:- G is chord I , Bm is chord III, Em is chord VI.

So instead of G we could play a Bm or an Em

Instead of Em we could play a Bm or a G

Instead of Bm we could play a G or an Em.

group#2

II IV

a II chord may be exchanged for a IV chord in the same key

in G Major:- Am is chord II, C is chord IV.

So instead of Am we could play C.

Instead of C we could play Am.

group#3

V VII

a V chord may be exchanged for a VII chord in the same key

in G Major:- the V chord is D, the VII chord is F#m7b5

so instead of D we could play F#m7b5

instead of F#m7b5 we could play D

Here are the chords in G Major and their numerical values.

I II III IV V VI VII

G Am Bm C D Em F#m7b5

Now we analyze the progression in relation to the chord positions in the key.

|| G / / / | C / D / ||

becomes

|| I / / / | IV / V / ||

I III VI anyone of these chords can be exchanged for each other

II IV anyone of these chords can be exchanged for each other

V VII anyone of these chords can be exchanged for each other also

here are some possibilities, generated by repeating those two bars

adding substitutions to make valid 4 bar progressions

|| G / / / | Am / D / | Bm / / / | C / D / ||

|| Em / / / | C / F#m7b5 / | Bm / / / | Am / F#m7b5 / ||

|| Em / / / | Am / F#m7b5 / | Em / / / | C / D / ||

NEXT MONTHS NEWSLETTER

more chord substitution tricks with examples

remember the subgroupings are the basis of this concept

CHORD PROGRESSION OF THE MONTH

Hero by Chad Kroeger

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