Diatonic Substitutions

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One common substitution technique, borrowed from classical music, is to replace a I chord with a iii chord. For instance, in the key of Bb, a Bbmaj7 may be replaced with Dm7:

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This substitution is demonstrated in the first two measures at top. When you see a major seventh chord, as in the first measure, you can replace it with the minor seventh chord a major third above the original root, as in the second measure.

This substitution works because the chords have so many notes in common:

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The two chords involved in this substitution come from the same major scale, which is why I call this a diatonic substitution. The fact that the scales for these two chords are similar or identical means that the substitution does not itself have much effect on scale choices for soloing. It can have more of an effect on an accompanist, who may choose a different voicing for the substitute chord than he would have for the original:

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Also, if the following chord is a vi chord, then the iii resolves to it upwards by fourth - a dominant-tonic relationship. This suggests the possibility of using a dominant seventh rather than a minor seventh:

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This is no longer a diatonic substitution, however, since the dominant seventh III chord does not come from the same scale as the original I chord.

Another diatonic substitution involves replacing a V chord with a ii chord. Normally, one would only replace the chord for the first half of its duration. That is, if the arrangement calls for four beats of a G7 chord, one might play two beats of Dm7 followed by two of G7:

[EXAMPLE]

This substitution is demonstrated in the third and fourth measures at top (do not be concerned with the durations of the notes shown). Whenever you see a dominant seventh chord, as in the third measure, you can precede it by the minor seventh chord a fourth below, as in the fourth measure.

This creates some sense of tension and release within what otherwise would have been a single dominant seventh chord. This substitution is especially effective if the preceding chord is a dominant seventh II chord, as it delays the resolution of the root:

[EXAMPLE]

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Diatonic Substitutions