Substitution Formulas |
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Substitution Formulas |
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Feb 27 2013, 05:26 PM |
Great question! Without going too deep into it, this can be a very big topic of conversation, here are a couple of ideas to get you started.
The first is the use of Diminished Triads when you have a 7th chords to play. What I mean by that is, if you see a 7th chord, you can play a dim triad from the 3rd of that chord. So, if you have a C7 chord, you could play an Edim triad, which gives you a rootless C7 chord. C7 is spelled C E G Bb, and Edim is spelled E G Bb, so that triad is a "chord within a chord" and it allows you to play a smaller version of the 7 chord, by only playing the 3-5-7 notes of that chord, which is a dim triad. If you want to check out diminished triads more on the guitar, and how they are built, check out my lesson on dim triads. Diminished Triads for Guitar The other thing you can do is called "tonic prolongation." That's a fancy term for taking 1 chord and making it 2, without going out of the key or far from the home chord. An example of this is if you have a maj triad, say A, for 4 bars, you could alternate between A and D, the I and IV of that key, to create some movement but not get too far from your home chord. This also works well if you have A and you play C#m or F#m, as the I, iii and vi of any key are closely related in sound and can be used in this tonic prolongation situation. Those are two places to start, does that all make sense? -------------------- |
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Feb 27 2013, 07:58 PM |
It is a good question because with rock you still want to convey the original power of the basic chords. In other words re-harming may smooth things out a bit too much and add unnecessary ambiguity to an otherwise straight forward yet beautiful (in it's simplicity) song.
Let's just take a really basic progression: | G D | A | Try: | Em7 Bm7 | A | or, | Cma7 Bm7 | A | (very 'Black Crows') or | Em7 (or G) Bm7 | F#m7 | When subbing like this I find it's effective if you play it once 'normal' and sub it out the 2nd time. Example: | G D | A | Em7 Bm7 | F#m7 | Also, try putting the 3rds in the bass : | G/B - D/F# | A/C# | or, common tone in the bottom: | G/D - D/D | A/C# - A/E | Or with some movement in the low end ... | G/C - G/B - D/F# - D/G | A | and one of my fave moves: | G D | Asus4/F# | *this chord can have several names - X 9 12 9 10 9 is the fingering ( F# D E A C# low to high - I 'hear' it as an A but you could call it a Dma9/F#) *Steely Dan is masterful at taking a basic chord prog and re-harming it into something really unique w/o losing it's 'power' - IMO. This post has been edited by klasaine: Feb 27 2013, 08:39 PM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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Feb 27 2013, 10:02 PM |
As for the actual 'theory' behind it ... it's mostly subbing iii and vi for I, ii for the IV, etc. - pretty basic really. But I experiment with adding 11ths and sus' or the 3rds and 5ths in the bass. The sus4 in the bass. *sometimes stuff just doesn't work - and I never force it. That's the sure fire way to lose a gig. Sometimes D just needs to be D.
A lot of times I'll sub a dominant chord (or whatever's functioning as V) with a m7 a fifth up (ex: A7 = Em7). If there's a major IV chord in the tune I find that 'most' of the time a IVmaj7 works beautifully - even in heavier contexts. If the progression is essentially an Am to D thing throw a Cmaj7#11 (or an Em7/Em9) in there between the two. All the notes are in the key but the 'tonal arrangement' is a little unconventional. This post has been edited by klasaine: Feb 27 2013, 10:07 PM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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