Substitution Chords

[mrboston]

Okay I had a guitar lesson last night where we scratched the surface on some chord theory, I found it VERY exciting as it will open up some new options for me. My band has two guitarists, and when neither one of us is playing a solo or lead line we generally strum the exact same chords in a progression, now I guess we'll have some more options.

So basically what he told me was, if you're playing a Dom7 chord, you can substitute a different Dom7th chord in your progression based on which string your root is on.

If your root is a Dom7th chord at the 5th fret on the 6th string (A) for example you could substitute a Dom7th chord with your root on the 6th fret of the 5th String (Dsharp).

So if one guitarist played:


------5------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------6------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------7------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------


The other guitarist could play THIS chord over it:


-------6-----------------------------------
-------8-----------------------------------
-------6-----------------------------------
-------8-----------------------------------
-------6-----------------------------------
-------------------------------------------


Basically he said the relationship was if your root is a Dom7th on the 6th string the substitution chord is one fret higher on the 5th string. And it goes the other way. If your root is on the 5th string, you can sub a chord one fret lower on the 6th string.

I'm sure I've explained (and tabbed) this inaccurately, but do you guys know what I mean? Am I understanding this right?

Like if one guy plays a 12-bar blues of (bear with me ;D):


-------5-------5------7---------------------
-------5-------7------9---------------------
-------6-------5------7---------------------
-------5-------7------9---------------------
-------7-------5------7---------------------
-------5-----------------------------------


The OTHER guy could play:


------6-------4-------6----------------------
------8-------4-------6---------------------
------6-------5-------7----------------------
------8-------4-------6----------------------
------6-------6-------8----------------------
--------------4-------6----------------------




In a 4-beat measure I could also play the standard chord on say beats 1 and 2, and the substitution chord on 3, then back to the standard chord right?

A LOT of our songs have Dom7th chords so I'm psyched. I know it would maybe sound two dissonant to have either guitarist playing ONLY the substitution chords, so I'm thinking more likely we'll just throw them in now and then.

Long story short- are the substitutions you can use for chords OTHER THAN Dom7ths? Like if I wanted a substitution for an Amin chord on the 6th string, what would I play, what would my options be?

[Don't Fuck With Me]

FWIW, for practical purposes, a dominant 7 with the root on the sixth string should be fingered like this (particularly for blues/FUNK/jazz applications). It may take some time to get used to at first, but it will be much easier to change over to and from other chord forms when fingered this way, and it will also make it easier to intersperse lead lines when playing alone. It is also a purer, more natural sounding form than the "Ramones" form shown above, as it is comprised of one of each of the chord tones.

------X------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------6------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------X------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------

And also like this, nice and slippery for sliding into from above or below:

------5------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------6------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------X------------------------------------
------X------------------------------------

The form shown above for root on fifth string is both common and practical, but the following form is also widely used blues and jazz:

------X------------------------------------
------3------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------4------------------------------------
------5------------------------------------
------X------------------------------------

[mrboston]

^Cool, I'm always fooling around with muting certain strings in chords. I will try those fingerings- thanks man.

[emixolydian]

Tritone subs can sound kind of out of place unless used in passing.

In addition- I wouldn't suggest playing a tritone sub over the existing V7 chord.

G B D F + Db F Ab Cb = G B D F Ab C#, which will give you something like a G7b9#11 .. I don't know if you really want that.

[mrboston]

emixolydian said:

Tritone subs can sound kind of out of place unless used in passing.

In addition- I wouldn't suggest playing a tritone sub over the existing V7 chord.

G B D F + Db F Ab Cb = G B D F Ab C#, which will give you something like a G7b9#11 .. I don't know if you really want that.

Well I'm only REALLY planning to use them sparingly to build tension leading up to a transition of some kind. When you're mostly an instrumental band you gotta TRY to sound dynamic somehow. We have one song in particular with one "movement" so to speak in Dom7 chords, which moves into another movement at a much slower tempo. I'm thinking if we play the measure leading up to the transition using the Tri-tone Subs for the chords in the progression then switching to the other part nice and clean it might create a nice build and release feel. I tried it playing alone the other day- sounded a little Phishy, which is of course PERFECT for the folks who like our stuff, lol.

[emixolydian]

Yeah, I know what you're saying. Often times, when with my friend, we'll want to spice up the chord line so we both aren't playing the same thing, which ultimately leads to overlapped chords creating a broader voicing. For instance one guy will be playing:

Dm-Bb-Gm-A

Then the other dude will play another highly related chord over the first guys chords. Basically any chord that shares 1-2 notes works.

So I would suggest while he plays:

Dm-Bb-Gm-A, I play:
F-Dm-Bb-C#m

Ultimately I get this sound:

Dm (D F A) + F (F A C) = Dm7
Bb (Bb D F) + Dm (D F A)=Bbmaj7
Gm (G Bb D) + Bb (Bb D F) = Gm7
A (A C# E) + C#m (C# E G#)= Amaj7 (I would probably a C#dim in this case just so I had a V7, which is more authentic sounding than a Vmaj7-I)

Anyway, the principle is pretty simple, but it results in a "fuller" sound, often times, if you will.

[mrboston]

emixolydian said:

Ultimately I get this sound:

Dm (D F A) + F (F A C) = Dm7
Bb (Bb D F) + Dm (D F A)=Bbmaj7
Gm (G Bb D) + Bb (Bb D F) = Gm7
A (A C# E) + C#m (C# E G#)= Amaj7 (I would probably a C#dim in this case just so I had a V7, which is more authentic sounding than a Vmaj7-I)

Anyway, the principle is pretty simple, but it results in a "fuller" sound, often times, if you will.

Now THAT'S got to sound pretty "full" for sure. Ever play minor over major? What happens? Is it like Ghostbusters if you cross the streams the world could implode?

[emixolydian]

No actually it'll often just yield an extended chord assuming the root on the minor chord is the next note in the progression of thirds.

For instance: A+Em=Am9

A C E G B