Close

veal Secrets To Playing Piano By Ear...

4 Free Videos Re

Now's your limited chance to receive 4 free videos... over 2 hours of step-by-st
ep instruction revealing the secrets to playing piano by ear!
Discover the #1 skill needed to play
by ear.
How to learn any song by understanding one thing
.
And much much more...
FREE VIDEOS!
Discover secrets most musicians will never know about playing by ear. Like how t
o use just 4 chords and a handful of patterns to play any song you want!
We respect your privacy. Your e-mail will never be shared.

Home
General Music
Music & Children
Musician Fun
Technology
Midi

Guitar
Basics & Fundamentals
Exercises

Organ
Other Stuff
Gospel Music Training Center
Industry News
Latest News
Music Business
Non-Music
Personal Blog
Self-Improvement
Goal Setting
Motivational Minutes
Time Management

Piano
Beginners
Blues music
Chords & Progressions
Contemporary Music
Ear-Training
Playing By Ear

Exercises
Experienced players
Gospel music
Interviews
Jazz music
Playing songs
Salsa & Latin styles

Theory
"What Key" Game
Scales
Transposing Keys

Urban Styles

Podcasts
Hear and PlayTIME Radio Show

Videos
Vocal
Courses
Ezine

Sign up to get 4 free

"piano by ear" video lessons

A 9-Second Method to Chord Substitutions

by Jermaine Griggs 5 comments
in Chords & Progressions,Piano

I touched on primary chords and chord substitutions in this post last week, but
today, I want to take it a step further.
(I recommend you go check out that post on primary chords as a primer to this le
sson.)
In short, every key has primary chords built off the 1st, 4th, and 5th tones of
the scale.
In C major:
C is 1
D is 2
E is 3
F is 4
G is 5
A is 6
B is 7
The primary chords are built off C, F, and G.
The 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th tones create what we call secondary chords.
But dont let the secondary fool ya because they are very important when it comes to
chord substitutions.
Recall in that past post how we paired certain primary chords with brother-sister
secondary chords.
C major (primary) pairs up with A minor7 (secondary)
F major (primary) pairs up with D minor7 (secondary)
G major (primary) pairs up with E minor7 ( secondary)
And even D minor (secondary) pairs up with B half-diminished7 (secondary).
Quick Primary/Secondary Chord Substitutions

Because C major (C+E+G) and A minor7 (A+C+E+G) share most of the same notes (inc

luding the highest note/melody), this makes the A minor a perfect replacement when
it comes to chord substitutions.

For example, if you had a progression that went from C major to F major to G maj
or (aka 1-4-5, one of the most popular chord progressions ever), you could actuall
y swap out the C major for A minor 7.
Granted, you usually like to lay down the original progression by playing it the
natural way first. But when it repeats, youll find it also sounds good (or even
better) when you go to A minor (A+C+E+G) instead of C major (C+E+G).
But whats really going on here?
If you look closely at the chord, were still playing a C major weve just put A on the
bottom as the bass or root note. And when you do that, it changes the whole cho
rd to A minor 7, even though 75% of the notes belong to C major.
(Thats why C major and A minor7 have a really close relationship. In fact, they a
re relatives but thats another lesson).
So the progression could go something like this:
C major
F major
G major
(repeat with chord substitution)
A minor7
F major
G major

Were not done though

More Chord Substitutions
C major and A minor7 arent the only pair of the key.

F major and D minor7 link up just as good.

What if the third time around, you swapped in D minor7 (D+F+A+C) for the F major
(F+A+C)?

That would give you two more possible chord substitutions:

C major
D minor7
G major
Or you could keep the first substitution with the C major / A minor7:
A minor7
D minor7
G major
What other combinations do you see?
So far, I can see:
C major
F major
G major
C major
D minor7
G major
A minor7
F major
G major

A minor7
D minor7
G major
(This is another lesson but the G major can easily be extended to a G dominant 7
for even more flavor).
Even More Chord Substitutions
What about the G major / E minor7 pair? Can we throw that in?

This expands our potential chord substitutions:

C major
F major
E minor7
A minor7
F major
E minor7 (which leads smoothly back to Aminor7 to repeat thats circle of fifths move
ment)
A minor7
D minor7
E minor7
C major
D minor7
E minor7
So, really, this is a game of mix n match and preference.
Because each of these chord substitutions preserves the melody (or what Jason Wh
ite phrases, never sacrifices the melody) and pretty much has the same chord makeu
p, you get practically the same function.

Some chord substitutions will work brilliantly well, others you can pass on. But
its all up to you.
Its very important when playing by ear that you understand your options. As I alw
ays say, playing by ear is all about having options. You dont have sheet music in
front of you. You dont have to copy someone elses homework. You know countless wa
ys to play the same thing and this kinda stuff is where it starts.
How many places do you play 1, 4, and 5 chords that you can substitute in their
relative minor partners (6, 2, and 3)? Thats your homework.
Well, thats all I have for you on chord substitutions see you next time.
Related posts:Heres a method thats helping musicians swap out dull chords for exci
ting ones!
Can tritone substitutions really revolutionize your playing?
How to add flavor and spice with the power of chord substitutions
Heres a method thats helping beginners play in minor keys overnight
How to take advantage of the power and versatility of primary chords
Heres a method thatll make your chords more powerful
Who else wants to know the secret behind primary and secondary chords?
Tagged as:
chord substitutions,
chord substutiton,
substituting chords,
swapping chords

{ 4 comments read them below or add one }

1
Richard

This can be applied to all Chords? The 6th tone of any particular major chord, i
s the Minor Substitue for the Major Chord? Just take time to experment. Dick B

Reply

2
Jermaine Griggs

Yes Richard, that is correct. Whatever is the 6th tone of that major chords scale
can simply be played in the left hand bass without even changing the chord on r
ight hand Thus creating the minor7 chord of whatever the 6th tone is. Bb major ca
n be turned into Gmin7 by simply playing Bb major on right and G on left. Becaus
e melody and 75% of chord doesnt change, it is perfect candidate for substitution
and variety.
Reply

3
val

This is amazing and very helpful at the same time. Thank you and God bless you.
sincerely Val
Reply

4
graham

hi gaham here ur chords on substition is great

just want to know the all the chords i seen can i play
the first tonic note on the bass let me know
Reply

Cancel reply
Leave a Comment

Name *
E-mail *
Website

{ 1 trackback }

How To Play 6-2-5-1 Chord Progressions I

n Minutes | Hear and Play Music Learning Center

Previous post: Time to Share Som

e Family Pics
Next post: What My 4-Year Old Could Teach You About Chord Placement

Check Out Our Resources

Subscribe via RSS

Subscribe
Spread The Word (New!)
-->

10-Minute Video Tour

Archives
May 2013 (5)
October 2012 (2)
September 2012 (10)
February 2012 (1)
January 2012 (11)
October 2011 (2)
September 2011 (1)
August 2011 (5)
July 2011 (3)
June 2011 (3)
April 2011 (10)
March 2011 (28)
February 2011 (21)
January 2011 (13)
October 2010 (1)
September 2010 (3)
June 2010 (1)
May 2010 (1)
April 2010 (2)
March 2010 (1)
February 2010 (1)
October 2009 (4)
June 2009 (1)
April 2009 (2)
February 2009 (6)
January 2009 (5)
December 2008 (21)
November 2008 (30)
October 2008 (42)
September 2008 (42)
August 2008 (46)
July 2008 (6)
June 2008 (9)
May 2008 (1)
April 2008 (4)
March 2008 (2)
February 2008 (3)
January 2008 (36)
November 2007 (1)
October 2007 (11)
September 2007 (9)
August 2007 (19)
July 2007 (2)
June 2007 (2)
May 2007 (1)
April 2007 (1)
March 2007 (2)
February 2007 (2)
January 2007 (2)
December 2006 (1)
November 2006 (1)
October 2006 (2)
September 2006 (2)
August 2006 (14)
August 2005 (6)
August 2004 (1)
January 2004 (1)

Select Month

September 2013 (1)

Recent Posts
12 Reasons To Learn All 12 Keys
They Analyzed 1,300 Songs & Heres What They Found
Heres a Nice Sounding Chord Movement You Can Use
Immediately
The Art Of Polychords
The Secret Link Between Chess & Playing Music By
Ear
One Thing You Cannot Leave Out Of Your Practice
Sessions
Recent Commentsbuyenga on Heres A Quick Way To Open All Your Major
Chordssola on The Secret Chords That Work Almost Anywhere Quartal Chordsnsengiman
a on Jermaine Teaches Kirk Franklins Imagine Me With Just 4 Chords!apprendre la gui
tare on How to use my secret 9 trick to add flavor to your chord progressionsweb
cam chat roulette videos on Blast From The Past: How The Piano Made Me A Popular
Guy In High Schoolpromise on Tips for the experienced playerFind Us

-->

Home |
About Us |
Contact Us |
Privacy |
Videos |
Home Study Courses |
Return Policy & Guarantee
Affiliate Program |

Piano Lessons Support |

Lesson Plan Overview |
Music Community |
Sitemap

ie Avenue Suite F *
ine support)

Hear & Play Music, Online! * 1901 Carneg

Santa Ana, CA 92705 * 1-877-856-4187 (click here for onl

2000-2013 Hear and Play Music, Inc.

<div style="display:inline;">
<img height="1" width="1" style="border-style:none;" alt="" src="http://www.goog
leadservices.com/pagead/conversion/1072635249/?label=HmgvCP-C9QIQ8bq8_wM&amp;gui
d=ON&amp;script=0"/>
</div>

The Core Essentials

300pg Home Study Course
Piano by Ear For Starters
My Foundation Programs
Chords 101 & 102
Finding Key Of Any Song
Hanon Volume 1 - Finger Exercises
P.I.T.C.H. Software
Gospel Core Essentials
GospelKeys 101 - Hymns
GospelKeys
GospelKeys
GospelKeys
GospelKeys
GospelKeys

202 300 500 Organ

Organ

Worship
Praise
Shouting
350 - Praise
450 - Worship

Advanced Gospel Programs

GospelKeys Urban Pro 600
Micheal Bereal s Master Class 1
Jason White s Ministry Musician 1
Other Styles
Jazz 101 - Blues & Jazz Basics
Jazz 201 - Soloing & Improvisation
Salsa Piano 101 - Basics
ChristmasKeys 1 - Classics
Other Instruments
Hear & Play Drums Collection
Gospel Guitar 101 - Praise Songs

Advanced Guitar 301 - Licks & Tricks

Vocal Mastery 10-Disc System
My Monthly Programs
Gospel Music Training Center