REHARMONIZATION TECHNIQUES

FOR DIATONIC STANDARDS, BOSSAS AND BALLADS

Reharmonization of jazz Standards has been a popular method of creating
variety in repertoire for performances and recordings since the earliest days of Jazz.
The practice of reharmonization can involve a complete restructuring of a composition
or just involve the addition or alteration of a few chords, creation of vamps or
repetitions, or other small changes. Most pianists use reharmonization when creating
solo or trio arrangements, and reharmonization is standard practice for arrangers
developing material for ensembles, from quartets to orchestral versions of standards.
After the introduction of modal harmony in the 1960s many reharmonizations include
not only diatonic elements, but modal and non-diatonic chords, bass lines and melodic
alterations.
1. Key centers
- Key centers are established through the iiVI chord progression, and, if the
melody note fits, any of the 3 chords of this progression can be substituted for one
another. Addition of one or more of these chords, for example adding a Dm7 before a
G7 that originally was alone, or adding a G7 after a Dm7 that was alone, is an
effective element of reharmonization.
2. Find related keys
- Some melodic phrases, or parts of a phrase, that are in one key in the original
version of a song have notes that can fit well in other keys, for example the first
phrase of Once I Loved, which can be harmonized in 4 different major keys and 3 or
4 different minor keys.
3. Preserving certain movements or cadences
- The power of the Dominant Tonic cadence at the end of a phrase (V7 I) can
always be preserved if many other chords within that phrase are altered.
4. Option to alter some notes to fit new changes
- In some cases an ideal new chord doesnt exactly work with the original
melody note; in this case chromatic alterations of the melody is quite acceptable.
5. Common tones
- Using common tones to find possible chord substitutions that will fit the given
melody not requires knowing the modes and/or source scales for all chord types. For
example, an A can be harmonized by 11 different dominant chords, 6 different
major chords (including 1 Lydian major), 8 different minor chords (including 1 Aeolian
minor), and 7 different half-diminished chords.
6. Use modal interchange
- Minor chords or key centers can be exchanged for major ones, and vic versa,
provided that the melody tones fit both chords or chord progressions. (see 1. Key
Centers, above)
7. Alter the function of the chord while retaining the same root - make Major
chords minor, Minor chords Dominant, etc

- One reharmonization technique is to substitute chords for one another which

share the same root, which retains the strength of the bass movement but alters the
flow of 3rd and 7 th and the general color of the progression.
8. Alter the chord type and/or the root
- Substituting one chord for another with a different bass note is very effective,
and can involve using the same chord types (for example using Cmaj9 instead of Fmaj9
to harmonize a G), or different chord types with different roots. This method of
chord substitution alters the root movement/bass melody of a composition and
requires attention both to chord color and quality movement as well as bass line
development.
8. Alter harmonic rhythm more or fewer chords per melodic phrase
- As described above in Key Centers, addition of key-related chords is often
used. Also very common is the insertion of additional non-related chords or chord
progressions, for example using Giant Steps chords or chromatically moving
unresolved ii-V progressions. Reducing the number of chords is also a very effective
technique and can introduce a modal flavor to a phrase. Reducing the number of
chords works very well with a composed bass line, if appropriate.
9. Develop bass lines and vamps
- Creation of bass lines and vamp figures with special chord voicings and
rhythmic elements to accompany a melodic phrase has been used often to create
variety in texture, harmonic color and rhythmic content.
10. Alter the meter, tempo and/or time-feel
- Changing the meter of a composition, for example putting a waltz into 4/4 or
12/8, or putting a composition in 4/4 into 5/4 or 7/4, is a more modern and very
effective technique for rearranging a standard. Playing Ballads as medium or uptempo tunes, or the contrary, making a fast tune slow, can also be very successful.
10. Add new phrases within the originals, either with or without significant
melodic material
- Creation of new material based on or related to the reharmonization of
chords, development of bass lines and vamps and alteration of meter and tempo has
been used very effectively to augment and strengthen a reharmonization.