Jazz chord substitutions on guitar swap or add chords that do the same job. Play the ii instead of the IV, put a dominant before the chord you’re heading to, use a diminished chord in place of that dominant, or trade G7 for D flat 7, the tritone substitution. They work because the direction stays the same.
This lesson starts with two beautiful chords, C and F, and upgrades them one step at a time: 7th chords, the ii chord, secondary dominants, diminished chords, the tritone sub and the ii of any dominant. The video plays every version so you can hear each change.
Start with C to F: the I to the IV
Before any substitution, hear the motion you’re dressing up. C is the I, the tonic, home base. F is the IV, the subdominant: something that comes before the dominant.
First I play C major 7, with G as the melody note. Then F major 7, with a little hammer-on melody from D to E. For me, music is a lot about the relationship between rhythm, harmony and melody, so even a little bit of melody matters.
Pay attention to how it sounds and how it feels. Even something as simple as C major 7: tag it, so the next time you hear it you know that’s home, the one. If you can hear the motion from one to four, you actually have a lot of ground covered, because it’s a progression that happens a lot in music.
How do you substitute the ii for the IV?
Instead of F major 7, play D minor 7. Both are subdominant chords, and they share three notes: F, A and C.
Why? Because I can. You don’t have to do it, but it might sound cool, so let’s try. The shape I use is D minor 7 with the 9 on top: a D minor 7 shell chord with the 9 added, then I flatten my first finger into a barre to get a little melody, like the one we had on the F. If shell chords are new to you, my shell chords lesson covers the shapes.
What is a secondary dominant?
It’s the V chord of a chord other than the I. It’s a middleman that creates more tension and points us in a very specific direction.
First I add a regular dominant, the V, to expand the tension before going home. I use F major over G, which gives G7 sus4. Then, instead of going straight from C to D minor, I put an A7 in between. A is the fifth note of the D minor scale, so A7 is the five of two: the dominant of D minor.
Now we have four chords: C major 7, A7, D minor, G. It’s not a I, vi, ii, V. It’s on the sixth degree, but because the chord is major, not minor, it’s a secondary dominant, five of two. For even more tension on the G, I change the G7 sus4 into G7 flat 9.
Music is flexible. All we need to understand is the direction that we are trying to go with.
Rotem Sivan
How do diminished chords and the tritone sub replace a dominant?
A key has two chords that can work as dominants, the V and the vii, so a diminished chord can stand in for a dominant. And the tritone substitution swaps a dominant for the dominant a tritone away, because both share the same 3 and 7.
- Seven of two. The chords of C major are C, D minor, E minor, F, G, A minor, B diminished. The V and the vii can both be dominants. So instead of the five of two (A7), I play the seven of two, a C sharp diminished, leading to D minor. Same function, a little bass motion.
- Move the diminished in minor thirds. A diminished chord is a symmetrical shape. Move it up a minor third and you get an inversion of the same notes, arranged differently. I do it for a little melodic motion, not for the visuals. There’s more on that shape in the diminished chords lesson.
- Tritone substitution. Instead of G7, play D flat 7. The most important notes of a chord are the 3, which says major or minor, and the 7, which says dominant or major 7. G7’s 3 and 7 are B and F. D flat 7’s are F and C flat, which is the same note as B. So my pinky and ring finger stick to the same notes, and only the bass changes. I play it as a D flat 7 shell with the 9 on top.
Is G7 the same chord as D flat 7? No, it’s a different chord, but harmonically, the meaning is what we care about. If we understand whether we’re trying to create more tension or resolution, we can add or omit chords. That’s very helpful in creating and interpreting music, and in understanding what’s happening when you learn a song.
How do you add the ii of any dominant?
Whenever you have a dominant chord, you can put its ii chord in front of it.
- Before the tritone sub. The ii of D flat 7 is A flat minor 7. So: A flat minor 7 (with the 9), D flat 7, C major 7. It’s kind of cool, because a little melody happens.
- Before the secondary dominant. A7 leads to D minor, so put its ii in front: E half diminished, A7, D minor. That’s a ii V leading to D minor. I also like an A7 sharp 9 moving to flat 9 there, and then back to the G7 flat 9, because these sounds are kind of bitey and they’re a nice contrast to the C major 7.
- Back to the IV. Remember C to F? Use a secondary dominant to get there: C7 is the five of four. Add its ii, G minor 7, and you get C major 7, G minor 7, C7, F major 7, then G7 or G sus.
I know it’s a lot of chords and it can be confusing. What’s important is to understand the function of these devices, and more than understanding, to feel them and hear them. Even if you only practice what we did here in the key of C, you can get a lot of songs from that.
Here’s a practice idea for today. Take just one device, say the A7 secondary dominant: C major 7, A7, D minor 7, G7. Play it until you can hear the A7 pulling toward D minor, then swap the A7 for the C sharp diminished and listen to the same pull. Don’t just play the shapes. Play with the groove and try to make a little melody happen on top.
If you want to rebuild your chord vocabulary first, Jazz Chord Essentials starts from how a 7th chord is built, covers the four main colors (major 7, dominant 7, minor 7, half diminished) and every inversion on the 4th, 5th and 6th string sets.
Frequently asked questions
What is a tritone substitution?
It’s replacing a dominant chord with the dominant a tritone away, like D flat 7 for G7. It works because the 3 and 7 of both chords are the same two notes, B (or C flat) and F. Only the bass changes, so the harmonic meaning stays.
What does five of two mean?
It’s the dominant chord of the ii chord. In C major the ii is D minor, and the fifth note of the D minor scale is A, so A7 is the five of two. It’s a secondary dominant that leads you to D minor.
Can a diminished chord replace a dominant chord?
Yes. In a major key both the V and the vii chords work as dominants, and the vii is diminished. So instead of A7 leading to D minor, you can play C sharp diminished, the seven of two. It has the same function with different bass motion.
Can I use the ii instead of the IV chord?
Yes. Both are subdominant chords. In C, D minor 7 shares F, A and C with F major 7, so it does a similar job going from C toward the dominant. You don’t have to, but it adds a different color.
Pick one substitution, play it in C until your ear expects it, and then try it in a song you already know.
