Fine and Dandy (Takes 1&2)

Chord Substitutions
Chord substitution is an advanced technique of using a chord in the place of another. The new chord
will still have a relationship to the chord it replaces via similarity within the harmonic structure or its
functional role within the harmony.

Reduction or Expansion
This was initially mentioned during the lesson on the II-V-I progression as it was appropriate to look
at while being introduced to that harmony. It is however on of the most basic forms of substitution
and examples can be found in this solo. Look at the solo during take one and find bar 84.

E.g. Bar 84

This bar shows a great example of reduction. See how this line demonstrates Sonny Stitt thinking of
the II-V as just the dominant chord. This is a great tool and as previously mentioned reduction (like
of that shown above) can be very useful during a fast tune as it can simplify a set of changes that are
moving at a fast pace.

Approaching the I from different access points

In bar 28 and 29 of the form we see the chord I being approached via a dominant chord the tone below
(bVII7). This particular substitution is known as a Backdoor progression. It is found throughout
many jazz standards as well as this one and another example would be found in bars 7 and 8 of the
form to the tune Cherokee. It raises the question of where does this come from and are there more
options available?
Diminished Access
We have already looked at diminished as a scale choice over a dominant chord in the last lesson. As
we know, the diminished scale is a repeating set of intervals meaning that staring the scale on any of
the arpeggio notes will still generate the same scale.
If we think of G7 going to C major we know that the G diminished scale will sound affective. If we
play a G diminished arpeggio we get the following notes: G, Bb, Db and E. This means that a
diminished scale starting on any of these notes will sound affective. As we went from G7 to G
diminished you can now work in reverse and turn the Bb, Db and E diminished 7ths into just plain
dominant chords. Any four of these four dominant chords have a relationship with C major and can
be played in a cadence going into C. This is referred to as diminished access and can be seen clearly
in the diagram below. (Please be aware that this accounts for the backdoor cadence in bar 28).

E.g. Diminished Access

In the diagram above the G7 is just the standard V-I progression with the Bb7 in this situation being
referred to as a backdoor cadence. One of the other dominant access points that we must draw our
attention to is approaching chord I from the semitone above which in the diagram is the Db7. This is
known as Tri-tone substitution.
Tri-tone Substitution
A tri-tone is an interval made up of three tones. It is often used in jazz harmony during a cadence
where the tri-tone is used over the dominant chord. The tri-tone creates a chromatic movement in the
bass line and is one of the most common chord substitutions used in jazz.
E.g.

Use exercise 1 to work on putting a tri-tone substitution into a cadence in every key. Dissonance is
created in the line by playing the tri-tone over the dominant chord so with this in mind I would
suggest that you dont try and alter the sound of the new dominant chord too much so as to really
access the tri-tone sound. In the following exercise try to stay within the parameters of chord tones
and diatonic scale choice to really develop your hearing of this substitution.

Ex.1

Lets take this one step further and combine the tri-tone harmony with the expansion of a dominant
chord. This will give us what can be referred to as a Tri-tone II-V. See below:
E.g.

Try going through exercise 1 again and expand all of the tri-tone dominant chords to include the
chord II.

The use of Minor IV

In an earlier lesson when you were looking at the use of altered scale it was brought to your attention
that a minor triad could be used to imply the altered sound. The use of shapes (rather than just
thinking of scales all of the time) is common place within this style of improvising. A very common
one is the use of chord IV minor within a cadence. An example of Sonny Stitt playing this can be
found in the earlier played solo I Want to be Happy. It is found in bar 6 of the fist chorus in his solo.
E.g.

This line is a cadence into D major and instead of playing into it thinking of A7 it suggests that he is
thinking of G minor (with a major 7th). This is a very common shape to play within a cadence and
should be practiced.
See exercise 2 below. Improvise over a turnaround and every time you get to where the chord V
would be try only using the minor arpeggio with the major 7th of chord IV. Notice that there is good
voice leading within shape with the 3rd resolving down a semitone onto chord I and the major 7th in
the shape turning into the 3rd of chord I.

Ex.2

As you get more comfortable with this try playing through the exercise in different keys.

Transformation
As well as just substituting chords it is very common for improvisers to change the chord properties as
theyre playing. This is a technique known as Transformation and there are examples of this in the
two takes of this tune.
During take 1 look at the head in bar 29. It is clearly outlining an B minor chord in the turn around
but during the improvised solo Sonny Stitt decides to play B7 during this turnaround as seen in bars
62 and 97.
During take 2 Sonny plays E7 in bar 30 of his solo but later on in bar 66 he goes on to play an E
minor chord in the cadence instead.
These examples are in a particular place each time and show Sonny changing minor chords into
dominant ones. The E7 change in particular is a common transformation of the chord II within a
cadence and is known as being a Secondary dominant chord. Look at the example below and see
how the chord II within this cadence is now being played as a dominant chord.
E.g.

As you become more familiar with this by taking it through every key try playing a slight alteration
over the dominant II chord by adding a #11. This is a very common alteration onto a secondary
dominant chord and should be practiced.
E.g.

Within this language it is also common to find dominant chords changed to major chords. This could
be seen within a 12 bar blues for example. I would draw your attention to the recording of Perhaps
by Charlie Parker which features himself and Miles Davis clearly playing major chords over the blues
sequence and in particular bar 7 of the 12 bar form.
You are now on your way to becoming a very knowledgeable improviser. Over the last 7 lessons you
have really opened your eyes and ears to a lot of harmonic devices and the next lesson will start to
move onto rhythmic ideas and pacing a solo.