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340 views

Reharm

sdfg

Uploaded by

Lorenzo Nomenclatore Tomelleri
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Lesson 35: Reharmonization

On Reharmonization
Reharmonization is to substitute chords in a progression. Common devices are using
alternative II-V-I and I-VI-II-V progressions, the tritone/ flatted fifth substitution and
largely substituting a chord, part of or an entire chord progression with one with
similar function or sound - one that kind of does the same job, so to speak.

The II-V-I Progression


Check out the following cadences:
•Dm7 - Cdim - C
•Dm7 - G7sus4/D - Cdim - C
•Dm7 - E/G - Cmaj7
•Dm7 - E/D - Cmaj7
•Dm/C - Ddim/C - Cmaj7
•Dm7 - Bmaj7#5 ( Eb/B) - Cmaj7
•Dm7 - Ab7 - G7 - Cmaj7
•F6 - Fm6 - Cmaj7
•F6 - Bb7 - Cmaj7
•Fmaj7 - G13 - Cmaj7
•G7sus - G7 - Cmaj7
•F/G - G/F - Cmaj7
•Fm7 - Bb7 - Cmaj7 ( "Subdominant Minor Chords")
•Dm7 - Fm/G - Cmaj7 ( Fm/G is a "Subdominant Minor Chord")
•F/G - Ab/Bb - C ( Ab/Bb is a "Subdominant Minor Chord")
•Dm7 - Dbmaj7#11 - C ( Dbmaj7#11 is a "Subdominant Minor Chord")
•Dm7 - Ab7 - Cmaj7
•Abm7 - Db7 - Cmaj7
•F#m7b5 - B7 - Cmaj7
•Abm7 - Db7 - Gbmaj7b5 ( Gbmaj7b5 is a "Subdominant Minor Chord")
•Dm7 - G7sus4 - Bb6/9 - B6addb9 ( Ab/B) - C6 ( from Seven Steps to Heaven (
Miles Davis and Victor Feldman))
•Dm7 - Eb7 - Abmaj7 - B13 - Emaj7 - G7 - Cmaj7 ( "Coltrane Changes")
and the following, which are minor cadences, but can also lead to a major tonic
chord:
•Dm7b5 - G7b9 - Cmaj7
•Abmaj7 - G7 - Cmaj7 ( Abmaj7 is a "Subdominant Minor Chord")
•Ab7 - G7 - Cmaj7
•F - Ab - G7 - G7#5 - Cmaj7
They can be utilized for variety where a II-V-I occurs.

The I-VI-II-V Progression


Check out lesson 7 ( Turn-Arounds), where different ways to reharmonize this common
cadence are explored. Just like the II-V-I cadence, the I-VI-II-V type cadence is also
very common in jazz, and it is nice to be able to utilize less obvious variations.

Functional Harmony
In ( traditional diatonic western) functional harmony, there are three basic sound
groups:
•tonic
•subdominant
•dominant
If we group the diatonic chords in C major according to their sound, we get:
•tonic sound: Cmaj7, Em7 and Am7 ( Imaj7, IIIm7 and VIm7)
•subdominant sound: Fmaj7 and Dm7 ( IVmaj7 and IIm7)
•dominant sound: G7 ( V7)
Reharmonization largely involves substituting a chord with another chord with the
same functional sound. Most of the examples above, i.e. the II-V-I and I-VI-II-V
reharmonizations, can be explained this way.

The Tritone/ Flatted Fitfth Substitution


A chord can be substituted by a chord with the root a tritone away from the original.
Ex. G7 can be replaced by Db7. This is very common when the root progression is a
perfect fifth downwards ( a perfect fourth upwards). Ex. the progression C7 - F7 -
Bb7 - Eb7 can be replaced by C7 - B7 - Bb7 - A7 where every other chord is
substituted with the flatted fifth substitute yielding chromatic downwards motion.

Some Examples Written by Me

Example 1: Reharmonization of the Last Eight Bars of Someday My Prince Will


Come ( Frank Churchill and Larry Morey )

Here I have used triads for two reharmonizations of the I-VI-II-V cadence. Triads are
very strong. They give a nice sense of unity to the cadence. They effectively build up
the tension to a dramatic climax before going to the top of the form.
Example 2: Reharmonization of Blue Bossa ( Kenny Dorham)

This is a somewhat daring reharmonization of Blue Bossa. Warning: it doesn't go very


well together with the melody... Apart from that, it's a progression that does more or
less the same job as the original one.

Some Examples Written/ Played by Others


The following examples are reharmonizations of rhythm changes:
•Pat Martino's version of Oleo by Sonny Rollins - he plays the entire A parts of
the head over a Cm9/F = Fsus13 chord
•Bob Russell's Watch This! - where moving harmony over an F pedal is
employed - something like Bb6/9 Db - Db F7sus4

A Few Last Words on Reharmonization


It can be very powerful to substitute changes in standard progressions, like II-V-I and
I-VI-II-V type cadences as well as in complete tunes. I like to think of
reharmonization as being largely about doing the same job in a more clever,
interesting way that provides more surprises and more possibilities for creating good
music.
Also check out lesson 109, where I take a simple melody and look at different ways to
harmonize it. There I harmonize the melody completely from scratch, without even
referring to the composer's original harmonization.
© 2006 Tomas Karlsson. All rights reserved.

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