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Chord Substitution book?

MattStonewall

MattStonewall

Guest
Jan 7, 2014
374
101
Virginia
#1
Does anyone have a modern and easy to understand Chord Substitution book that they'd recommend? I have a firm grasp on theory but I do not read sheet music. I've read some really great articles on this subject online but I'm sure there's a book that might cover a lot more ground on this subject.
 
#3
I think Malcom's link pretty much covers it.
The only consideration beyond that functional analysis would be voice leading.

A page about voice leading
Invalid Link Removed

In my experience, when it comes to examining voice leading there's no shortcuts.
You really just have to jot down all the notes of each chord, and see where they go.
Use of standard notation obviously helps in this regard (sight reading is not necessary).

All the crazy chords in jazz harmonization generally follow these ideas:
1.) the melody note stays on top
2.) the inner notes have good voice leading
3.) the root motion often outlines lots of ii-V cadences
 
#10
Leo Smith said:
You can't know REALLY theory without reading music.
Click to expand...

Man I started to call BS on this (hey my reading kinda sucks and I know a bit of theory) but when I began to construct an argument I realized I kinda agree with you. I would just clarify that while it's not at all essential to become a fluent sight reader (it sure won't hurt a bit though) in order to use books dealing with harmony/chord subs/voice leading you do have to be able to recognize the names of notes and the octave they're in with both treble and bass clef notation without hesitation. No serious harmony book has tab....this poopie is not guitar specific. A keyboard of some sort is actually the best tool for studying harmony.
 
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#12
Jeff Bonny said:
...you do have to be able to recognize the names of notes and the octave they're in with both treble and bass clef notation without hesitation. No serious harmony book has tab.... A keyboard of some sort is actually the best tool for studying harmony.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with this absolutely. "Without hesitation" is the key phrase here. Knowing the notes on the staff and how they relate to each other are the first levels of knowing theory.

In my comment I didn't mean "sight reading". To me, sight reading is a deeper skill than reading. For example, being able to read a piece of music correctly the very first time without looking at it ahead of time (studio or bandstand situation).

I work with a lot of guys who have a very deep theory knowledge and know how to read music. However, they admit to not being good at sight reading under pressure. But, if they look at something for even just a minute or two, they will nail it.
 
#13
MattStonewall said:
Does anyone have a modern and easy to understand Chord Substitution book that they'd recommend? I have a firm grasp on theory but I do not read sheet music. I've read some really great articles on this subject online but I'm sure there's a book that might cover a lot more ground on this subject.
Click to expand...
Could you be a little more specific in what you mean by, chord substitutions. Are you talking about re-harming tunes, tri-tone sub usage, or knowing when to sub the iii-7 chord for the Imaj chord? More specific and I probably could recommend something. Also, you may want to learn to read because I don't know any good harmony books written in tab- IMO.
www.basslessonslosangeles.com
 

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