Monday, October 6, 2008

The Church Pianist: Chord Substitution

(ii 7 can replace a IV chord or vice versa!)

Ok, let’s use Key of C to establish the above mentioned chords.

What’s the 2nd note in the Key of C? D

Therefore the ii 7 chord = DFAC (the C is the 7th note above the note D)

What’s the 4th note in the key of C? F (Correct!)

Therefore the IV chord = FAC

Notice how the ii 7 and IV chord have several notes in common. They both have the notes: FAC.
This is why they can interact and substitute each other!

The result is a richer, warmer sound!


Application:
(The left hand plays the ii 7 )

When to substitute the IV with a ii 7 : When the IV chord lasts for 3 or more beats. Most of the
substitutions will occur on the 3rd beat.

It is Well (last 3 measures) Key of C

Words of these measures: "…well, it is well with my soul."

1st of the last 3 measures:

Beat one and two: as written ( on word: "well" )

Beat three: change to ii 7 ( on the words: "it is" )


Trusting Jesus (2nd sentence) Key of F

The IV chord in the Key of F = Bflat, D, F

The ii 7 chord = G , B flat, D and F

Words of this sentence: "Trusting thru a stormy way;"

Trusting: as written

Thru a: change to ii 7

These chord substitutions will bring the old hymns to life! There are many more chord
substitutions! We will take one at a time to keep things simple.

I will show you a couple more hymns tomorrow with the same chord substitution.

Special Note: Please feel free to leave questions or comments to help me out on
future articles. I need to know your needs! Thanks a bunch!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This will take me a 'minute'. I may use some of these substitutions already, but never have had it explained in these terms. When I read "ii7",I thought, "now what in the world", but as I slowed down, and read your entire post carefully several times, I realized what is was. Way back, many moons ago when I took lessons, somehow I skipped or maybe didn't pay attention to the theory part. Now, I have "Harmony Lesson" workbooks I'm doing. Though, I may need to start over because I'm still having a hard time actually tieing it into my hymn playing. Granted, I add things here and there, but I want to learn the proper way. Thanks for the posts. I know it takes alot of time. Most are charging for these type online tips. God bless.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the feedback Ayesha!

It's good you are doing the theory workbooks.