Jazz Guitar Reharmonization for Autumn Leaves

We take a look at the first 4 bars of my reharmonization of Autumn Leaves.

I've used Modal and Intevallic chord substitution.

I identify all possible modal substitutes for chord II(Am7) and chord IV(Cmaj7), and Intervallic substitutes for the V chord(D7).

We take a look at the next 4 bars of my We take a look at the first 4 bars of my reharmonization of Autumn Leaves.

I've used Modal and Intervallic chord substitution.

I identify all possible modal substitutes for chord II(F#m7b5) and Intervallic substitutes for the V chord(B7) of Em7,and Intervallic subs for E7( V of Am7)

got to section 3 for more on Intervallic/Modal Reharmonization.

B7 and two bars of Em7

Intervallic sub for B7 is F13

Em cliche follows

F#m7b5 may become F#7 as it is 5 steps higher than B7b5. This is the Secondary Dominant principle. Any chord that appears a 5th higher than the next chord may become a 7 chord.

then this F#7 gets replaced by F#diminished since diminished chords may be built on the 3rd or b5th of any 7 chord.

as the key of the moment may be interpreted as E minor....I've substituted it for a VI ......sounds cool...I think

then we are targeting the next chord, which should be Am7 with E7#9 and E9

a simple II V I in G gets a twist on the II chord

Don't forget you are supporting the melody

earlier I decided to treat an Em7 as a I chord and substituted it for a VI (Cmaj7)

WELL I 've done the same again with Am7..... it's now Fmaj7

then I used an intervallic sub for D7....Ab7b5

kept the Gmaj7 though

II V I in E Minor(VI) has been changed for II V targeting G(I) with an F# diminished replacing D7

I replaced Em7(I decided it was the key of the moment) with its VI (Cmaj7) and its III (Gmaj9/B)

D diminished is a sub for G7 V of the next chord.

C13 and C9 are Modal substitutes. IV of G Major for IV of G Dorian.

F13#11 is an Intervallic sub for B7 (Vof Em)

Em/add9 is a simple extension of Em7(VI of G)

As the key of the moment is Em. I've decided to "change from Minor to Major" said it the wrong way round in the vid lol

Got those 3 reharmonization tricks yet?

master them and you'll never run out of steam. I used to get stuck in bar 2 of every jazz standard I tried.I didn't have enough vocabulary. I audition these 3 systems as I progress through each song.I Hope you find your vocabulary growing. I've given you charts for every possibility/key/chord sub in the next section. You may want to watch me do the next song etc till you get it. cheers

Chord Extensions are not substitutes, they are the original chords with scale notes added.

The charts will help you identify the position of every chord within the key of the song and expose those that are not. Once you have the roman numerals in place you can start to experiment with Diatonic,Modal and Intervallic Reharmonization.

In any Key, I III & VI are interchangeable.this is sub group #1

In any Key, II & IV are interchangeable.this is sub group #2

In any Key, V & VII are interchangeable.this is sub group #3

When these ideas are exploited it's called Diatonic Reharmonization. You are substituting the original chords for chords from the same key/scale.

One amazing feature of this idea is the targeting chords(II's & V's) of each substitute can be used to target chords in that sub group. Am7 D7 should end with Gmaj7 but change that for Em11....wow and C#m7b5 with F#7(II &V of Bm7) followed by Gmaj9

there's even more possibilities when you enter Modal and Intervallic Reharmonization!

Modal Reharmonization

II V I

Am7 D7 Gmaj7

Gmaj7(I) can be freely substituted for III or VI from any G Mode.

This is subgroup#1 I III VI are interchangeable

Since EACH I III & VI are interchangeable

their targeting chords (II’s & V’s) are also.

Am7(II) can be freely substituted for IV from any G Mode.

This is subgroup#2 II & IV are interchangeable

D7(V) can be freely substituted for VII from any G Mode.

This is subgroup#3 V & VII are interchangeable

This is an example of Modal Reharmonization in Major Scales only. The charts supplied explore Harmonic & Melodic Minors also.

Lets explore Intervallic Reharmonization next

Intervallic Reharmonization

II V I

Am7 D7 Gmaj7

Any chord can be substituted for a chord occupying the same position in a major scale intervallically positioned with the original key.

Intervallic Scales:-

G Db G

One possibility:- Am9 Ab13 Dbmaj9 instead of Am7 D7 Gmaj7

G B Eb G

One possibility:- Am9 Bb13 Bmaj9 instead of Am7 D7 Gmaj7

G Bb Db E G

One possibility:- Cm9 Ab13 Emaj9 instead of Am7 D7 Gmaj7

G A B C# D# F

One possibility:- C#m9 Ab13 Fmaj9 instead of Am7 D7 Gmaj7

Charts for every key are available for you to download.

• Identify the chords and their position in the parent key.
• Identify the function of the chords that are outside of the parent key
• compare your results with mine #1A & #2A

• Identify the chords and their position in the parent key.
• Identify the function of the chords that are outside of the parent key
• compare your results with mine #1a & #2a

• Identify the chords and their position in the parent key.
• Identify the function of the chords that are outside of the parent key
• compare your results with mine #1 & #2