Ch 3 Chord Synonyms and Substitutions : 3

The chord substitutions you’ve studied in the preceding sections are just some examples of chord synonyms. By comparing and examining chords from different angles, more similarities in structure can be identified. In the following pages, you will find charts that summarize the chord synonyms in three chord families: major, minor, and dominant 7. The first column lists the original chord with its basic structure or scale degrees in parentheses. The second column lists chords that are equivalent or synonyms to the first chords. Both the original and the synonym chords are written in Roman numerals (I - VII) to show the relationship between the two chords. For example, when you see in the first row that I triad is the same as VIm7, you can see that a major triad is equivalent to a minor 7 chord up a major sixth. This will allow you to easily apply it in any other key. The numbers to right of the synonyms illustrate how the notes of the original chord become the new scale degrees in the substitute chord. In the first row, the 1st degree of the I triad becomes the b3rd of the synonym chord VIm7, the 3rd degree becomes the 5th, and so on. The last column lists an example for each synonym in the key of C.

( from More Jazz Guitar Chords and Accompaniment)