Tag Archives: reharmonization guitar

Autumn Leaves Reharmonization – How To Make It Sound Fresh

One of the most fun parts of playing a Jazz Standard is that you can make your own reharmonization and give it a personal fresh sound. And it is also great to not always sound the same as everybody else who has been playing the song for the last 60 years.

In this video, I am going to go over 5 examples of reharmonizations with a lot of different sounds and level by level becoming more and more exotic.

You can check these out and have a lot of ideas for your own arrangements and never sound predictable again.

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Content:

00:00 Intro

00:44 Level 1 – The Basic Changes

01:50 Level 2 – A few Tritones Subs and a Surprise

03:22 Level 3 – Attack of the Chromatic II Vs

04:27 Level 4 – Dysfunctional Harmony

06:08 Level 5 – The Aliens Stole My Lunch Money and gave them to John Coltrane

07:44 Searching for Beautiful Chord Progressions

07:53 Like the video? Check out my Patreon page.

 

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II V I – When you want to sound different (in 8 ways)

The II V I is the most important and common chord progressions in Jazz.

But sometimes it is also nice to have some other ways of approaching this progression so that it sounds a little less predictable maybe even less like a II V I.

In this video, I am going over 8 ways to change the chords to get some new sounds, and I am only messing with the II and the I chord because I have a ton of other videos with different V chord options.

Of course, you can also take these examples and use them on a static chord if that fits the music you play better and you want to change it up a little.

Check out other videos on Reharmonization

Why Reharmonization Is For You And How To Get Started

Reharmonization – Are you getting it wrong?

Content:

0:00 Intro – Changing up the II V I sounds

0:20 8 Ways to change the sound of a 2 5 1

0:44 Example 1 – IImMAj7

0:59 What The Chords Sound Like and why that is important for solos….

2:29 Example 2 – IIø(9)

3:19 More Different Rhythms

3:36 Triplets Groupings

3:53 Example 3 – IIsus4(b9) – The Prhygian Chord

4:58 The Elephant In The Room

6:11 Example 4 – IIalt

7:04 8th note triplet groupings on altered dominants

7:45 Example 5 – Imaj7(#11)

8:47 Example 6 – Imaj7(#5)

9:29 Sneaking in Melodic Minor sounds

10:04 Triplet rhythms for medium swing – Hancock, Rosenwinkel, Mehldau

10:29 Example 7 – Imaj7(#9,#11)

11:43 Example 8 – Imaj7(#9,#5)

11:58 The Augmented Scale – That I never practiced

13:33 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page

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Get the PDF!

The PDF for this lesson is available through Patreon in the Patreon FB group. By joining the Patreon Community you are in the company of 200 others supporting and helping shape the content on my YouTube channel.

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Why Reharmonization Is For You And How To Get Started

Reharmonization! I imagine the word itself sets off alarms for some people thinking: “Crazy Music Theory will follow” and there are going to be the weirdest examples of chord substitutions and bass-notes over triads with extensions.

But it isn’t that bad. Reharmonization is a great way to add variation to both your solos and your interpretation of a song, for example in a chord melody arrangement.

In this video I am going to give you some basic reharmonization ideas to use, it is pretty basic and stuff you might know already but not use like this or maybe have played examples off. The video is not going to make you the best arranger of our time but it will give you some things you can put to use in a lot of places and if you are only playing the basic changes all the time then starting to work on improvising with the chords could be just the thing you should do to get to a higher level.

Content

0:00 Intro

0:24 How Do We Use Reharmonization.

0:52 Playing with the Expectations of the Listener

1:25 #1 Major instead of Minor

2:17 Example on Stella By Starlight

2:37 Solo Example 

2:50 Hearing this in context – Timing and Placement in the form

3:25  #2 Tritone Substitutes – Using Complete II V’s

3:45 Example on There Will Never Be

4:30 The Effect

4:48 Solo example

5:06 #3 Parallel Minor Chords – Dim Chords

5:15 The Two Types of Minor chords

5:47 Example 1 – Dim to m7 – Someday My Prince Will Come

6:48 Recorded examples

7:18 Solo Example

7:28 #4 Parallel Minor Chords – Harmonized Bassline

7:33 The Progression that is reharmonized.

8:23 Example on Days of Wine and Roses

8:45 Using this in Melodies and Recorded examples in solos

9:20 Solo Example

9:27 Like the Video? Check out My Patreon Page!

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Get the PDF!

The PDF with examples for this video is available through Patreon. You can check out my Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/jenslarsen

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If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics then please let me know. Leave a comment on the video or send me an e-mail. That is the best way for me to improve my lessons and make them fit what you are searching for.

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Phrygian Chords – Some Of The Best Places To Use Them

Phrygian Chords are a great chord substitute to have in your vocabulary. It can be used in reharmonizing songs for arrangements or as something to throw in there in solos and comping. In this video, I talk about some of the places where you can apply a phrygian chord. Some more “out” than others. I demonstrate this using a chord melody of the song “I fall in love too easily” which I then harmonized using a lot of Phrygian, or Dom7thsus4(b9) chords.

I use the arrangement of the song but also talk about applying this type of chord substitution or reharmonization on Stella By Starlight and Night And Day.

Content:

0:00 Intro – Phrygian Chords

1:12 Chord Melody – I Fall In Love Too Easily

2:41 Phrygian Chords – What is it

3:00 A few Phrygian Voicings – The Abmaj7(b5) connection

4:30 Phrygian Chord as a substitute for a II V

5:02 Scale Choices and variations for the chords

5:57 Reharmonizing a minor II V I

6:42 Night And Day Reharmonization

7:06 Stella By Starlight

7:49 A few bars with “normal” changes

8:40 Minor II V substitutes and the consequences

10:47 What is the melody actually?

11:34 Tonic chord substitute #1: Phrygian on III

12:30 Using this on Night And Day – Consequence of this choice

13:00 Arranging: Think in expectation of the listener

13:33 Tonic chord substitute #2: Phrygian on I

14:40 Learning to use new chord sounds

15:24 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page.

Learn using Reharmonizations in your solos

A huge expansion of your vocabulary happens once you learn to improvise not only with the notes of the chord but also with the chords in the progression.

This video lesson demonstrates and discusses that.

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Get the PDF!

The PDF with the chord melody and examples for this video is available through Patreon. You can check out my Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/jenslarsen

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If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics then please let me know. Leave a comment on the video or  send me an e-mail. That is the best way for me to improve my lessons and make them fit what you are searching for.

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Reharmonization Techniques – the best way to make them more musical

Why it can be tricky to get reharmonizations to sound musical in a solo

Using reharmonizations in your solos can be tricky since you need to find the right place and the right type of reharm if you want it to sound natural and still surprising. This video will go over some Reharmonization techniques and how you place them in the form of a song. The place where you use stuff like this has a huge impact on how it works, and I will discuss this in the video.
 
How do you apply reharmonizations to your solo?

Content of the video:

0:00 Intro – Musical approach to Reharmonization

0:13 Applying Reharmonizations to a musical context – A Song

0:41 The Form and the Song

1:19 A surprising way to use Tri-Tone substitution

1:41 Take The A-Train – The form, key and harmony

2:04 The pull towards the tonic and reharmonizing that 2:28 The Tri-tone reharmonization

2:47 A progression that makes sense

3:04 Soloing on A-train with the reharmonization

3:15 How Jim Hall uses Tri-Tone substitution on Autumn Leaves

3:48 Making a m7(b5) is m7(9) to get a brighter sound

4:22 Blue Bossa Chord Progression

5:05 Comping through it with the reharmonization

5:17 Soloing using the reharmonization

5:30 Same idea in Stella on the beginning

5:52 This idea applied to a #IVm7(b5) like Days of Wine and Roses

6:35 Parallel harmony reharmonization turning a dim chord into a m7(9)

6:42 Someday My Prince Will come – harmony

7:13 Using this as a melodic idea as well

7:42 It’s Parallel so the sounds are the same

8:12 Example of a solo using the parallel minor chords

8:30 Other songs where this might work and people who does this

9:04 Relating this to the Parker Blues

9:28 A Musical way to use reharmonization

10:07 Do you have favourite reharmonizations?

10:43 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page?

Modern Jazz Reharmonization Techniques: Tritone sub, Coltrane Changes and Modal

Reharmonization techniques are useful in many ways in Jazz both in improvising and arranging. In this video I will go over 5 reharmonizations of a part of All The Things You Are. The different versions will illustrate several techniques and options for reharmonizing the standard. Some of the concepts are tonal and functional others are in the modal or atonal end of the spectrum.

I mostly hope to give you some ideas on how to think about the progressions that are not really functional and tonal, but that you can still percieve and mold as musical phrases.

Content:

0:00 Intro

0:53 Basic All The Things You Are Chords

1:09 How the lessons is build

1:34 Reharmonization of the Melody!!

2:17 Don’t reduce it to chords and go from there

2:51 Reharmonization 1 – Triton Subs and Dom7th Chains

3:07 Analyzing Reharm 1 – Techniques used

3:35 Basic analysis of ATTYA progression

4:03 Understanding the movement and modulation of All The Things

4:32 Analysis of the Reharmonization

5:52 Leave the Cmaj7 alone (here’s why…)

6:45 Using this type of reharm in solos, Metheny does.

6:57 Reharm 2 – Moving a chord sound around

7:39 Breaking down Reharm2

9:56 It’s maj 3rds but not Coltrane

10:05 Reharm3: Coltrane Changes on All The Things You Are

10:19 Reharm: 4 – Logical bass movement

10:34 Making unconnected chords sound like a logical progression

11:07 Ascending bass lines

11:26 Analysis of Reharm 4 – bass

12:01 Adding chords to the bassline

13:19 The effect of this type of reharmonization

14:15 Why Amaj7 is a great sub for Cmaj7 with an E in the melody

14:49 Reharm 5 – SPACE-CAKE – Faster harmonic rhythm, more sentences in the progression.

15:41 More chords means shorter phrase length in the chord progression

16:03 Analysis of Reharm 5

16:58 Second phrase of Reharm 5

17:47 Some of the things to keep in mind when harmonizing with modal sounds like this

18:14 Tools for this type of reharmonization

18:41 Think in phrases with the chords

19:19 Reharmonizing the melody? How do you use reharmonization?

20:21 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page

Minor II V I options – Melodic Minor, Phrygian Chords and Tritone Substitutions

The minor II V I can be a difficult chord progression to play on and have a varied vocabulary on. In this video I am going to go over how you can approach it in several different ways with Phrygian Chords, Melodic minor and Tritone Substitutions.

In the video I will demonstrate the different Minor II V I approaches and talk about how to use them both in terms of comping, voicing choices et and also soloing and arpeggios.

I also talk a bit about what will fit with the melody of a piece.

 

Content of the video:

 

0:14 Minor II V I The Progression in this video

 

0:42 Basic II V I – Demonstration

1:03 Scales, Voicings, extensions

2:31 Arpeggios for a m7b5 chord

 

4:33 Locrian natural 2/ Locrian #2 – Demonstration

4:54 Melodic minor for m7b5

5:15 Chord voicings for m9(b5)

5:54 How does it fit the melody?

6:48 Arpeggios from Melodic minor

 

7:50 Tritone sub – Demonstration

8:12 Using a Tritone sub dom7th instead of the IIm7b5

8:26 The progression with these chords

8:56 When does it fit the melody?

9:41 Voicing Options and considerations

9:57 The bonus Blue note!

 

11:51 Phrygian Chord – Demonstration

12:10 What is a Phrygian Chord

13:19 Comping a Phrygian sound

14:06 Soloing on a Phrygian Chord

14:36 How you can use them and where

 

14:55 Tritone II V – Demonstration

15:17 Tritone substitution of the entire cadence

16:23 Strategies for soloing over a tritone sub

 

17:27 Borrowing II from Major – Demonstration

17:49 How it works – modal interchange

18:13 Using the brighter sounding II chord

19:34 Voicing considerations

19:56 Soloing over the borrowed II chord

20:43 Do you have a great reharmonization or scale choice for a minor II V I?

 

21:26 Like the videos? Support me on Patreon!

II V What?! – How not to resolve a II V I (on purpose) – Modern Jazz Guitar Lesson

Probably you know a lot of choices dominant scales in a II V I, but no matter what you do it will always be the same old II V I chord progression that sounds predictable.
 
In this video I will go over how you can break up that pattern by suspending the resolution of the I chord. Our ear really expects the dominant to resolve so going somewhere else is one of the most powerful reharmonization techniques.
 
The video covers how you can get started playing outside by insering IV minor, diminished chords or altered dominant ideas on places where your ear expects resolution not tension. I demonstrate how I use chord substitution in this context with both comping and soloing. The video also discusses how and where you can use this in a reharmonization of a jazz standard. Some of the songs I mention are Stella By Starlight, I Love You and Fly Me To The Moon.
 

 

List of contents

 
0:42 What is a Cadence
1:12 How can we use that to surprise the listener
1:46 #IV diminished Solo
2:03 #IV dim What it does and how it works
3:30 Using this in arranging or comping
3:58 Song example: I Love You
4:34 Song example: Stella By Starlight
5:04 Using Dim suspension when comping
5:36 Song example: Misty
6:30 IV minor Solo
6:48 How IV minor works in a solo context
8:04 Other Iv minor sounds than Melodic minor
8:58 Songs with a IV minor suspension in the melody
9:53 When can you use this suspension on the melody
11:07 Maj7#5 solo
11:24 Maj#5 as a suspension – Using chords to practice
12:59 solo ideas
13:15 In Comping or Reharmonizations
14:06 Song example: Stella By Starlight
14:48 Altered Dominant suspension
15:06 What Altered Dom7th suspension is
16:30 Where this often works the best – Relating it to the form
18:00 VImaj7 solo
18:18 How it works and how I use it.
20:55 Resolve the Maj7 sound and playing difficult modern changes
22:03 Using it to reharmonize standards
23:04 Using Common Progressions in Funny places
23:50 This ReHarmonization series and reinterpreting chords
24:53 Don’t think in scales think in chords and sounds
25:26 Using Standards as reharmonization exercises
 

Modern Approaches to a Jazz Blues – Rethinking the Chord Progression

Reharmonizing and interpreting chord progressions like a 12 bar jazz blues is a very important part of improvising in jazz. In this video I will take a Bb Jazz Blues and go over a few fairly simple ways to get other sounds on the first 4 bars. It should open some new ideas and widen your knowledge of jazz harmony and jazz theory.

I discuss how I come up with the ideas and how I both improvise and comp with the “new” sound. Often making the chord progression more modal gives you a lot of interesting choices in terms of reharmonization and scale choices.

List of contents

0:32 Overview of what is covered in the video
0:44 Comping and Soloing with alternative changes and sounds

1:10 Standard Blues Changes solo for Reference
1:48 Making the Blues modal

2:12 Lydian b7 as a “different sound”
2:45 Lydian b7 Guitar Solo example
3:36 Structures used for Lydian b7
3:50 Triad Pairs: Bb + C
4:03 Ab Augmented and Bb
5:02 Gm and Ab Augmented
5:08 Bb7(b5) Arpeggio
5:21 FmMaj7 Arpeggio

5:41 Bb Phrygian Guitar Solo
6:32 Bb Phrygian as a Sound on a Bb Blues
6:43 Bmaj7(b5) chord as a Bb7sus4(b9) chord
7:09 Fm7b5 voicing
7:14 Db7 voicings
7:49 Coloring Blues Phrases with Phrygian chords
8:28 Using the Bmaj7(b5) arpeggio

8:43 Whole step dom7th Guitar Solo
9:31 The thinking behind the reharmonization
9:58 Playing Coltrane Changes on a Bb Blues
10:15 Explaining how the chords work
11:05 Comping Description
11:46 Soloing Description, target notes
12:20 Reharmonization in solos and interaction

12:54 Modal Altered Scale Guitar Solo
13:43 The Altered dom7th and extending it to 4 bars
14:26 Voicings (E7/Bb7alt)
14:53 Soloing: Important clear target notes
15:28 The Mysterious Triad
15:56 Dmaj7(#5) arpeggio

16:47 Taking these examples further.
17:12 Using the chord voicings to learn to solo
17:30 Thoughts on soloing with superimposed changes
17:48 Other Reharmonizations and modal sounds
18:10 How to come up with reharmonizations

19:04 Outro

25 Reharmonizations of a Turnaround – Discover New Modern Jazz Chord Progressions

A great way to write better chord progressions is to check out reharmonization techniques and chord substitution. You can build your jazz theory or jazz harmony vocabulary like your solo vocabulary.

In this video I am going to take a I VI II V and go over 30 different ways of playing this progression. Some of the very common ones and also a lot that are more advanced or modern. Hopefully you can use the chord progressions to get some new ideas and techniques for reharmonization or for your own compositions!

0:00 Writing better chord progressions
1:24 The basic turnaround and some variations
4:22 The I I7 IV V
5:34 The Radiohead turnaround
6:09 #IVdim in the standard turnaround
7:12 The Ladybird Turnaround
8:43 Getting less functional and more substitutions
9:55 Reinterpreting other chords in the progression
11:04 The “Inner Urge” idea
11:49 Major 3rd tonalities
12:23 #IV instead of the V
14:42 Same interval in the root movement
16:31 More Poppy sound without dom7th chords
16:45 Same melody note
17:42 IVm type chords instead of V
19:09 Upper-structure resolving passing chords
19:54 How to use the vamps and the exercises