Many jazz students feel nervous when they hear the phrase “jazz reharmonization.” However, this article will demonstrate that reharmonizing a jazz standard is not only fun and engaging but also much easier than you might imagine.
We’ll go over what reharmonization means and how you can categorize different jazz reharmonization approaches. By the end of this article, you’ll know 10 effective strategies for reharmonizing a jazz standard.
Should you read to the end, you’ll become a true master of jazz harmony!
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Table of Contents
What Is Reharmonization?
Before we define what reharmonization is, it’s probably a good idea to understand harmonization. Harmonization is the process of adding harmonic accompaniment to a melodic line. Musicians usually think of songs as having both a melody and chords.
But really, the melody is one voice in the harmonic structure of a composition.
The harmonic structure underlying a melody is very flexible. It’s so flexible, in fact, that you can make significant changes to it and still preserve the “essence” of a composition. Therefore, reharmonization is the act of changing the existing harmonic structure of a composition.
If basic music theory and the rules of Western harmony are unfamiliar to you, consider checking out these resources first, as you’ll need to know the rules before you can artistically break them!
How To Think About Reharmonization Techniques: “Inside” and “Outside”
There are many ways to approach reharmonizing a tune.
Some approaches involve minor changes to the chord qualities while preserving the essence of the original progression. We’ll consider these techniques to be “inside” reharmonization techniques because they bend the rules of functional harmony, but do not break them.
For example, using a chord substitution technique like secondary dominants to change the chord qualities in a chord progression is an example of an “inside” method, where you make a minor change to reharmonize a jazz standard. We’ll explore this technique later on in this article.
Check out this article to learn more about secondary dominant chords.
Other approaches involve completely disregarding the shapes and contours of the original chord progression and the rules of functional harmony to create something entirely new. This is an example of what we’ll call an “outside” jazz reharmonization technique.
Supporting the melody with parallel major seventh chords underneath is an example of a more avant-garde or radical approach to jazz reharmonization and would be considered “outside.” Here is an example of this reharm technique applied to “All the Things You Are.”
We’ll also explore this option in greater detail later.
The bottom line is that there is a range of jazz reharmonization techniques that go from mild or “inside” to extreme or “outside.” We’ll be sure to cover the whole scope of options available to jazz musicians in this article.
5 Essential “Inside” Jazz Reharmonization Techniques
Let’s start by examining the ways we can modify the original harmony while maintaining its overall direction and tonality. These inside reharmonization techniques are ideal for breathing some new life into existing compositions without completely altering their character.
These “inside” techniques utilize various chord substitutions to add variety to a jazz standard without significantly altering the tune. We’ll talk about:
- Modulation
- Diatonic Substitutions
- Relative Major and Minor
- Secondary Dominants
- Diminished Substitutions
Check out this article on chord substitutions and this one on jazz turnarounds for more information!
1. Modulation
Modulation is the technique of temporarily or permanently shifting the tonal center of a tune. Instead of staying locked into one key, you move the harmony to a new tonal center—sometimes for just a few measures, and sometimes for the remainder of the tune.
Why Are Modulations Considered a Reharmonization Technique?
Sometimes modulations are written into a composition, but we can consider a modulation a jazz reharmonization technique when it isn’t written in and instead employed in your own arrangement.
Modulations don’t change the internal relationship of the chords—the Roman numeral analysis would be the same in any key. However, the melody and harmony change keys, adding to the development of your arrangement.
Starting a tune in C and modulating to D in the second A or for the solo section is an excellent example of modulation in the context of a jazz reharmonization. Let’s examine the tune “Satin Doll” as our example. Here, we modulate from the key of C up to the key of D in the second A.
In the last measure of the first A section, we play a ii-V to our opening chord in the key of D—an E-7 chord! Notice the entire chord progression and melody move up a whole step. The internal structure of the progression remains unchanged; only the actual notes we are playing have changed.
Modulations allow you to reharmonize a tune while preserving all the internal chord and note relationships from the original key.
Modulations are an excellent tool for arranging, or if you are playing through a tune solo and want to add some variety by playing sections of the tune or whole choruses in different keys.
2. Diatonic Substitutions
A diatonic substitution replaces one chord with another chord built from the same parent key. Because the notes overlap, the substitution still supports the melody while subtly altering the harmonic color. Here is why this works.
Chords from the same key are derived from the same diatonic scale. Therefore, many chords from the same key will share the same notes.
Here is a way to visualize this. Let’s break a seventh chord into its constituent triads. Each seventh chord is made from two triads—one built from the bottom three notes and one built from the top three.
Within a Cmaj7 chord is a C major triad and an E minor triad:
- C major triad: C, E, and G
- E minor triad: E, G, B
These triads overlap and form a C major seventh chord: C, E, G, and B.
This demonstrates the overlapping nature of the notes when comparing different chords from the same key. Taking this idea further, it’s possible to substitute one chord with another from the same key and still preserve most of the harmonic function—especially when the chords’ roots are a third apart.
Let’s look at two examples. We’ll first compare Cmaj7 and E-7. Then, we’ll compare Cmaj7 and A-7. Notice how the roots of each group of chords are a third apart (C to E and C to A).
Here we have a Cmaj7 chord and an E-7 chord. Notice how they both share an E minor triad. You can use E-7 to substitute for Cmaj7 and vice versa, though the first option is more common.
Cmaj7 and A-7 share a C major triad. You can use Cmaj7 as a substitute for A-7 just as you could use A-7 instead of Cmaj7.
Let’s apply this concept in a jazz reharmonization! Here are the first eight measures of the classic jazz standard “Take the A Train.” The tune is in the key of C and starts on the I chord. It moves to a II7 chord, before reverting to a regular ii-V-I back to C.
Now, let’s replace some chords in this progression with others from the same key. We’ll swap the I chord for the vi chord in the second measure. We’ll swap the ii chord for the IV chord in the fifth measure, and we’ll swap the I chord for the vi chord in the seventh and eighth measures.
Listen to how the character of the tune changes, despite us not straying outside of the key of C! Diatonic substitutions are helpful when you want to bring a fresh sound to a progression, but you don’t want to make too invasive a change.
Here, we maintain the tonal center of C, but adjust our movement around it.
3. Relative Major and Minor
Taking a tune and placing it in its relative major or minor key is another technique you can employ when reharmonizing jazz harmony. This will emotionally invert the song and is an effective way to create an original arrangement of a jazz standard.
First things first, let’s discuss relative major and minor. Relative major and minor keys share the same key signature. When you switch from a major key to its relative minor key, you aren’t (usually) changing chords. However, you do change which chords you consider “home base.”
Let’s address that usually…
Minor keys often have a dominant chord for a V chord, which is technically non-diatonic. When harmonized, the natural minor scale contains a minor chord on the fifth scale degree. However, composers usually make this dominant to create a more intense V-I cadence.
Check out this article to learn more about relative major and minor, and check out this one for more on musical cadences.
Let’s take a song in a major key and reharmonize it to a minor key. Here is the original chord progression for the first eight bars of “Someday My Prince Will Come.”
Let’s go measure by measure and reharmonize the chords to their relative minor equivalent.
- I chord (Bbmaj7) will become the i chord (G-7)
- III chord (D7) will become the III chord (Bbmaj7)
- IV chord (Ebmaj7) will become the iv chord (C-7)
- VI chord G7 will become the VI chord (Ebmaj7)
- ii chord (C-7) will become the iiø chord (A-7b5)
- VI chord G7 will become the VI chord (Ebmaj7)
- ii chord (C-7) will become the iiø chord (A-7b5)
- V chord (F7) will become the V chord (D7)
Here’s what our new progression looks and sounds like! Notice how we haven’t had to adjust the melody note yet!
Using the relative major or minor in a jazz reharmonization is a great way to alter the emotional quality of a familiar tune.
4. Secondary Dominants (Chord Substitutions)
Secondary dominant chords are dominant chords that temporarily tonicize a chord other than the I chord in a chord progression. For example, in “Someday My Prince Will Come,” the G7 in the 4th and 6th measures temporarily tonicizes the ii chords in the 5th and 7th measures.
In the context of a reharmonization, secondary dominants can lighten a progression by making more of the chords from the key major in quality. The dominant aspect lends progressions a bluesy or gospel flavor that sounds refreshing on certain tunes.
Let’s check out the chord progression for the tune “Misty.” This tune already features a secondary dominant chord built into the progression. The C7 here is temporarily tonicizing the ii chord (F-7). That chord is labelled below in red.
The other dominant chords that aren’t our key’s V chord are technically functioning as the V chords in their own modulated chord progressions. They are labelled in green above.
- The Eb7 is the V of Ab, which is the tonal center at this point in the progression. Therefore, this isn’t a secondary dominant chord because the Eb7 is the V chord of the tonal center.
- The Db7 is a “backdoor” dominant chord that isn’t temporarily tonicizing another chord in the key. It is actually a “backdoor” method of tonicizing the tonal center, Eb. Therefore, it isn’t a secondary dominant chord. Check out this article for more on the backdoor ii-V.
Let’s add more secondary dominants to this chord progression! Remember, secondary dominants have to temporarily tonicize another chord from the same key as the tonic chord.
Here we’ve changed Ab-7 to Ab7 in the 4th bar. This temporarily tonicizes the Db7 chord, which is the V chord of that temporary tonal center. This is a secondary dominant chord!
We’ve also added a string of dominant chords to our turnaround at the end of the eight-bar section.
Here, we use G7 instead of G-7. G7 is the V of the vi chord in the key of Eb. We use C7, which is in the original chord changes. This is a secondary dominant or V of ii chord. We also use an F7 instead of an F-7. F7 is the V of V chord.
The effect of this type of reharmonization technique is subtle, but it uplifts the original changes, giving “Misty” a gospel or bluesy character.
Check out this article to learn more about secondary dominants.
5. Diminished Chord Substitutions
Diminished chords are often used to substitute dominant chords in chord progressions. Therefore, using diminished chords in place of certain dominant chords is another inside reharmonization technique that we need to discuss.
First, let’s learn why this works. A dominant chord and a diminished chord built off the b9th, 3rd, 5th, or the 7th of that dominant chord share similar chord tones.
The notes in a C7 chord are C, E, G, and Bb. The notes in a Db diminished chord are Db, E, G, and Bb. These chords share three of the same notes. E, G, and Bb. You could say that a Db diminished chord is a rootless C7b9 chord.
Diminished chords are symmetrical because each note is exactly a minor third away from its adjacent notes. That means you could play a Db diminished, E diminished, G diminished, or a Bb diminished, and you’d be playing three of the four notes in a C7 chord.
All of these diminished chords work as a C7 chord! Therefore, when reharmonizing a tune, we can take advantage of diminished chords and their symmetry to substitute dominant chords and secondary dominant chords with diminished chords, because they functionally work the same way.
Let’s take the classic jazz standard “I’ve Never Been In Love Before” and replace some chords with diminished chords. Here are the original melody and changes.
Here is the progression once we’ve replaced some chords with diminished chords!
In the first measure, I substituted the G-7 for a G7 or secondary dominant chord (V of ii). Then I used a diminished substitution and built it from the 3rd of the G7 chord. Therefore, we have a B diminished chord that chromatically connects the Bbmaj7 chord and C-7 chord.
I replaced the F7 in the second measure with a diminished chord built from the 3rd scale degree of F7. In the third measure, I substituted the Eb7#11 with a diminished chord built from the 7th of the Eb7 chord (C# and Db are enharmonically equivalent).
In the fourth measure, I substituted the G7 with another B diminished chord. In the fifth measure, I added a diminished substitution of the V chord a bit early and let it lead into the V chord in the sixth measure. In the final turnaround, I subbed G7 for D diminished and G7 for B diminished.
This reharmonization technique gives you a lot of mobility because there are four diminished chords you can use for every dominant chord!
Check out this article to learn more about diminished chord substitutions.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE...
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5 Essential “Outside” Jazz Reharmonization Techniques
We’ve covered “inside” reharmonization techniques, so now it’s time to venture out a bit further and explore some “outside” reharmonization techniques! The following methods will change the character of the original tune and should be used with discretion and taste… or you can go buck wild.
We’ll cover the following “outside” reharmonization techniques.
- Chromatic Bass Lines
- Pedal Tones
- Non-Tertian Harmony
- Parallel Chords
- Using Borrowed Chords
With these techniques, you may have to adjust the melody note every so often to get your pig-picture idea to work, and that’s okay! We’ll be sure to point out areas where we change the melody in our examples.
1. Chromatic Bass Lines
One of the most powerful ways to reimagine a tune is by literally shifting the foundation underneath it. Instead of relying on the stock chord changes, try keeping the melody intact while moving the bass line chromatically, ascending or descending.
Once you decide on your bass motion, the relationship between melody and root tones starts to imply new harmonies. At that point, you’re free to interpret what those harmonies might be. Some choices will sound more “inside,” while others will stretch the tune into new territory.
For our example, let’s look at Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise.
The standard changes are well known, but what happens if we throw them out and place the melody over a chromatically descending bass line? Suddenly, the implied harmony shifts! You’ll still feel the original minor tonality, but the new root motion changes the harmonic environment completely.
Now it’s up to us to fill in the “implied harmony.” This part is open to interpretation. You can move as far outside as you want. For my tastes, I’ll stick with the minor tonality, but I’ll change the underlying chord progression a bit.
2. Pedal Tones
Another powerful “outside” jazz reharmonization tool is the pedal tone. By anchoring a section of a tune to a single note in the bass, or even to a single chord tonality, you create a backdrop that completely alters the song’s feel.
My favorite example is probably in Miles Davis’s version of Someday My Prince Will Come. The intro and first eight bars sit entirely over an F pedal in the bass. Instead of the harmony constantly moving, the bass remains locked on one pitch, which forces the ear to reinterpret the melody and chords above it.
Pedal tones invite creative chord voicings. Slash chords, quartal stacks, and ambiguous chord qualities are all fair game when you’ve anchored the root to one note.
Listen to how satisfying it feels when that F pedal finally resolves to D–7 in the first ending.
Why use this approach? Because it builds drama and suspends the existing melody over a static root. When you break the pedal tone, you decrease tension and create a strong resolution.
Plus, you can combine it with other jazz reharmonization techniques like parallel chords, even borrowed harmony, to stretch your reimagining of a tune even further.
3. Non-Tertian Harmony
Most jazz harmony is “tertian,” meaning it’s built in stacked thirds. But when you step away from that framework, you enter the world of non-tertian harmony, or chords built from seconds, fourths, or fifths instead of thirds. These voicings create a fresh, modern sound that can dramatically reshape a tune.
To see how this works, let’s use the opening melody of Misty as our example.
Secundal Harmony
Secundal harmony stacks seconds, either whole steps or half steps, into tight clusters. This approach creates dense, dissonant sonorities that sound tense and cluttered.
You probably wouldn’t harmonize an entire tune with secundal clusters, but sprinkling them into an arrangement (especially solo piano or guitar) can add intensity and thickness at key moments.
How to do it: Take the melody note and stack a note a second away beneath it, following the key signature, and repeat that process till we have a three-note cluster.
Quartal Harmony
Quartal harmony is built from fourths. Stacking perfect or augmented fourths produces a sound that feels open, ambiguous, and modern. Over a melody like Misty’s, quartal voicings pull the harmony away from its traditional, romantic-sounding harmony and into something cooler, more unsettled.
They’re especially powerful when combined with pedal tones, since the lack of clear tertian roots leaves the listener suspended in ambiguity.
How to do it: Take the melody note and stack a note a fourth away beneath it, following the key signature, and repeat that process till we have a three-note cluster.
Quintal Harmony
Quintal harmony works the same way, but with stacked fifths.
The result is expansive and resonant, often evoking wide-open, almost cinematic sonorities. In Misty, using quintal stacks on the tonal centers (Eb and Ab) pushes the tune away from its stock ii–V–I vocabulary into a more impressionistic landscape.
How to do it: Take the melody note and stack a note a fifth away beneath it, following the key signature, and repeat that process till we have a three-note cluster.
Why Use Non-Tertian Harmony?
Non-tertian harmony pulled from the same key signature sounds vaguely correct while breaking the rules just enough to feel fresh. It’s one of the quickest ways to add drama, ambiguity, and a modern edge to your jazz reharmonizations.
However, you can also move your voicings around in parallel and break from the tonal center altogether! And speaking of parallel…
4. Parallel Chords
Instead of using functional harmony, you move a single chord quality in parallel motion, up or down by any intervallic pattern. For example, you might descend through minor 9 chords by whole steps, or ascend through major 7 chords in minor thirds.
When applying this to a melody, it’s easiest to keep the melody note as the top voice and build each parallel chord underneath it. For example, if the melody note functions as the 3rd of a maj7 chord, then the next melody note should also be supported as the 3rd of the next maj7 chord in the progression.
This way, the relationship between the melody and chord quality remains consistent, even as the harmony itself departs from the original progression.
Take the opening of All the Things You Are as an example. If you harmonize each melody note as the 3rd of a maj7 chord, the progression quickly loses all resemblance to the stock changes. Yet the tune remains recognizable because the melody’s contour keeps it related to the original.
And you’re not limited to maj7 chords. Parallel harmony works just as well with minor chords, dominant chords, or even non-tertian voicings like secundal clusters, quartal stacks, or quintal spreads.
Why use this approach? Because parallel chords sound strikingly modern and impressionistic. They let you break completely free from the original changes while preserving the essence of the melody. The result is a jazz reharmonization that feels both adventurous and coherent.
5. Using Borrowed Chords
Borrowed chords are exactly what they sound like: chords “borrowed” from parallel keys. Parallel keys share the same tonic note but use different scale formulas. For example, C major and C natural minor are parallel keys.
Modal interchange is the official music theory term for borrowed chords. Check out this article to learn more about modal interchange.
When you harmonize these different scales, you get entirely different sets of chords. That means you can freely pull from them to add color to your jazz reharmonizations.
Most often, jazz musicians borrow from the parallel minor when in a major key. Some of the most common substitutions include:
- iv minor instead of IV major (F–7 instead of Fmaj7)
- ii half-diminished instead of ii minor (Dø7 instead of D–7)
- ♭VI major instead of vi minor (A♭maj7 instead of A–7)
- ♭VII major instead of vii half-diminished (B♭ instead of Bø7)
In minor keys, it works the other way around. Borrowed chords often come from the parallel major, such as:
- IV major instead of iv minor (Fmaj7 instead of F–7)
- V dominant instead of v minor (G7 instead of G–7)
Let’s put this into practice with “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” At the end of the first eight bars, try borrowing from C minor to reharmonize the turnaround. A simple swap or two is enough to transform the familiar cadence into something fresh.
Why use borrowed chords? Because they add harmonic variety while still keeping the same tonic note. This makes borrowed harmony one of the most effective ways to introduce “outside” sounds while still staying grounded in the tune’s root note.
By combining both “inside” and “outside” jazz reharmonization techniques, you can transform any jazz standard into a fresh and personal statement while still preserving the essence of the original tune. And, if you want structured guidance on mastering concepts like these, the Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle is the best place to start.
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