Substitution Chords and Parallel Usage

Tony DeCaprio teaches an advanced masterclass on substitution chords and their parallel usage in both comping and improvising. Rather than treating substitutions as a chord-only topic, Tony shows how to play lines through the substitute changes — outlining them with arpeggios and inversions so your improvising covers the harmony without guesswork or reliance on artificial devices.

What's covered

• ii-V-I cadences and ii-V chaining
• Using the cycle of fifths, thirds, and seconds to move between chords
• Secondary dominants, back-cycling dominants, and contiguous dominants
• Diminished chord functions and modulation
• Mediant substitutions and pivot chords shared between keys (e.g. treating the iii chord as a deceptive cadence for the ii)
• Tritone (flat-5) substitution applied to line playing, not just chords
• Arpeggiating root-position and first-inversion voicings to outline changes simply

Tony applies these ideas to real progressions including the Blues, Rhythm changes, Confirmation, Joy Spring, I Remember You, All The Things You Are, and Countdown, showing you how to develop your own interesting lines through each.