Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution
Unlock modern harmonic depth by moving beyond basic functional harmony. Learn how to transform standard chord progressions using altered substitutions, chromatic mediants, polychordal upper structures, and smooth linear voice leading.
Like Duolingo, but for Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Re-voicing the Functional Spine and Layered Textures and Linear Motion.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution
- The tritone interval between 3 and b7 (B and F) is symmetrical and shared identically by dominant chords six semitones apart
- Swapping the chord identity inverts the roles: the 3rd becomes the enharmonic 7th and vice versa
- The root movement replaces cyclic circle-of-fifths leaps with smooth chromatic half-step descent into the target tonic
- The altered scale on the primary dominant (Super Locrian) is identical in pitch content to the Lydian Dominant scale rooted a tritone away
- Altered tensions on V7 (b9, #9, b5, #5) map directly to natural upper extensions (9, #11, 13) of the bII7 substitute
- A soloist or arranger can think clean, natural extensions over Db7 to effortlessly produce an altered G7 sound
- In a standard circle-of-fifths chain (e.g., E7 - A7 - D7 - G7 - C), substituting alternating dominants converts fifth jumps into stepwise downward chromatic motion
- Applying tritone substitution to the 2nd and 4th chords creates an E7 - Eb7 - D7 - Db7 - C sequence
- Every half-step step downward alternates between an unaltered secondary dominant and a tritone substitute dominant
- Because a dominant seventh chord and its tritone substitute share the exact same tritone, the ear can accept resolution to either tonic target (C or F# / Gb)
- Treating bII7 as V7 of a key a tritone away (or pivoting via enharmonic reinterpretation) delays or completely redirects the expected tonal center
- Chromatic guide-tone voice leading remains smooth even when the bass resolves by fifth rather than half-step
- Chromatic mediants shift roots by a major or minor third while sharing the same chord quality or belonging to non-diatonic keys
- Ab major (bVI) shares the common tone C with C major while introducing Eb and Ab
- Diatonic mediants share two common tones, whereas chromatic mediants share exactly one
- bII borrows the lowered second scale degree characteristic of the Phrygian mode
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When you substitute Db7 in place of G7, what happens to the guide tones B and F?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
Where Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution takes you
- 1
Re-voicing the Functional Spine
- Tritone Substitutions and Altered Dominants
- Chromatic Mediants and Modal Mixture
- 2
Layered Textures and Linear Motion
- Upper Structure Triads and Polychords
- Linear Voice Leading and Line Clichés
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Music on Tomo
The Mechanics of Musical Harmony
Move beyond standard chord charts to understand why harmonic progressions actually move, pull, and surprise. Discover the voice-leading mechanics, chromatic substitutions, and common voicing traps that separate amateur loops from sophisticated harmony.
Harmonic Craft and Melody
Learn how chords and melodies interact to create emotional momentum, tension, and musical structure. Master voice leading, harmonic rhythm, and chord substitution to transform flat progressions into dynamic, expressive music.
Harmonic Function: Pop, J-Pop, and K-Pop
Explore how chords pull, push, and color musical keys across contemporary music. Learn how functional harmony, modal interchange, and voice leading create tension and release, then unpack the distinct chord palettes of Western radio, J-pop, and K-pop.
Triads in Practice
Unlock fluid harmony across your instrument using the fundamental building blocks of music. Learn to connect chords smoothly, build lush open textures, and use triadic structures to color your improvisations.
How Melody and Harmony Work
Unlock the mechanics of great music by turning raw notes into memorable hooks and emotional chord progressions. Learn how to write melodies that stick, choose chords that fit, and bring both together seamlessly.
Chord Progressions and Harmonic Motion
Move beyond static chord shapes and learn how harmony actually creates emotional momentum. Discover how smooth voice leading, unexpected cadences, and borrowed chords can give your music intentional forward drive.
Start Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution today.
Download Tomo, search Harmonic Reinterpretation and Substitution, and play your first lesson in under a minute.