Maj9 Chord substitution

[JazzFanatik]

So I was jamming with a few buddies, and we were grooving to a very simple progression in the Key of A-

Amaj-Emaj-F#m-Dmaj or 1-5-6-4 (btw these were just regular major chords)

We've all playd this millions of times i'm sure...

So anyways, this guy said when you get to the "4 chord" you can take the 4 of THAT chord (so D is the 4 chord in this case, and the 4 of THAT chord is G) and put it in the bass.

So anyways it sounded pretty cool, but I realized that this was BASICALLY a Gmaj9 chord (with no 3) so I just instead played a regular Gmaj9 chord and I liked it even more!

It was so simple, but added a cool sound to the song every once in a while...

Does anyone know WHY this worked? I can't figure it out because G is not even in the Key of A? You have A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A...

So Why would substituting Gmaj9 for Dmaj work? I just like to know so maybe I can apply it to other situations too

[JonnyPac]

It's not really a sub, I'd say. It is related though. A is the tonic key- D is a neighboring key from which all its chords can be borrowed. G is its IV and sounds good with A. If you really dig in, you will find that Gmaj9#11 is the sound it naturally produces. IV chords sound nice with "Lydian" color notes. The other neighboring key is E.

After that you can hit up parallel keys! (modal interchange)

I have a fun tune that goes like this: Cmaj9 | Abmaj9#11 | Bbmaj9 | Ebmaj9#11 Dbmaj9#11 | ...They are all related via neighboring and parallel keys. C still feels like the tonic throughout, therefore it is extreme borrowing, not modulating! Try it out.

[JazzFanatik]

Originally Posted by JonnyPac

It's not really a sub, I'd say. It is related though. A is the tonic key- D is a neighboring key from which all its chords can be borrowed. G is its IV and sounds good with A. If you really dig in, you will find that Gmaj9#11 is the sound it naturally produces. IV chords sound nice with "Lydian" color notes. The other neighboring key is E.

After that you can hit up parallel keys! (modal interchange)

I have a fun tune that goes like this: Cmaj9 | Abmaj9#11 | Bbmaj9 | Ebmaj9#11 Dbmaj9#11 | ...They are all related via neighboring and parallel keys. C still feels like the tonic throughout, therefore it is extreme borrowing, not modulating! Try it out.

OOOOh i see i see Thanks so much for taking the time to explain that to me! I will try to read up on this! and ill try that little progression looks cool

[JonnyPac]

Sure thing!