Chord Substitutions on Guitar: How to Make Progressions More Interesting
Learn chord substitution techniques for guitar - relative minor substitution, tritone subs, diatonic substitutions, and how to use them in your own playing and songwriting.
Popular fretboard positions with fingering suggestions
Showing 8 of 74 playable shapes
The D♭ dominant 7th dominant 7th chord, formed by adding a minor seventh C♭ to the major triad, creates tension that seeks resolution, typically to the tonic. The combination of the major third F and minor seventh C♭ provides a bluesy, soulful feel, making it essential in jazz, blues, and classical cadences.
Each note below shows how the chord is built from its root. This is the theory layer underneath the fretboard shapes.
The root anchors the chord and defines its tonal center.
This note defines the chord's major quality and brings brightness to the sound.
The fifth reinforces stability and gives the chord its strong harmonic frame.
The minor seventh adds bluesy or jazzy tension that wants to move onward.
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