Grant describes this exercise in finding substitute chords as a way to breathe new life into well-loved tunes. Using the old chestnut “Home Sweet Home” in the key of C, Grant explores a variety of strategies for reharmonizing the basic I, IV, and V chords in the conventional accompaniment. He begins by demonstrating how playing different bass notes against a single melody note changes the feel and musical “meaning” of that note. Then he shows how changing the chord on a few select notes can have a big impact on the overall feel or “color” of a melody—substituting an E♭ for the tonic against a G note in the melody, for example. Grant explains how to find a range of alternate chords by thinking of other triads that contain the melody note.
