A current hit useful in showing the use of chord substitution
is ”A Different World” written by Jennifer Hanson, Mark Nesler,
and Tony Martin.
Let’s focus on the chorus of the song. Notice it begins with an
ascending progression, 4-5-6m. It then holds the 6m chord before
we hear the 4-5 again, but this time we’re given a 1 chord rather
than the 6m.
This provides variation while maintaining the basic sound of the
previous progression.
read the rest of this article:
"Substitution" in songwriting
