How to Use Tritone Substitution For Jazz Guitar. The tritone substitution of D7, therefore, is Ab7. "August","September","October","November","December"); Jazz guitar, gears, technics, partitions…. Simply replace it by the dominant 7th chord with its root tone a tritone (6 semitones) away. } Notice that the Bb and the E appear in both chords. Here in Part 2 of our discussion on tritone substitution we will go through some specific examples of how tritone substitution works in practice and discuss some ideas for improvisation. But what if you were to make E the 7th and Bb the 3rd? ( Log Out /  5 5. Beats, Jazz and Psychedelia. We can use tritone substitution anytime we encounter dominant 7th chords. In other words, a lick based on a tritone sub sounds especially effective over an altered chord. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Alternative #4 – bVII-I. tritone substitution of C7. ... Triplet groupings and tritone substitution. A tritone substitution is the substitution of one dominant seventh chord (possibly altered or extended) with another that is three whole steps (a tritone) from the original chord.In other words, tritone substitution involves replacing V 7 with ♭ II 7 (which could also be called ♭ V 7 /V, subV 7, or V 7 / ♭ V).For example, D ♭ 7 is the tritone substitution for G 7. Using our seemingly inexhaustible fund of musical theory knowledge, we have just demonstrated that instead of playing D7, we could play Ab7. The tritone substitution is a powerful technique both for chordal playing and improvisation. Then, using an inversion and another tritone substitution, the progression is further transformed into a chromatic descending bass line progression. The Theory Of A Tritone Substitution. 6 half steps higher than Bb is the note E. So, E7 is the tritone substitution of Bb7. tritone substitution of C7. The tune "Lo Jo" by George Coleman uses a tritone bridge. But just because we can do something, does … But below it, the author (Eric Roche) Says "The IV7 chord (F7) is in fact a substitute for the B7 chord and could resolve to the Eminor (iii) chord also. out+=" "; } Here’s an example: Instead of G7 and Db7 above, try playing the lick over Dmi7 and G7b9 and see what you get. Change ). This progression occurs repeatedly in Killer Joe and in tune like Yardbird Suite. G7, A7, C7, etc. report. The second example shows how a tritone substitution was used to turn a standard progression into the opening verse progression to Our Day Will Come (Ruby & The Romantics – 1963). In this case we’ll be swapping out any dominant seventh chord ie. Thus, the alt chord is equivalent to the tritone substitution with a sharp eleven alteration. else if (seed <= 100 && seed > 0) { At 0:11 the … By Phil Johnson | Submitted On May 05, 2010. In C Maj, instead of bars 1-5 looking like this: C7 ⇨ C7 ⇨ C7 ⇨ C7 ⇨ F7, it would instead look like C7 ⇨ C7 ⇨ C7 ⇨ Gb7 ⇨ F7. 17 and 22. share. window.status=out; Learn Piano Level 10 is the toughest of all 9 levels. A series of descending dominant sevenths is a variation of a cycle of fifths using tritone substitution (Bb7 = E7, Ab7 = D7, Gb7 = C7): Chopin uses tritone substitution in other preludes like No. The idea of subbing F#7 for C7 seems strange if you are playing in a key like perhaps F. But there is a reason why it works and it has to do with function. Tablature Tritone Substitution - Free download as Text File (.txt), PDF File (.pdf) or read online for free. Guitar Chords For example, a G7 chord can be substituted with the Db7 chord. Chord Progressions You can swap your dominant seventh chord for the dominant seventh a tritone … You would essentially turn the interval upside down and make a new chord: The above example shows a C7 going to a Gb7 with Db in the bass. In the case of C7, the 3rd is E and the 7th is Bb. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. now imagine I'm a baby listening to coltrane. } Chord substitution is a big topic and the possibilities are vast, but for starters, I'd like to introduce you to one of the most commonly used examples, the tritone sub. G7 can become Db7, or vice versa. window.status=" "; A tritone substitution is taking any dominant 7 chord you see and play another dominant 7 chord that occurs a tritone (#4 aka b5) away from that initial chord. var y = dt.getYear(); | Bbmaj7 ' Bb7 | Ebmaj7 ' D7 | Gm7 ' C7 | F7sus4 | Bbmaj7 | It sounds pretty sweet. (Excerpt from Chord Progressions For Songwriters), Substitute Progression (Descending Bass Line), Substitute Progression (Our Day Will Come). The tune "Lo Jo" by George Coleman uses a tritone bridge. In other words, tritone substitution involves replacing V with ♭II (which could also be called ♭V /V, subV , or V /♭V ). // Y2K compliant I noticed the bass line was just rhythm changes, but the chords were just moving chromatically. A tritone is an interval of 3 whole steps (exactly half of an octave). Songwriting Replacing a dominant seventh (or a minor seventh) chord by a dominant seventh chord whose root is a tritone away is referred to as a tritone (or flatted fifth) substitution. A tritone substitution is the substitution of one dominant seventh chord (possibly altered or extended) with another that is three whole steps (a tritone) from the original chord. You don't have to think about all of this when you substitute dominant 7 chords, just move your root a tritone away and you're good to go! That shows the tritone substitution in action. var cmd="scrollit_r2l(" + seed + ")"; This thread is archived. Close. In jazz music, a tritone substitution is the use in a chord progression of a dominant seventh chord (major/minor seventh chord) that is three steps (a tritone) away from the original dominant seventh chord. Tritone subtitutions are also known as substitute dominants, or Sub-V (Sub-five) chords. Gb7 is preceded by Db-7, making a II-V, Db-7, Gb7—the II-V tritone substitution of C7. A dominant 7th type hchord can be substituted by the dominant 7th chord whose root is an interval of an augmented 4th/diminished 5th (6 semitones, or 3 whole tones, hence the name 'tritone substitution') away from the root of the original chord. 67% Upvoted. // end -->, Flat-Five Substitution (Guitar Lesson World), The Tritone, Substitution, Cycle 4 (ibreathemusic.com), Using Tritone Substitution (Jazz Guitar ONLINE). The tritone substitution refers to the bass note of the dominant seventh chord. } For example, C7alt is built from the scale C, Db, D#, E, Gb, G#, Bb. The only difference is C, which is … Jazz music is littered with the tritone substitution, which is when a dominant seventh chord is substituted for another dominant seventh chord that is one tritone away. var monthNames = new Array("January","February","March","April","May","June","July", Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Let's look at two seemingly unrelated chords, C7 … Note that the interval between the third and seventh of a dominant seventh chord is itself a tritone. (Db7 is … This substitution works for all dominant chords. Tritone substitution is a very cool jazz chord substitution. Metal, rock, and blues players get a lot of action on the so-called "Devil's Interval". For example,… This also reinforces the downward movement of the thirds and sevenths of the chords in the progression (in this case, F/C to F/B to E/B). To find it’s tritone substitution you’d simply count up 6 half steps from there. The tritone substitution concept is similar to the augmented sixth concept in classical harmony. Try it out and we’ll be back soon with more examples. Tritone substitutions are also closely related to the alt chord used commonly in jazz. The thing that really turned me on to tritone subs was a tune I heard on the radio over 30 years ago - "Lo Joe" by George Coleman. 23 comments. can anyone explain tritone substitution for me in VERY simple language? seed--; 8 8. comments. "Tritone Bridge" is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. ( Log Out /  A tritone substitution is the use in a chord progression of a V 7 (dominant seventh chord) (major/minor seventh chord) that is three whole steps (a tritone) from the original chord. hide. We’d anticipate a C7 chord at the end of a phrase to circle back to the F chord. Do things in the right order and you stand a lot better chance of understanding it. for (c=0 ; c < seed ; c++) { Three whole tones is the same as the b5. Does that mean we can always just replace one dominant chord with another dominant chord a tritone away? To find it’s tritone substitution you’d simply count up 6 half steps from there. var m2 = "Your one source for the best free guitar lessons available on the Web...... "; Check it out. var cmd="scrollit_r2l(" + seed + ")"; Before watching this you should have done the previous lessons in this series - without a solid understanding of Functioning Dominants and Altered Harmony this is going to mess with your head. timerTwo=window.setTimeout(cmd,100); Tritone substitutions are a common technique in jazz and were first used by musicians such as Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and Benny Goodman. The tritone substitution The tritone substitution is very common in Jazz, and it is the substitution of a Dominant 7 chord with the Dominant 7 chord three whole tones above the root. You can overdo tritone substitution, which can sound terrible if it results in an awkward bass line or clashes with the melody. Tritone Substitution Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Another name for this substitution is the flat-five. Ah, the mysterious tritone. Gb7 is preceded by Db-7, making a II-V, Db-7, Gb7—the II-V tritone substitution of C7. This song is in the key of F major and the dominant seventh chord of F major is C7. 17 and 22. scrollit_r2l(99) function scrollit_r2l(seed) The tritone substitution is a powerful technique both for chordal playing and improvisation. The tritone substitution concept is similar to the augmented sixth concept in classical harmony. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. This type of substitution is known as a tritone substitution." In this case we’ll be swapping out any dominant seventh chord ie. seed--; The tritone substitution in the above scenario trades an F7 for a B7. The notes F and B are a tritone apart, and the chords F7 and B7 both have A and Eb as their 3rd and 7th (albeit swapped around). So, Fmaj7 is the I chord, Gmin7 is the ii chord and the V chord should be C7. MoneyChordsStore. “Dominant chord” is the name we give to the 5th chord (V7) in a major scale. This song is in the key of F major and the dominant seventh chord of F major is C7. Chord substitution doesn’t have to be difficult if you just think in small intervals. 8 years ago. The C7 is given a C7(13b9) color which is mostly associated to the diminished scale. Note how the progression in measures 5 to 7 goes from Gmin7 (ii) to Fmaj7 (I) via a Gb7#11, not C7 as you’d expect from a ii-V-I. Tritone substitution explained to babies? The alt chord is a heavily altered dominant seventh chord, built off of the alt scale that includes a flat ninth, sharp ninth, flat fifth, sharp fifth, and flat seventh. A cautionary note is necessary here. G7, A7, C7, etc. A tritone is an interval of an augmented fourth or diminished (flatted) fifth (three whole steps). if (-seed < msg.length) { For example : playing Db7 over G7. Tritone Substitution of Dominant 7th Chords . { out+=msg.substring(-seed,msg.length); This substitution is particularly suitable for jazz because it produces chromatic root movement when applied to the ii-V-I progression prevalent in jazz tunes. else if (seed <= 0) { Wikipedia explains it this way: "Tritone Bridge" is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. The tritone substitution has been discussed in several questions here, perhaps most notably What is tritone substitution? This would again give the downward semitone motion between bar 4-5. So the harmony was one tritone sub after another. "Tritone Bridge" is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. Standards } New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. It makes use of an interesting harmonic phenomenon. And the bridge takes the tritone subs to a whole new level. } The reason that this substitution works is that dominant 7 chords with a bass note a tritone … Enharmonically, this is almost the same as the scale for Gb7, which is the tritone substitute of C7: Gb (=F#), Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb (=D#), Fb (=E). This has some exciting implications for the bass player, who now has the power to completely change the underlying chord with just one note. timerTwo=window.setTimeout(cmd,100); var m1 = " Welcome to MoneyChords.com...... "; out+=msg; This is one example of a substitution because the C7 was substituted by the Gb7 chord, and Gb and C are tritones. It makes use of an interesting harmonic phenomenon. Archived. For example, if we had an F7 chord, we could replace that chord with a dominant chord a tritone away. and Why is bII 7(b5) considered a dominant? hide. 4. The bVII acts like a substitute for the V7 chord. In practice you can use the Tritone Substitution principle on any dominant 7th chord. However, instead of a C7 chord, we hear a Gb7 chord. As we learned in Part 1, tritone substitution is the act of replacing one dominant 7th chord with another dominant 7th chord a tritone away. You can see how the tritone substitution can open huge areas of exploration for your improvising. Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window). The only difference is C, which is the sharp eleventh of the Gb7 chord. var m3 = ""; It can be used to great effect for really changing up the sound of your chords progressions. Rhythm Changes Bridge (in the key of Bb) || D7 | D7 | G7 | G7 | C7 | C7 | F7 | F7 || Dominant chords converted to ii Vs var msg=m1+m2+m3 if (y < 1000) y +=1900; Links Therefore, a tritone substitution means subbing Ab for D, B for F, etc. Here is a line based on the D dorian and Db Mixolydian (tritone sub of G Mixolydian) scales. if (seed > 100) { You can choose scales, arpeggios and licks based on the tritone sub. Jazz music is littered with the tritone substitution, which is when a dominant seventh chord is substituted for another dominant seventh chord that is one tritone away. b 9 is one of the most common extensions on a dominant chord, so this makes the substitution even more effective. The tritone substitution is a powerful technique both for chordal playing and improvisation. ( Log Out /  What are Tritone substitutions. In any dominant 7th chord, the two most important notes (the 3rd and the 7th) form the interval of a tritone. var dayNames = new Array("Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"); A tritone substitution would occur in bar 4, when the I7 chord is about to transition to the IV7 chord, changing that I7 chord to a bV7 chord. Enharmonically, this is almost the same as the scale for Gb7, which is the tritone substitute of C7: Gb (=F#), Ab, Bb, Cb, Db, Eb (=D#), Fb (=E). For example, Db7 would be the tritone substitution for G7. For example : playing Db7 over G7. window.status=out; Don’t forget to use your A series of descending dominant sevenths is a variation of a cycle of fifths using tritone substitution (Bb7 = E7, Ab7 = D7, Gb7 = C7): Chopin uses tritone substitution in other preludes like No. The third of a G7 is B and the seventh is F; the third of a Db7 is F and the seventh is Cb, enharmonically B. else { A cautionary note is necessary here. In any dominant 7th chord, the two most important notes (the 3rd and the 7th) form the interval of a tritone. save. // Array of day names Eb7 can become A7, or vice versa. What are Tritone substitutions. (Courtesy of Wikipedia),