This often occurs in a ii-V-I progression, and the V is being substituted by the adjacent tritone dominant. This interval is what causes that distinct sound that we’ve come to know and love about dominant 7th chords. ¿Could you please add a "print" button? Tritone Substitution is usually applied to a Dominant 7 chord. As you will see i a moment, this is incredibly easy to do. Attention: Intervals are the building block of chords. In this episode I give example of three different way to apply tritone substitution and I give some … Go through a bunch of them to make sure you have the concept down. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. What is a Tritone Substitution? See Everything that Zombie Guitar has to Offer! On the other hand, they may be just what you are looking for to add some flavor to a song or chord progression that you are working on. I think it will be helpful for you to see both of these in action together. One example of a tritone interval would be the notes B and F. You can verify that these two notes are six half-steps apart. Le même travail est à faire dans toutes les positions et avec d’autres types de gammes ( pentatonique majeure par exemple…;-) c’est encore plus musical à mon goût. This is by far the most common tritone substitution, so pay close attention. So a G7 would become a D♭7 (the root note is a tritone away). By the way, we cover this topic in greater detail along with many other important harmonic concepts in our upcoming eBook Zero to Improv, which will be released in April 2017. It’s the same concept. Wikipedia explains it this way: 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. For this reason, tritone subs may not always give you the exact sound that you are looking for. Attention: Intervals are the building block of chords. Tritone substitutions are sometimes used in improvisation—often to create tension during a solo. Chords substitutions really make your playing stand out. Glad to be of help, and nice to hear you're interested in the eBook! Another example: see the notes that make up the E7 chord: E, G#, B, D. Between G# and D we have 3 tones distance. The thing we are ultimately trying to achieve is to replace the naturally occurring “dominant V” chord in a key with another dominant chord. A tritone is a very ugly sounding interval between 2 notes that are spaced 6 half-steps apart. For example, if you have a C7 chord you’d substitute it with a Gb7 chord. You could go further with this by adding an extension to the Db7, such as the 9th. The tritone substitution is one of the most common chord substitutions found in jazz and was the precursor to more complex substitution patterns like Coltrane changes. Tritone intervals make a very easy to remember, symmetrical shape on the fretboard. What is a tritone substitution? For example : playing Db7 over G7. They work because the Guide Tones(3rd & 7th) are the same in both chords. Example: G7 is replaced by Db7. Look at these combinations of ‘B’ and ‘F’: Things shift once you get to the B-string: Then they go back to the way things were before we got to that weird B-string…. Advanced Tritone Substitution Tutorial. This is called a "dominant substitute" or "dominant substitution." You simply have to try it for yourself to hear what this tension/resolution concept sounds like…. A more conspicuous chord substitution is where a V7 chord in a ii → V → I is replaced by a dominant 7thchord whose root is a tritone below. Because it lends itself so well to the blues, this last lick is going to be a short and sweet bluesy lick. We’d anticipate a … What is a Tritone? If you ever wondered WHY a G7 chord resolves so nicely to a C chord, it is because of this tritone interval. There are many different types of reharmonization techniques, and musicians use them all the time when arranging music. In this lesson we are going to look at various ways to add harmonic interest over dominant chords using tritones. tritone substitution Targetting resolution notes licks 2–6 Comme vous pouvez le voir, et dans un but pédagogique j’utilise toujours le même début et les postions des 2 arpèges . So the tritone substitution works as a great chromatic passing chord. He's also the host of the music entrepreneurship podcast "Passive Income Musician.". © Copyright 2018 - Learn Jazz Standards, LLC, 3 Types of Tritone Substitution with Lick Examples, LJS 54: How to Organize Balanced Jazz Practice Sessions, LJS 55: 4 Important Jazz Chord Progressions You Need to Master, The 16 Most Important Scales in Jazz [UPDATED], 9 Important Jazz Chord Progressions You Need to Master [UPDATED]. An example where this substitution works particularly well is with the II-V-I cadence. 1/2 step higher would be the note ‘C#’ or ‘Db’ (same note). 2:45 – Using the Circle of Fifths to Find the Tritone Sub for any Key Locate the chord that is 1/2 step higher than the “I chord”, make that into a dominant 7th chord, 2.) Does that mean we can always just replace one dominant chord with another dominant chord a tritone away? If you like this lesson, sign up for our newsletter so you can get notified when Zero to Improv is released! Tritone intervals make a very easy to remember, symmetrical shape on the fretboard. In this example it goes like this: D-Db-C. He writes: “Comparable to melodic and harmonic progressions in African music (and the blues), movement of chord sequences in bebop emphasizes resolutions in a downward direction, eliminating all memory of European leading-tone … They are most often found in ii-V-I progressions, with the tritone substitution being used in place of the V chord. For example, if we had an F7 chord, we could replace that chord with a dominant chord a tritone away. 0:00 – Intro A tritone sub is another dominant 7th chord that contains the same interval, which in this case is ‘B-F’ (or ‘F-B’ for that matter). In the following image, we show a cycle of fifths progression, starting on E7 and ending in F7. 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. The two chords can function as the same chord, as shown here: This has enormous implications for improvising. For Kubik, tritone substitution represents a rejection of the dominant seventh chord that defines European harmony; its ultimate source, rather, is in Africa. So, if we had a D7 chord in a progression, a Tritone Substitution would switch in a G#7 chord in its place, and a Bb7 could be switched to an E7. In Blues and Jazz turnarounds, it's common practice to use harmonic substitutions for any of the chords. Brent Vaartstra is a professional jazz guitarist and educator living in New York City. Having said that, an alternate way of using the tritone substitution is to place the dominant note in the bass. He is the head blogger and podcast host for learnjazzstandards.com which he owns and operates. Great lesson and audio examples help a lot, thanks Brent. An example where this substitution works particularly well is with the II-V-I cadence. In the second system, we show the same chords but applying tritone substitution to … The chromatic effect of the tritone. It’s a book that teaches you how to become a great jazz improviser from the ground up. A tritone substitution is an easy way to add variety to a 251 progression. Go ahead and test yourself. That shows the tritone substitution in action. This can only be explained in words so much. In Part 1 of our article on tritone substitutions we discussed the tritone interval, the tritone substitution, and the theory behind why tritone substitution works. 9:53 – The “Tritone Interval” as Found in Dominant 7th Chords. that explains the basics of what a tritone … In this lesson, I’m going to talk about tritone substitution, what it is, and 3 different types you should be aware of. Some examples. The last tritone sub that I want to cover is the tritone sub of ii. Your email address will not be published. I’ve circled the tritone subs just to be clear about the substitute chords. The b II7 chord (D b 7) can be in place of the G7, thus giving Dm7 | D b 7 | Cmaj7. In practice, a tritone sub in jazz is most commonly a dominant 7 chord. If we use a tritone substitution the chords become Dmin7- Db7- CMaj7. How does it work with diminished, 7b5, sus4, etc (colorful chords). Right off the bat, you can conclude that by substituting a Db7 for a G7, it implies that the G7 has altered qualities. Play around with them, and see what you come up with! Tritone Substitution: Now that we know what a tritone is and what is meant by ‘substitution’ we can look at combining them. Aha, and that is the point of a tritone sub. 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. A tritone substitution is the process of replacing (or substituting) one dominant chord with another dominant chord a tritone away. For every dominant 7th chord, there is one tritone sub associated with it. In practice, a tritone sub in jazz is most commonly a dominant 7 chord. Cb7 instead of F7: Gb7 instead of C7: The following excerpt is from Chopin's Prelude No. The Am7 line is an Em7 arpeggio (arpeggio from the 5th of Am) followed by a scale run. the minor blues scale then really focusses in on that tritone relationship with the root. For this next lick, I’m going to do something different. 1. About the author: He actively performs around the New York metropolitan area and is the author of the Hal Leonard publication "Visual Improvisation for Jazz Guitar." Tritone substitutions are a common harmonic device used in the jazz idiom. So let’s look at the notes of that chord: Again, if you drop the Db and Ab, you are left with the F and B…which is that same tritone interval that is found in the G7 chord. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Use the circle of 5ths by first looking in the clockwise direction of the “I chord” to determine the “V chord”, then draw a straight line across the circle to locate the tritone sub. 5:12 – Part 2: The “Theory” Behind Tritone Subs Your email address will not be published. The tritone substitution corresponds to an altered version of the original chord, without the root (if you don't add a #11 to the tritone sub, which would correspond to the root of the original chord). I’m old af now and still at it! A tritone substitution is the process of replacing (or substituting) one dominant chord with another dominant chord a tritone away. This is one example of a substitution because the C7 was substituted by the Gb7 chord, and Gb and C are tritones. An excellent example of this is the first four chord changes in the jazz standards A Foggy Day by George Gershwin. The 9th in Db7 is Eb7, and what is Eb7 in the context of G7? 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. The Am7 line is an Em7 arpeggio (arpeggio from the … The greats know how the substitution looks on the fretboard, and apply it straight there. Take the key of C major for example, and look at the 7 diatonic chords found within this key: Notice that one of the chords is a dominant 7th chord, which is the “V chord”: The goal with tritone substitution is to replace this dominant chord with something that functions in a similar manner. Just a little typo in your discussion of Tritone Sub of V: you mention adding “Eb7” to Db7 when you must mean the note “Eb” which is the 9 of Db and the flat 13 of G. This might be confusing for readers who are new to theory. For example, Db7 would be the tritone substitution for G7. So instead of G7 –> C, it will be “tritone sub” –> C, 2 Simple Ways to Find the Tritone Sub for any Key. So let’s jump right into some different kinds of tritone substitutions. If you remove the G and D, you are left with this tritone interval ‘B-F’. Tritone substitution is a great way to create some surprising outside sounds in a Jazz solo or arrangement, and it is certainly something you want to have in your toolbox. You can also use the circle of fifths to help you figure these tritone subs too. Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7 can have the G7 chord replaced to a Db7, so the progression would become: Dm7 → Db7 → Cmaj7. A tritone substitution occurs whenever a chord is being substituted or replaced by another chord with a root a tritone interval away. When you understand what a tritone interval is, understanding a tritone substitution is fairly easy. Now, since we know that this tritone interval has the tendency to pull back to something….and that something in this case is the C major chord….what if there was another chord that contains this same interval? Previously we have determined that the tritone sub for G7 is Db7. You want to be able to identify tritones on a whim, as well as any other intervals that exist. 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. Therefore the “tritone sub” for the key of C major would be the Db7 chord. thanks! That’s because Gb is 6 half steps higher than a C. The reason that this substitution works is that dominant 7 chords with a … Study up on all of these, and you will have opened up a lot of different possibilities for your jazz improvisation! 7:55 – What is a “Tritone Interval” Advanced Tritone Substitution Tutorial. 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Help, and you will have opened up a lot, thanks Brent that mean we can always just one... Half-Steps apart root note is a very ugly sounding interval between 2 notes that are 6! So a G7 would become a great chromatic passing chord the Am7 line is an intense,... Add harmonic interest over dominant chords using tritones the E appear in both chords it goes like this:.! Help a lot, thanks Brent a chord is being substituted or replaced another... Where Db7 substitutes G7: a dominant chord with a dominant chord with a dominant 7 chord 251 contains!