Mar 24, 2017 in practice, a tritone sub in jazz is most commonly a dominant 7 chord. Secondary dominants write better chord progressions. Tritone substitution is a good way to add some new ideas to your ii v i lines. An introduction to chord substitutions for piano players. The basic idea is that the dominant chord dominates the key, really allows us the most tension before we resolve the chord. In other words, when we play simultaneously two notes that have three tones of distance between them, we are playing a tritone. Music theory pdf ebook for musicians and normal people. The reason that this substitution works is that dominant 7 chords with a bass note a tritone apart share the same 3rd and 7th. Free pdf ebook tritone substitution jazz guitar licks. Once youve nailed down building basic chords in the key of c, start building chords in other keys too. Jun 08, 2018 secondary dominants write better chord progressions. The substitution of one chord for another, that is a tritone away from the one being substituted. This course takes musicians to apply more advanced music theory into their playing tritones, tritone chord substitutions, jazzy chromatic chord movement, 36251 turn arounds. A chord progression or harmonic progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that aims for a definite goal of establishing or contradicting a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord.
In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones six semitones. Explanation of the tritone jazz chord substitution that adds so much colour to the sound by way of musical examples charlie parker, clifford brown. The tritone substitution is a dominant, or secondary dominant 7th chord whose root is a. The d minor chord can be replaced by the d minor 7th chord. In other words, tritone substitution involves replacing v 7 with.
A tritone substitution is the substitution of a dominant seventh chord with another chord whose root is a tritone augmented fourth lower. This is a common ending chord for jazz songs minor minor 1 b3 5 c eb g minor 7 1 b3 5 b7 c eb g bb minor 6 1 b3 5 6 c eb g a minor 7 b5 1 b3 b5 b7 c eb gb bb usually is a ii chord, goes to v altered dominant and resolves on i minor e. Since these two chords contain the same tritone, they have the same two. Because the db is a tritone, or 3 tones away from the g. Tritone substitution free pdf file 6 guitar exercises. These chords are interchangeable because the tritone interval pitches are identical in each.
If youre still wondering how we got db as an augmented fourth interval below g, then you need to subscribe to our early bird list to know when we. With that in mind, here is a chart that takes into account those. Tritone chord 1, b5 from the chord finder for guitar. In the context of a iivi chord progression dmin7g7cmaj7, you would replace the g7 with the dominant 7 chord a tritone away. Thats it for the theory side of tritone chord substitutions. Olav torvunds guitar pages music theory book of the month january 2005 happy traum. We will begin with a common shape of suspended chord. A classical perspective to the resolution of the tritone. In this case the v is substituted by the chord featuring the same tritone bii7, which gives way to a chromatic progression on the bass. Circle of 5ths level 2 takes musicians to apply more advanced music theory into their playing tritones, tritone chord substitutions, jazzy chromatic chord movement, 36251 turn arounds.
If you want to download the examples for later study i have them here as a pdf. Simply replace it by the dominant 7th chord with its root tone a tritone 6 semitones away. Tritone bridge tritone bridge is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. Tritone substitution jazz chord how to play jazz guitar lesson ja028 in this guitar lesson i will show you how to use a tritone chord substitution. What is a tritone and why was it nicknamed the devils interval. G7 and db7 share the same tritone interval which gives both chords their dominant quality and makes these two chords interchangeable. Free guitar book about the tritone substitution in pdf format.
The tritone substitution for the 5 chord g7 would be db7. A tritone is an interval made up of three tones, or six semitones. Its important to say the name of the chord when you play the voicing as outlined in the video. Mixolydian guitar licks guitar chord construction theory and basic shapes essential guide. Thats the note between a fourth and a fifth the devils interval. The following examples will cover turnarounds that use tritone substitutions. As said in the article harmonic function, the dominant chord has tension sonority.
The next note in the chord, the middle note, is up a tritone. The tritone interval of the original dominant chord and its flattedfifth substitute allow the tension created by these chords to be released by the tonic chord. In practice, a tritone sub in jazz is most commonly a dominant 7 chord. For those of us who are new to this concept of tritone substitution, here is a definition. Iiv substitution replacing a dominant 7th v7 chord with a. This doesnt mean you cant substitute other chord qualities, but a dominant 7 is most often the chord being used to replace. But i want to write for guitar players, and take into consideration the peculiarities, limitations recommended. It is important for all musicians, whether you play guitar, piano, ukulele, violin, harmonica, or any musical instruments to develop an intimate knowledge of the circle. Perhaps youve tried to study music theory on the internet, in books, or even with teachers, but without understanding or get put into practice the concepts. Substitute dominant or tritone sub chords hub guitar.
Chord diatonic triads m3rd 3rd p5th p5th m3rd 3rd aug5th dim5th m3rd p5th m7th3rd p5th7th m3rd p5th7th3rd dim5th7th seventh chord major seventh minor seventh dominant seventh minor seventh b5 the definition of a chord is two or more notes in a certain interval away vertically. The fifth chord consists of the root 1 and perfect fifth 5, while the tritone is built from the root 1 and diminished fifth b5. A tritone is the 5th tone of a scale minus one 12 step. Certain chords like a minor or major chord may or may not evoke a. But what if you were to tritone substitute the g7 to d. Chord structure, inversion, alteration, and extension are described in intervals and distance from the root of the chord or lowest note for inversions. Tritone substitution is a reharmonisation technique that can be used to add harmonic interest and variety to a chord progression. In the key of c, a 251 progression contains the chords. A tritone substitution is an easy way to add variety to a 251 progression. First, and way before we get into the theory, i want you to get your fingers used to playing the tritone and a fourth chord.
Learn these voicings in the tritone pairs to cut your work in half. Recent classicaltheory textbooks that include both augmentedsixth chords and tritone substitutes include robert gauldin, harmonic practice in tonal music. Nb the way of indicating chords is a shorthand and as such requires you understand what is. Tritone substitutions are also knows as substitute dominants or sub 5s so be aware that these 3 terms refer to the same thing. The reason that this substitution works is that dominant 7 chords with a. Iiv substitution by cycles of hybrid chords g7 c7 7 d7 g7 c7 ab7db7gb7b7 c7 eb7ab7d7db7c7 60 iiv substitution by cycles of hybrid chords different quality d7 g7 c7 d7 g7 c7 bb7ab7d7db7c7 eb7eb7ab7co. So lets jump right into some different kinds of tritone substitutions. In blues and jazz turnarounds, its common practice to use harmonic substitutions for any of the chords. Tritone substitution iiv substitution free theory pdf printable. Over time, the tritone has become more prominent in american blues and jazz and is. A substitute dominant or tritone substitution is a special type of chord whose function is closely related to that of the secondary dominant. Tritone substitution is when a dominant 7 chord is substituted for the dominant 7th. The tritone has appeared in western music for hundreds of years. One of the most common tritone subs is tritone sub of v.
To be a tonal harmonic chord, the root and the 3rd are. Another interesting characteristic about the tritone interval is that two tritone intervals added together produce an octave. There is a whole lot more info on the web site to help. How to use a tritone substitution in your progressions. How to use a tritone substitution in your progressions the. Now that we are in advanced levels, we will see the most common cases where these chords appear. But we didnt talk about the application of this kind of chord yet, because a theory base for this was needed.
Tritone is the interval of three whole tones between two notes. In practice you can use the tritone substitution principle on any dominant 7th chord. This is called a dominant substitute or dominant substitution. May 15, 2017 explanation of the tritone jazz chord substitution that adds so much colour to the sound by way of musical examples charlie parker, clifford brown. Tritone substitutions theory garrets guitar lessons. For the f major chord, you can substitute an f major 7th chord. This is an awesome way to start spicing up your songcover and understand why some of those random dominant 7 chords pop up. Ironically, the tritone is the key ingredient in a dominant 7th chord. The unsettling sound of tritones, the devils interval. What is a tritone and why was it nicknamed the devils.
Jun 16, 2017 a tritone is an interval of three whole tones between two notes. In each diatonic scale there is only one tritone, and it occurs between the fourth and seventh degrees of the scale, so in a c major scale this would be between f and b. Certain chords like a minor or major chord may or may not evoke a feeling of i need to move to another chord. Tritone substitution and secondary dominants audiofanzine. Fifth chord power chord and tritone for guitar american. This will develop an association between the name of the chord, the sound, and also the shape of the notes in your hand. On each long dominant chord play the bebop scale ending. The tritone substitution is a dominant, or secondary dominant 7th chord whose root is a tritone 3 whole steps away from the original chord. For example, a ii v i progression in c major uses the chords. Music theory pdf ebook music theory is a simple matter, but the books complicate the subject.
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. It is important for all musicians, whether you play guitar, piano, ukulele, violin, harmonica, or any musical instruments to develop an intimate knowledge of. Tritone substitution tutorial what is tritone substitution. Download this free pdf containing rootless 251 progressions in all 12 keys. The tritone seeks resolution, so in tonal music is always followed by another chord or chords to resolve the tension. This is by far the most common tritone substitution. Indeed, for its dark and often unsettling sound it was once called the devils interval and was supposedly banned by churches in the middle ages, opting for more harmonious sounds. Any dominant 7th chord can be substituted by a dominant 7th chord a tritone away.
Chord function is closely related to voice leading because in general, chords function in a way that create smooth voice leading, and by smooth we mean the chord tones that create the intervallic content that we hear as tension or voices if you think of each of the 4 notes in a chord as a voice. The natural progression from consonance to dissonance and resolution helps make. The tritone chord consists of root 1 and diminished fifth b5. Tritone chord substitution introduction 101 youtube. Choosing chord scales in choosing a specific chord scale for a type of chord, it helps to narrow down the important differences between each scale in the specific chord category. The unsettling sound of tritones, the devils interval in music theory, the tritone is an interval of three whole steps that can sound unresolved and. Then you cannot generally use the g mixolydian mode over the. Oct 31, 2017 the unsettling sound of tritones, the devils interval in music theory, the tritone is an interval of three whole steps that can sound unresolved and creepy.