It does sometimes cause a little confusion so this lesson will deal with how to play and use it and what it is theoretically. In turnarounds its common to do this for any of the chords. The reason that tritone substitution works is that both chords share the same 3rd and 7th notes. How to play tritone substitutions and why you should care. This is an awesome way to start spicing up your songcover and understand why some of those random dominant 7 chords pop up.
The basic idea behind a tritone substitution is switching out one dominant chord for another. So i understand the concept beyond a tritone substitution, but im a little confused as how to apply it in a walking bass line. One of the most common jazz harmony devices is the tritone substitution. Advanced rich piano chords with tritones, quartals and usts.
This substitution is called a tritone substitution, so lets make sure we understand what a tritone is. Using scales to approach tritone substitution jazz. In this second part of the functional theory for bassists series, phil mann will take you further through the various functional. As a result, this places the tritone between the perfect fourth and the perfect. The use of a chord three whole steps away to replace or follow the original chord. Its sonority gives the idea of movement, instability and when it is not followed by a resting chord, the listener becomes distressed, afflicted. One of the most common chord substitutions in jazz is the tritone substitution. G7 and db7 share the same tritone interval which gives both chords their dominant quality and makes these two chords interchangeable. There is actually no one else in web music education at the level of willie myette and i have hired them all. A tritone is simply a musical interval equal to six semitones. Tritone flat 5 substitute chords taming the saxophone. How to use a tritone substitution in your progressions the. In other words, when we play simultaneously two notes that have three tones of distance between them, we are playing a tritone.
But, many people are confused when it comes to using them. He is a contributing writer for making music magazine and international musician, and lectures on the music industry and the history of rock n roll. Ab forms as defined by john mehegan in his jazz improvisation series, vol. A tritone is an interval of 3 whole steps exactly half of an octave.
So why does it include the prefix tri meaning three of something when it consists of only two pitches. Therefore, a tritone substitution means subbing ab for d, b for f, etc. Tritone substitutions are also knows as substitute dominants or sub 5s so be aware that these 3 terms refer to the same thing. Over 300 pages with complete chapters on intervals and triads, the major modes and iivi, 3note voicings, sus. The most highly acclaimed jazz piano method ever published.
In other words, tritone substitution involves replacing v 7 with. The reason that this substitution works is that dominant 7 chords with a bass note a tritone apart share the same 3rd and 7th. Download this free pdf containing rootless 251 progressions in all 12 keys. There are more than 1 million books that have been enjoyed by people from all over the world. The melody note on the f7 chord, g, is the ninth of the chord. By using tritone chord substitution, you often get a beautiful chromatic bass line in the song and especially in turn arounds. Two comments concerning the use of tritone substitutions. This technique can add some great color to your jazz solos. To get this technique under your fingers and build confidence with adding chord colors to lead sheet changes, try opening the real book, pick a random tune and then a specific chord color to add to all of the chords in that tune. Tritone substitution is a popular term that gets thrown a lot in music, especially jazz music when it comes to reharmonizing the chords and harmony in jazz standards and often times big band arrangements the term tritone, refers to the interval tritone, which indicates that we will be dealing with a 4 and a half step difference as the tritone is a half step larger than a.
The tune lo jo by george coleman uses a tritone bridge. Scotts bass lessons is the leading online bass community, with a wealth of free online lessons for new and experienced bass players alike. The basic idea is that the dominant chord dominates the key, really allows us the most tension before we resolve the chord. The roots of the g7 and db7 chords are also a tritone apart. Tritone substitution part xii 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. Its called a tritone substitution because the root of db7 is an augmented 4th nicknamed a tritone away from g7. Tritone bridge is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. Tritone is the interval of three whole tones between two notes.
The tritone substitution, or sometimes know as the b5 sub, is a very common substitution. This lesson will explain what tritone substitution is, why it works and how to apply it to a major 251 progression. The tritone substitution is a dominant, or secondary dominant 7th chord whose root is a tritone 3 whole steps away from the original chord. If you play a tritone ten times in a row before you go to bed tonight figure 67, you probably wont be able to fall asleepyoull have to get up, run to the piano, and resolve it to a i chord figure. Advanced rich piano chords with tritones, quartals and ust. Substitute dominant or tritone sub chords hub guitar. You can also sign up to my jazz tutorial email newsletter where i share jazz piano email tips, video notifications, and additional sheet music. Using scales to approach tritone substitution jazz guitar. In this lesson, im going to talk about tritone substitution, what it is, and 3 different types you should be aware of. Dec 10, 2017 heres another fun 2 5 1 lick for the piano. Mark watkins received his degrees from brigham young university and indiana university and has studied with eugene rousseau, daniel deffayet, ray smith, and yushi ishiwata and jazz with david baker. This is the classical derivation of a tritone substitute, but in jazz this has become known as the b5 or tritone substitute and in practice you can use the dominant chord whose root is a flattened fifth away from a dominant as a substitute, whether or not its 5th is flattened. The rules behind tritone substitution say that you can replace this g dominant7 with the dominant chord that is 3 whole steps away or a tritone away.
Advanced tritone substitution tutorial tritone substitution. Browse hal leonard from hal leonard at sheet music plus. Today we are going to discuss some scales that you can use to approach various tritone substitutions when you improvise. In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones six semitones. The minor 7th note is located a 7th above the root bottom note of the chord. Tritone substitutions refer to changing a dominant chord for another dominant chord a tritone away. In this lesson, you will learn how lead sheet changes are written. These chords are interchangeable because the tritone interval pitches are identical in each. Tritone chord substitution introduction 101 youtube.
The tritone, everything you need to know uberchord app. Tritone substitutions theory garrets guitar lessons. 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. The responsible for this feeling is exactly the instability of the tritone. Using scales to approach tritone substitution learn jazz. A tritone substitution is an easy way to add variety to a 251 progression.
You may also be aware that different chords can sometimes be substituted for each other. Tritone substitution the tritone, and the v chord that it is part of, are very unstable and want very much to resolve, as in figure 66. On the v7 dominant, the tritone interval occurs between the 3rd and 7th, and on the vii half diminished, the tritone interval occurs between the root and the 5th of the chord. Print and download in pdf or midi tritone substitution with predominant. In todays lesson we are going to be checking out a substitution that you can to play better jazz guitar chords and apply to single line soloing called the tritone or sometimes. The jazz piano book kindle edition by levine, mark.
Shop and buy tritone pop keyboard course book 4 sheet music. They are the same, but the different perspective may help you may come up with different ideas. Feb 17, 2014 this video gives you a fundamental explanation about what is tritone substitution and how to use them in a jazz piano chord progression. Because the db is a tritone, or 3 tones away from the g. In this lesson i show you my favorite reharmonization technique tritone substitution.
A tritone substitution is the process of replacing one dominant 7th chord with another dominant 7th chord located a tritone away from the original. Apr 06, 2016 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. Can tritone substitutions really revolutionize your playing. A tritone away from b would be f, so the tritone sub for b7 is f7.
A tritone is an interval of an augmented fourth or diminished flatted fifth three whole steps. According to this definition, within a diatonic scale there is only one tritone for each. Learn blues piano with willie myette play blues piano. See the following explanation of the chords before viewing the free pdf sheet of this chord substitution. The tritone chord substitution is one of the most commonly used chord substitutions in jazz. The tritone substitution for the 5 chord g7 would be db7. The tri actually refers to the three whole steps in between the two notes. These are the only chords from harmonizing a major scale that contain a tritone because all of other chords are either major or minor 7 chords. Tritone substitution example sheet music for piano. You will add chord colors and tensions to basic chord changes, and learn a sample comping study to help you take these ideas into your playing. Oct 9, 2018 heres another fun 2 5 1 lick for the piano. Heres an easy chord substitution for church pianists to use. See more ideas about violin, virtual sheet music and sheet music. A substitute dominant or tritone substitution is a special type of chord whose function is closely related to that of the secondary dominant.
Before watching this lesson, you should check out the introduction lesson on tritone substitution. Yesterday i gave some detailed examples of common places you can use a tritone substitution, including some tunes that use tritone substitution in different ways. Because they share the same tritone, they are possible substitutes for one another. The tritone effect provides one of the most complex dissonances in western music. As well as the video tutorial, ive included a pdf of this fun lick in the 12 major keys. In order for a particular piano voicing to qualify as a tritone substitution it must exclude the root from the bass.
In the key of e for example, b7 would be the v7 chord. How to use a tritone substitution in your progressions. By visualising the dominant th voicing a tritone away, we can quickly access the altered tensions of any dominant chord. In this tutorial, well take this elusive concept of tritone substitution and simplify it, so it makes sense to even to a beginner. When a i chord is leading into a iv chordadd a minor 7th to the i chord. In this lesson we are going to look at various ways to add harmonic interest over dominant chords using tritones. When you build the tritone configuration on the seventh, youll be forming a th chord.
Also in jazz harmony, the tritone is both part of the dominant chord and its substitute dominant also known as the sub v chord. For example, you could add 9ths to every chord, such as reading m7, 7 and maj7 chords and playing them as m9, 9, and. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the jazz piano book. Tritone substitutions in a 251 progression as reddit. Tritone pop keyboard course book 4 by sheet music for. When i attended irinas threeday workshop in 2015, she mentioned a few nonmusical activities that can help students improve their focus, concentration, and. Tritone substitution part 1 of 2 cocktail piano lessons. Tritone substitution, and the power of the tritone link in adding colour to chords, especially dominant chords. Shop and buy tritone pop keyboard course book 1 sheet music. Any dominant 7th chord can be substituted by a dominant 7th chord a tritone away. I include pdf info sheets for those who like to see their music written down. In the key of c, a 251 progression contains the chords. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The tritone is an interval, meaning two pitches sounding at the same time.
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 substitution bass lesson the theory and how to. Print and download in pdf or midi tritone substitution example. Therefore, on the eb7 you can play eb lydian dominant or a diminished whole tone. This is done to allow for a smooth, chromatic descent in the bass of a progression. Tritone substitution tutorial what is tritone substitution. Years ago you could get banned from the church for even playing a tritone due to its very harsh or dissonant sound. An important technique that jazz musicians use to create harmonic movement is tritone substitution. Tritone substitution complete watch again back to courses. The substitution of one chord for another, that is a tritone away from the one being substituted. But despite the fact that the tritone substitution is often encountered, many students are still uncertain as to what it is, what it does, and how to explain. When playing jazz guitar there are times when you want to add some crunch to your playing and one way you can do that is by using superimpositions and substitutions.
In blues and jazz turnarounds, its common practice to use harmonic substitutions for any of the chords. If youre a jazz fan or player youve likely heard tritone substitutions many times. Were only talking about dominant 7th chords, not major or minor chords. G7 you can transpose that v7 chord a tritone up or down. This is where the confusion usually begins for students. However, if you can, take this 2 5 1 lick in the key of c and see if you can transpose it into the other 11. Mark watkins received his degrees from brigham young university and indiana university and has studied with eugene rousseau, daniel deffayet, ray. Most bassists are familiar with basic chord types, since we use basic r357 chord tones for building bass lines all the time. Get ebooks the jazz piano book on pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi and audiobook for free. Tritone substitution part 2 of 2 cocktail piano lessons. Tritone chord substitution in bass lines doug ross. Tritone pop keyboard course book 1 by sheet music for. As said in the article harmonic function, the dominant chord has tension sonority. Why the hell of the title of this section is the sound of devil.
This is part of a series to come and will get deeper into. If you are at all interested in understanding, learning, playing or improving your play at the piano, you must investigate this superb pianist and teacher. If you build the tritone configuration on the third above your root, youre playing a sharp nine chord. 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. For a long time, tritone was forbidden in the western church due to fact of transmitting this tension effect. Other than smooth bass motion, another reason to use tritone substitution is that it often makes the melody more interesting. A tritone substitution is a great way to make a typical iii7v sound more interesting. Tritone substitution wpredominant example sheet music for. 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. O ne of the most common issues that beginning jazz guitarists run into is how to read from a fake book and properly interpret jazz chord symbols. The tritone substitution is one of the most common chord and improvisation devices in jazz.