Tritone is the interval of three whole tones between two notes. You can also sign up to my jazz tutorial email newsletter where i share jazz piano email tips, video notifications, and additional sheet music. In order for a particular piano voicing to qualify as a tritone substitution it must exclude the root from the bass. The answer is because dominant chords that are a tritone apart share the same 3rd and 7th. 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. Jazz and gospel pianists rely heavily on these passing chords and their concepts. The minor 7th note is located a 7th above the root bottom note of the chord. In turnarounds its common to do this for any of the chords. This video gives you a fundamental explanation about what is tritone substitution and how to use them in a jazz piano chord progression.
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 keys yourself. Notice the top of the chord is the same but the bass note is moved a b5 away to bb. Music theory tritone chord progressions tutorial team comprised 2015. Stevie wonder amazing tritone substitution tutorial. Many musicians have learned the theory of tritone substitution, but when trying to apply this information, they often end up shortchanged.
The tritone subs are also substitutions for the dominants of the next chords in the progressions, however they resolve in an opposite way of typical dominants. Using scales to approach tritone substitution jazz. In practice, a tritone sub in jazz is most commonly a dominant 7 chord. Today we are going to discuss some scales that you can use to approach various tritone substitutions when you improvise. If you build the tritone configuration on the third above your root, youre playing a sharp nine chord. 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 chord substitution introduction 101 youtube.
Tritone bridge is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. 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. These chords are interchangeable because the tritone interval pitches are identical in each. Aug 9, 2018 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. Over time, the tritone has become more prominent in american blues and jazz and is. Explanation of the tritone jazz chord substitution that adds so much colour to the sound by way of musical examples charlie parker, clifford brown. In other words, when we play simultaneously two notes that have three tones of distance between them, we are playing a tritone. Pianogroove is an online jazz piano school and community. As a jazz piano teacher, its my job to make things easy for you. A tritone substitution is a great way to make a typical iii7v sound more interesting. Tritone substitution introduction to modern jazz lines.
Tritone substitution is a reharmonisation technique that can be used to add. Though examples of the tritone substitution, known in the classical world as an augmented sixth chord, can be found. A tritone is an interval of 3 whole steps exactly half of an octave. So lets jump right into some different kinds of tritone substitutions. I will continue to add more jazz piano lessons in the future to cover more topics and concepts. Shares guitarists whove starting exploring the different possibilities for soloing over dominant 7th chords have probably quickly realized there are a lot of different scales and modes you can use to bring color to. The tritone substitution is a dominant, or secondary dominant 7th chord whose root. For example, the tritone 25 of c major would be ab7, db7, to cmaj7. All altered dominant 7 chords have a tritone substitution, more on this later. The newest jazz piano chords pdf that i recently made available features those piano chords and voicings that i used during an eight bar segment of a piano video tutorial i created which focuses on the classic harold arlen tune paper moon. Because bass players essentially dictate the chord. See the following explanation of the chords before viewing the free pdf sheet of this chord substitution.
The secret to passing chords piano lesson with warren. Download theory supplements, midi files, chord changes and full notefornote transcriptions of every lesson. 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. Ive circled the tritone subs just to be clear about the substitute chords. Fortunately, the internet is awash with free, highquality guitar lessons like this one. The tune lo jo by george coleman uses a tritone bridge. Free jazz piano lessons everything you need to know. A substitute dominant or tritone substitution is a special type of chord whose function is closely related to that of the secondary dominant.
This is part of a series to come and will get deeper into. How and why do dominant chords and tritone substitutions work. Years ago you could get banned from the church for even playing a tritone due to its very harsh or dissonant sound. Substitute dominant or tritone sub chords hub guitar. In this bass lesson, well cover a simple but direct concept for the immediate application for tritone substitution based. Tritone substitution lesson everything you need to know. Using the concept of tritone substitution, we can make cyclical progressions move in half steps ddbc instead of in fifths dgc and still have the same result. 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. A tritone is an interval of 3 whole steps or 6 half steps on the piano. Tritone substitutions in a 251 progression as a bass player. Our jazz piano lessons follow a unique 3 part video layout giving you a unique insight into the eye. The first exercise is to learn and familiarise yourself with the tritone 25 in all 12 keys.
Tritone substitution and scales if you like this jazz piano tutorial. The most common type of substitute chord is tritone. Keep in mind that dominant chords want to resolve to their i chord. In this course, you will learn about the seven types of passing chords. The reason that this substitution works is that dominant 7 chords with a bass note a tritone apart share the same 3rd and 7th. The tritone substitution is a dominant, or secondary dominant 7th chord whose root is a tritone 3 whole steps away from the original chord. Tritone substitution tutorial what is tritone substitution. Tritone substitutes a bass players dream this is a description and demonstration on how tritone substitute chords work. In this tutorial we put the magnifying glass on 7 superb real life examples of where stevie wonder has harmonically used this essential to know tritone substitution to such devastating effect. One of the most common chord substitutions in jazz is the tritone substitution. Tritone substitution part 1 of 2 cocktail piano lessons.
Using scales to approach tritone substitution learn jazz. Tritone substitutions are also knows as substitute dominants or sub 5s so be aware that these 3 terms refer to the same thing. When you build the tritone configuration on the seventh, youll be forming a th chord. A tritone is an interval made up of three tones, or six semitones. As said in the article harmonic function, the dominant chord has tension sonority. It often functions as a substitute for the v7 chord in a iiv7i progression. Were only talking about dominant 7th chords, not major or minor chords. Tritone substitution the ultimate guide and video tutorial.
The chord that follows is a bb, its tritone substitution. Dm7 g7 cmaj7 can have the g7 chord replaced to a db7, so the progression would become. This is by far the most common tritone substitution. In this guitar lesson, learn how to play chord substitutions and passing chords in basic jazz guitar. Tritone substitution is a reharmonisation technique that can be used to add harmonic interest and variety to a chord progression. How to use a tritone substitution in your progressions. 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. Tritone substitution part 2 of 2 cocktail piano lessons. Ellis pentatonic scales reharmonization technique secondary dominant the chicken the chicken travels the world tonal harmony tritone substitution tutorial. Tritone substitution improvisation the tritone relationship. In this hymn tutorial, you learn some advanced reharmonization techniques using passing chords such as.
This is where the confusion usually begins for students. So i understand the concept beyond a tritone substitution, but im a little confused as how to apply it in a walking bass line. 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. In blues and jazz turnarounds, its common practice to use harmonic substitutions for any of the chords. As well as the video tutorial, ive included a pdf of this fun lick in the 12 major keys. So, here are 4 easy steps to figure out how to play a tritone substitution. A short introduction to the tritone scale, its construction, how to use it and some basic fingerings for this scale on the guitar.
Tritone substitutions in a 251 progression as reddit. Tritone substitutions greg howlett christian piano music. With the guitar, as with any other instrument, if you want to improve, youll need to practice. Tritone substitutions are sometimes used in improvisationoften to create tension during a solo.
Before diving into each jazz concept in detail, i recommend watching the overview videos and downloading the pdf on the right to get a broad and contextualised understanding of the ideas we will soon be exploring. You must be able to find these voicings in all 12 keys as per the demonstration covered in this lesson. 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. Firstinversion, diminished chromatic, minor chromatic, secondary dominant, 251, tritone substitution, and chromatic mediant.
The tritone substitution is one of the more useful harmonic progressions in jazz. The goal of the first ten modern jazz lines was to learn how to hear and improvise creatively over the iivi progression. Oct 9, 2018 heres another fun 2 5 1 lick for the piano. A tritone substitution is the process of replacing one dominant 7th chord with another dominant 7th chord located a tritone away from the original. The tritone has appeared in western music for hundreds of years. The tritone substition adds alot of harmonic interest and it sounds very smooth because. 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. Next, apply the tritone substitution melody over all of the 251 progressions. Tritone substitutions explained jazz arranging class. This doesnt mean you cant substitute other chord qualities, but a dominant 7 is most often the chord being used to replace. Use of the concept of tritone substitution adds the b9 and b5 tones aka altered extensions to the basic dominant seventh chord. Jazz substitutions seem completely illogical or difficult to remember.
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