Wait!
I know you’re thinking… “whoa, big words.”
But let me assure you that this concept is very easy to understand.
Maybe you’ve heard of it. Perhaps you’ve seen these words thrown around forums. Well, I’m finally going to demystify tritone substitutions for you…
Yesterday, we talked about the tritone. I called it the little cousin of the power chord.
As you know, a tritone is made up of the 1 and b5 interval.
C major:
C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7In C major, that’s C + Gb (G is the fifth… simply lower it to Gb).
It’s also known as a diminished fifth interval. (Diminish literally means to “make smaller”).
But here’s the thing with tritones. Unlike other chords, you really only have to learn 6 of them.
Yes! 12 is THE magic number in music. There are 12 major chords, 12 minor chords, 12 diminished chords… 12 of everything!
But with tritones, they are symmetric. In other words, they are the same if you take the bottom note and move it to the top. It doesn’t matter.
Take that “C + Gb,” flip it, and you’ll get “Gb + C” (it’s still a tritone).
On the other hand, if you take a perfect fifth like “C + G” and flip it, you won’t get the same fifth — instead, you’ll get a fourth (”G + C”). That’s because they aren’t symmetric.
Tritones are basically equal when you transpose them.
And get this…
They cut the octave perfectly in half.
Yes, believe it or not, the “b5″ (flatted fifth) marks the MIDDLE POINT of the octave.
So if you go from C to Gb and then from Gb to C, you would have encompassed an octave.
Octave = 12 half steps
Tritone = 6 half steps (or 3 whole steps, thus the name “tri”)
Because of all this, there are really only 6 of them. Gb + C is basically the same as C + Gb (at least for the purposes in which we’ll use them).
That means, all you have to do is learn these (and I’m going to use informal spellings just to keep thing simple):
C + Gb
Db + G
D + Ab
Eb + A
E + Bb
F + B
…And you’ll automatically know these, the “flipped” versions:
Gb + C
G + Db
Ab + D
A + Eb
Bb + E
B + F
So the key is to master not only these tritones played as chords (or dyads) but to master, for example, what a tritone up from C is. In other words, you should be able to know that the other “tritone” side of D is Ab. Or the other side of G is Db. Or the other side of E is Bb, and vise versa.
Because once you understand this, tritone substitution is easy.
It basically says that you can substitute the chord a tritone away for the chord you’re currently on. It works best with dominant chords but you can mess around with it on major and minor seventh chords as well.
But basically, let’s see how this works in a 2-5-1 chord progression…
Normally, in a 2-5-1, the “5″ tone is a dominant chord.
2-minor7 >>> 5-dominant7 >>> 1-major7
In C major, this plays out as:
D minor7 >>> G dominant7 >>> C major7
D minor7 = D + F + A + C
G dominant7 = G + B + D + F
C major7 = C + E + G + B
See the “G dominant 7?” 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).
That is the golden rule!
I said “follow” because, in my experience, you can usually play your original chord and then follow-up with the dominant chord a tritone away. And other times, you can substitute the original chord altogether.
And like I said, if you know your tritone relationships very well, it won’t take long to know that you can use Db dominant 7 in the place of G dominant 7 (”G7″ for short).
D minor 7 >>> Db dominant 7 >>> C major 7
D minor7 = D + F + A + C
Db dominant7 = Db + F + Ab + Cb
C major7 = C + E + G + B*Cb is basically the same as playing “B” — just spelled differently.
Why does the Db7 work so well as a substitute for the G7 chord?
Well, let’s look at their notes:
G7:
G + B + D + FDb7:
Db + F + Ab + B
(Yes, I know that “B” should say “Cb” but I’m trying to make a point here).
Regardless of what you call them, do you see the two common notes that these two chords share? In fact the notes they share (”B + F”) form a tritone, themselves! There are just tritones everywhere!
Next week, I’m going to show you how to use tritone substitutions in 1-6-2-5-1 chord progressions. I’ll even show you how to simply move JUST the bass note of most of your chords up a tritone, and how it can totally change the feel of your chords! You’ll love it!
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All the best —
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October 10th, 2008 (comment#1)
C major 2-5-1
Dminor7 - G7 - Cmajor7 (normally)
Dminor7 - Db7 - Cmajor7 (tritone substitution)
Dminor7 = D F A C
Db7 = Db F Ab Cb
Cmajor7 = C E G B
Who’s next?
October 10th, 2008 (comment#2)
G major 2-5-1
Amin7 - D7 - Gmajor7 (normally)
Amin7 - Ab7 - Gmajor7 (tritone substitution)
Amin7 - A C E G
Ab7 - Ab C Eb Gb
Gmaj7 - G B D F#
October 10th, 2008 (comment#3)
F major 2-5-1
Gmin7 - C7 - Fmaj7 (normally)
Gmin7 - Gb7 - Fmaj7 (tritone substitution)
Gmin7 - G Bb D F
Gb7 - Gb Bb Db Fb
Fmaj7 - F A C E
Tritones- E + Bb for C7 and Bb + E for Gb7 ?
GOod lookin out Sensai ;-)~>
October 10th, 2008 (comment#4)
Yes, that’s right Brian. But really, they can be used interchangeably but if you take the 3+b7 route, the E+Bb would match up with C and the Bb+E would match up with Gb.
Take care,
JG
October 11th, 2008 (comment#5)
Db major 2-5-1
Eb minor7 - Ab7 - Dbmajor7 (normally)
Eb minor7 - E7 - Dbmajor7 (tritone substitution)
Eb minor7 = Eb Gb Bb Db
E7 = E G# B D ——This is what I’m having a problem with… so whats going on?
Dbmajor7 = Db F Ab C
Oh Yeah! I am totally lost on this concept…… I happen to have the Tritone DVD… but have just really gotten to the point where I can fluently play the tritones up and down without any interruptions, as instructed by Jamal. Think I probably should move on with the DVD to understand this concept a little better?
Thanks - Laketa
October 11th, 2008 (comment#6)
@Laketa:
That substitution should be a tritone away from the original chord. If original chord is Ab7, the tritone should be D7 (instead of E7).
Then from that point, you’re just playing a regular D dominant 7 chord (D F# A C)
What parts are you lost on? I’ll try to clarify those parts.
October 11th, 2008 (comment#7)
LIGHTBULB…THAMKS LAKETA FOR ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION. I FIGURED OUT THE HOW, BUT THE WHY, I TOO, WAS LOST ON . YET I COULDN’T FORMULATE THE RIGHT ? TO GET THE ANSWER NEEDED TO GET THIS CONCEPT TO REGISTER COMPLETLY. I THINK I’M GETTING THERE. THANKS LEKETA & JERMAINE.
“I WAS STUCK WITH PEANUT BUTTER, NO JELLY; KOOL-AID NO SUGAR….”
ANOTHER SUCCCCCCCCCCCCESSSSSSSSSFUL LESSON!!!!! ;-)~>
October 12th, 2008 (comment#8)
Hey Brian & Laketa:
Basically, there’s two main ideas in this post.
You have tritones themselves, which are basically 2 notes separated by 3 whole steps.
And you have tritone distances, which are basically dominant seventh chords (which you already know) separated by whole steps. So while yesterday was about playing TRITONES themselves. Today was about playing other chords you already know but realizing that there is a relationship between chords that are a tritone apart. In other words, you can replace one for the other in a chord progression. If you’ve got a G7 chord, and you know it’s “tritone counterpart” (if you will) is Db… this idea is suggesting to you to try to play that Db7 in its place. Either you can replace it all together (instead of D minor to G7 to C major, it would be D minor to Db7 to C major, which creates a nice chromatic walk down) —- or you can follow up with the substitution chord (D minor to G7 to Db7 to C major (obviously the G7 to Db7 must be quicker because they must be played in the same amount of time as the original chord progression).
So that’s the idea. LEt me know if this helps.
October 12th, 2008 (comment#9)
THAT HELPED ENORMOUSLY…. THANKS
October 12th, 2008 (comment#10)
Thanks Jermaine for the extra elaboration. I think I must have been on something new last night, cuz I tell you I totally didn’t get it. But, today thanks to your help I have experience yet another ” Light Bulb” moment. You’re the best! know this, when my ship of gold comes rolling in…..you’re on my list:-)
October 12th, 2008 (comment#11)
It looks like if you raise the root and lower the 5th,of the original V7 chord by a half-step…then you get all the notes of the tritone substitution chord. :-)
October 12th, 2008 (comment#12)
…and as a bonus you get to keep the most important notes in the original chord: The 3rd and the 7th…hehe
October 12th, 2008 (comment#13)
@Roland… great observations. Not only do the chords have the B+F tritone (the 3rd and 5th) in common, but the notes they don’t have in common are just one half step apart. So that makes them great substitute candidates for each other.
Note to everyone: It works the other way around. Db7 just doesn’t substitute for G7.
G7 can also substitute for Db7… like in this progression:
Gb major
Ab minor 7 >>> Db7 >>> Gb major 7 (ORIGINAL)
Ab minor 7 >>> G7 >>> Gb major 7 (tritone substitution).
So it works both ways!!!!
That’s why, instead of going to the 6 chord to lead you to the 2, you’ll find many people going to the b3 to lead to the 2. In gospelkeys 202, it’s those chords that are a half step above the chord you really want to go to (those are mostly tritone substitutions).
All the best –
October 12th, 2008 (comment#14)
@Roland — welcome to the blog. If i’m not mistaken, this is your first post. Please continue to post. We’re in the birth stages of the blog still (only been like 80 days) and comments like yours and others keep the blog hot. Thanks.
October 13th, 2008 (comment#15)
Thanks for the enlightment again. Quite difficlut for me though.
Well, prove me right or wrong on
D MAJOR 2 - 5 - 1
Emin7 - A7 - Dmaj7 (normally)
Emin7 - Eb7 - Dmaj7(Sub.)
Emin7 - E + G + B + D
Eb7 - Eb + G + A# + C#
Dmaj7 - D + F# + A + C#
Phew!
This has been crazy. I’ve tried to understand it but almost gave up. I just wasn’t getting it. Looks like it’s not ranked Advanced Players for nothing and i’m just a beginner.
What Roland observed is cool i think. It sticks easier in the head that way.
October 13th, 2008 (comment#16)
A major 2-5-1
B min7 - E7 - A maj7 (normally)
B min7 - Bb7 - Amaj7 (tritone sub)
B min7 = B D F# A
Bb7 = Bb D F Ab
A maj7= A C# E G#
October 13th, 2008 (comment#17)
@Eresmas: You’re getting it.
You just need to spell your Eb7 chord correctly. There’s no sharps in Eb7… just “Eb + G + Bb + Db”
In order to understand this post:
1) You have to know your dominant chords (all 12)
2) You have to know your 6 tritone relationships (and how to “flip” them to get the other 6).
3) And you simply swap one dominant chord for the other. If the real dominant chord in the progression is G7 and you know the dominant seventh chord a tritone away from G7, which is Db7, then you simply play that.
That’s basically the idea behind tritone substitutions. Try another one and let’s see if you’re getting close. Try to work it out one step at a time and the first time you get a doubt, post it for me so I can help you work through it.
Take care,
JG
October 13th, 2008 (comment#18)
@Chawk! Looking good up there!
October 13th, 2008 (comment#19)
Thanks Jermaine,I’m happy to be here.
Nobody’s done Gb yet,I think
Abm Db7 Gb, Becomes: Abm Abb7(G7) Gb
Look at the roots of those chords.They move down chromatically.
October 13th, 2008 (comment#20)
@Roland: Thanks Roland!
How come you used Abb7 instead of G7?
October 13th, 2008 (comment#21)
Hi Jermaine
Because Db-Ab is a perfect 5th, and the dim 5th will be the lowered Ab.
In a scale every step has to have its own unique letter name…lol
But as a musician we would never call it an Abb of course.
It would be thought of as ‘G’.
October 14th, 2008 (comment#22)
Hey, thanks again JG.
When i first read the reply, i was trying to kick myself for getting it wrong, but now i understand that i just misspelt the Eb7.
Well then, let me try E MAJOR.
2-5-1
Fmin7 - B7 - Emaj7 (normally)
Fmin7 - F7 - Emaj7 (sub)
Fmin7 - F# A C E
F7 - F A C Eb
Emaj7 - E G# B D#
Hope i got it this time round.
October 14th, 2008 (comment#23)
Ooops! The Fmin7 is supposed to be F# A C# E.
So i’ll redo it like :
2-5-1
Fmin7 - B7 - Emaj7 (normally)
Fmin7 - F7 - Emaj7 (sub)
Fmin7 - F# A C# E
F7 - F A C Eb
Emaj7 - E G# B D#
I can also observe that in the substitution, you just flat everything except the 3rd in the 2min7 and you get the dominant chord.
Like in Cmajor, you flat 1st, 5th and 7th in Dminor7 = D F A C to get
Db7 = Db F Ab Cb.
Am i right?
October 14th, 2008 (comment#24)
Hi, jermaine
it’s been a great privilege to get updates from you.I’ve not been able to reply your mails due to my tight schedule in school(the university)but I must confess you are doing a great job and i’ve enjoyed,understood and practicalised every lesson to the best of my ability. Keep doing the good work and may the lord bless you real good.I also have a question concerning your courses and it goes thus: can i place an order and receive your courses here in Nigeria (Africa)?
October 14th, 2008 (comment#25)
That Roland is a very smart member!! Thanks, Roland. I like the observation by Eresmas, but heartily agree with Jermaine about the ‘learning to fish’ idea. Thanks, guys. I am just a mere beginner, but am trying to follow the wisdom in the postings. God bless you all.
October 14th, 2008 (comment#26)
Slow down, Eresmas, and you’ll be fine! I am just trying to understand the postings.
October 14th, 2008 (comment#27)
Eresmas
2-5-1 chords in E major, would be F#m-B7-E
And with the tritone substitution,it would be F#m-F7-E
We still have the keys of Eb,Ab,B,and Bb to go…and more
Who’s next?
October 14th, 2008 (comment#28)
Hi Jermaine,
This is my first visit to your blog site, and I am very impressed with the sharing of concepts and ideas to help us all become better piano players. Two comments concerning the use of tritone substitutions.
1. After using tritone substitutions in II-V-I progressions for some time, I find it easier to think “play a flatted II dominate 7th chord” rather than think “what is the tritone for the V chord?”. In other words, just step down chromatically II-IIb-I. In the key of C, this is Dm7-Dbm7-C. This approach was also suggested by another person in an earlier post.
2. To get a more interesting sound, use 9th and Maj7th voicings. For example, in the key of C, play Dm7(9)-Db7(9)-Cmaj7.
Advanced players can play another variation of II-V-I voicings by using 9th, 13th and Maj7 voicings. In the key of C, play Dmin7(9)-G7(13)-Cmaj7. However, this is best left for another post covering chord extensions and voicings.
Again thanks for this blog site, your wonderful products and great customer support. I purchased the Tritones DVD course and The Jazz 201 DVD course and find them very helpful.
Best regards,
Ed
October 15th, 2008 (comment#29)
Thanks MS and Roland.
Forgot the sharp. Yeah i should slow down a lil like MS says he he.
October 16th, 2008 (comment#30)
@Ed: Thanks for your insight! I totally agree. Once you have the concept down… then go for the shortcut (thinking of the substitution chord as a half step above the chord you’re going to). Similar to what we did in this lesson:
http://www.hearandplay.com/main/this-trick-will-spice-up-your-dominant-chord-progressions-instantly
Thanks again and please continue to join us!
December 23rd, 2008 (comment#31)
Great! How about doing a piece on soloing using the tritone concept?
For example you can play a Db dim. appreggio over a G7 chord. You can
use the E dim, Bb dim ,G dim apreggio as well.
By the way anyone here use solfege ? Heard of any solfege writing software?
January 23rd, 2009 (comment#32)
this is very intresting. please more
March 27th, 2009 (comment#33)
Yes a very understated but useful information.I didn,t realise the impact tritone substittution in jazz had the first time around of reading.Very relevant to the circle of 5ths too.Another great multi-layered blog from JG.