This trick will spice up your dominant chord progressions… instantly!

Posted on 14 October 2008 See Comments | Post Comment

Wow, the last 4 posts have been crazy!

On Thursday, I introduced you to the power chord’s little cousin, “tritone.”

Then on Friday, we talked about tritone substitutions with 2-5-1 chord progressions.

Just yesterday, we took it a step further and applied tritone substitutions to 6-2-5-1 chord progressions.

Today, I want to show you another way to use tritone substitutions.

Consider this simple 1-4 turnaround progression:

C major

C7 (1-chord) >>> F7 (4-chord) >>> C7 >>> F7

(Play this in rhythm. Just cycle from the 1 chord to the 4 chord).

For this progression, I prefer to play these voicings of the dominant chords:

C7
Bb + E + G on right /// C on left (instead of the regular “C + E + G + Bb”)

F7
Eb + A + C on right /// F on left (instead of the regular “F + A + C + Eb”)

Now, to spice this up, let’s figure out what a tritone up from C is. You should have mastered “tritone relationships” in prior lessons.

The good news is that if you’re moving in fourths, a tritone up from your current chord should always fall right next to the chord you’re progressing to. In other words, it will be a half step higher than the chord you’re moving to.

Let me explain…

A tritone up from C7 is Gb7. Gb7 is a half step higher than F7, the chord we’re ultimately trying to get to. It’s that simple.

So basically, similar to yesterday’s lesson, we just throw in this Gb7 chord (in the same voicing) to take us to our 4 chord. It adds much more flavor than just going directly there. See what I mean?

C7
Bb + E + G on right /// C on left

Gb7
Fb + Bb + Db on right /// Gb on left

*Note: “Fb” is basically “E.” Heck, you can call it “E” if you want. You won’t pass a music theory test though :)

F7
Eb + A + C on right /// F on left

So anytime you’re playing dominant chords and you’re progressing in fourths, you can always look for an opportunity to throw in a tritone “transition” chord.

Exercise: Let’s figure out the tritone transitions between all twelve 1-4 dominant chord progressions. I’ll start off with the C major and F major chord progressions below. Use the comments section to participate. Let’s do this!

Until next time —

 

 

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Related posts:

1. Here’s a method that’s helping musicians swap out dull chords for exciting ones!
2. Dominant Ninth Chord
3. How to use my secret 9 trick to add flavor to your chord progressions
4. How to add flavor and spice with the power of chord substitutions
5. Variations of “2-5-1″ Chord Progressions
6. What are chord progressions?
7. “1-4″ chord progressions you can use!

10 Comments For This Post

1. Jermaine says:
   October 14th, 2008 (comment#1)

   C major
   C7 >>> Gb7 >>> F7

   F major
   F7 >>> Cb7 >>> Bb7

2. Roland says:
   October 14th, 2008 (comment#2)

   B major
   B7 >>> F7 >>> E7

   Gb major
   Gb7 >>> Dbb7 >>> Cb7
   or
   Gb7 >>> C7 >>> B7

3. BRIAN AKA TRUMUSIC1SOUL says:
   October 14th, 2008 (comment#3)

   Bb major
   Bb7>>>E7>>>Eb7

   Eb major
   Eb7>>>A7>>>Ab7

   COOOOOL!!! I LIKE! I LIKE!

4. ajjazz says:
   October 14th, 2008 (comment#4)

   G major

   G7 > > > Db7 > > > C7

   A major

   A7 > > > Eb7 > > >D7

   I’m new. I think I get it.

5. chawk says:
   October 14th, 2008 (comment#5)

   A major

   A7>>Eb7>>D7

6. chawk says:
   October 14th, 2008 (comment#6)

   D major

   D7>>Ab7>>G7

7. Eresmas says:
   October 15th, 2008 (comment#7)

   Db MAJOR
   Db7 >>G7 >>Gb7

   E MAJOR
   E7 >>Bb7 >>A7

   Hey JG, i was checking out the circle of fifths, and i really think it’s an amazing invention. I tried to play the scales progressively from C going anticlockwise as you suggested and it took quite sometime, I looked at it later and saw that, what lies in the right, lies in the left in disguise.
   Like aah, F has 1 flat, then G has 1 sharp. So i tried to play a song (jingle bells) in C, then in F and found that i could play it in G too. I am still on F and G, having “recently graduated” from C(being an absolute beginner)and hope to go to other keys with the same motivation.

   Thanks man.

8. Chevonne Reynolds says:
   October 15th, 2008 (comment#8)

   I hope this is right..
   Ab major

   Ab7>>>D7>>>Db7

9. Jermaine says:
   October 16th, 2008 (comment#9)

   Wow, all of you guys are on point! Looks like this lesson resonated well!

   @Eresmas: that’s awesome that you’ve found something in the circle you never noticed. In fact, that circle is full of SURPRISES. Search above in the box for “circle of fifths” (with quotes) and you’ll come across many lessons concerning it.

   Keep up the great work!

10. Eresmas says:
    October 17th, 2008 (comment#10)

    Thanks again.

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