2

Is there a way for a beginner in jazz to learn how to play tritone substitutions? Or is this something that you should only try after you have played jazz for some time.

  • I think there is not enough data to answer this question. For instance, we do not know what instrument you are playing and whether you are having trouble with the concept, the application thereof to your particular instrument or both. – Pyromonk Jan 10 '20 at 12:48
  • Are you asking what it is? Where to apply it? Or how to pay on a particular instrument? –  Jan 10 '20 at 13:09
  • I think answer is yes. It will help the beginner to understand the basic concept of a dominant chord and its substitution. Play from the chord or the associated dominant/altered scales. What is your actual "how to play" problem? – Michael Curtis Jan 10 '20 at 13:46
  • I think you should try researching what tritone substitutions are, and then of course playing/using them. The amount of time you've played jazz music shouldn't be a factor, but make sure you figure out what you're doing with them tritone subs. Experience helps a lot, though! – user45266 Jan 10 '20 at 18:19
  • I don't understand what is not clear in this question ... The tts is a very simple and useful concept, and easier to apply than to understand. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 12 '20 at 09:26

3 Answers3

6

Tritone substitutions are used instead of the preceding V chord to reach the next. As in G7>C, tts would be D♭7>C.

The point of them is that their 3rds and 7ths are swapped over. In the case above, G7 has B and F as 3 and 7, while the tts (D♭7) has F and B (actually C♭) as 3 and 7.

In jazz, it's often the case that chords are thinned out, and 3rds and 7ths are the only notes played. That actually falls right into your hands: play 3 and 7 (or 7 and 3!) and you're effectively doing it.

In order to find any tts, it's pretty straightforward: establish target chord (say C here). Tts is one semitone above that, so tts of G7 (the V of C) D♭7.

If it's on piano or guitar, you may want to include the other two notes, but bear in mind it works better if all those playing with you use the same tts. If they continue with the original V>I, it (really) won't (really) work well.

Tim
  • 192,860
  • 17
  • 187
  • 471
2

Forget jazz, you can do it in pop and rock just as well. Instead of a dominant 7th (or 9th or 13th etc) chord, play a 7th or 9th (or many other things) a tritone higher (or lower, it's the same thing).

Sometimes, all it takes to do a tritone substitution is to move the bass. The bass player can do it without consulting others.

A special case is when others (except the bass) are playing a completely symmetric chord like dim7. Then the bass can take the tritone step, and the chord stays the same, just with a different root.

Example: Bdim7/G - C. Tritone-substituted it becomes: Bdim7/Db - C.

piiperi Reinstate Monica
  • 27,967
  • 1
  • 37
  • 91
1

The simplest way to play tritone substitution is training the V7 chords the chromatic scale down instead of the circle of fifths. Learn the circle of fifths:

B,E,A,D,G,C,F,E ....

Now play

B,Bb,A,Ab,G,Gb,F,E (all chords 7b9)

you will see that each second chord (colored in right circle) is the tritonus substitution of a secondary dominant in the circle of 5ths (left).

enter image description here

The colored chords in the circle right (chromatic progression) are the tritone substitutions of the chords in the progression of fifths.

e.g. F7 (FACEb) is substitution of B7 (BD#F#A)

adding b9 and flatting the 5th: F b9 b5 => B b9 b5 (because

F = b5 of B

A = 7 of B

Cb = B

Eb = D#

Gb = F#

FACbEbGb = BD#FAC

so the colored V7 chords of the chromatic circle can be used as substitutions of the chords in the left circle - where all 5ths are secondary dominants.

Is there a way for a beginner in jazz to learn how to play tritone substitutions.

So you first have to know how to build triads, seventh and ninth chords and to learn the circle of 5ths if you are a pianist.

A guitar player can play e.g. E, then play the barré E7 shape in fret vii (B7) and slide down fret by fret back to E. (B7,Bb7,A7,Ab7,G7,F#,F7,E). But if he doesn’t analyze the chords he will be playing without knowing what he’s doing.

Albrecht Hügli
  • 25,836
  • 1
  • 25
  • 62
  • I do not really understand your answer. – Pyromonk Jan 11 '20 at 02:11
  • Well, let’s look at a song with the progression C-E-A-D-G-C (left circle o 5ths). When you look at the circle on the right side you see C-E-Eb-D-Db-C (chromatic scale). Eb is trit.sub. of A, Db is t.s. of G. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 11 '20 at 05:49
  • Umm, wouldn't it be easier to just "look across" the circle of fifths (just draw a diameter between 2 opposing notes)? It seems overly complicated to me (am I missing something?). What of the other notes from the 1st progression in your example? C, E and D? They are not substituted in the 2nd one. – Pyromonk Jan 11 '20 at 06:17
  • No. It makes sense to do so, but mind the fingering patterns you play on the instrument: semitone down is easier to imagine than across the circle. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 11 '20 at 06:32
  • In the beginning of your answer, you propose one "learn the circle of fifths". If one already has the progression of 12 notes memorised, what's so problematic about counting the 6th note from the one you need to substitute? It's equivalent to getting a note from "across the circle" (which might be even quicker for someone with a good visual memory - I wouldn't know for sure). Most woodwind/brass players don't have linear fingerings, so it's kind of pointless for us to think in semitones when it comes to fingerings. I understand your method now, but it still relies heavily on visuals, I think. – Pyromonk Jan 11 '20 at 07:54
  • This is te simplest way? What about considering the target chord (call it C for now). The tts for the dominant (G7) is just one semitone above the target chord. Thus Db7 in this case. Tts to get to Eb? E7. Tts to get to G? Ab7. Simple! – Tim Jan 11 '20 at 16:25
  • @ Tim: 1. I never said it is the simplest way. 2. Semitone above the target chord is exactly what I mean by chromatic progression of (V7). I'm only explaining a chain of secondary (V7) but this includes the final V7-I of course. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 12 '20 at 09:20
  • @ Pyromonk: I don't agree. This is not primarily a visual approach, I just posted the circles to illustrate what I mean. It is a haptic-tactil technique as described by the E7 barré (sliding fret by fret lower). You can do the same on the keyboard or with any wind or brass instrument - without thinking or reflecting what you do, but this is not my aim. – Albrecht Hügli Jan 12 '20 at 09:24