Consider the first 8 bars of a 12-bar blues in the key of C: Notice that most of the chords above are dominant 7th chords. December-January 2014. Today we are going to discuss some scales that you can use to approach various tritone substitutions when you improvise. You can also use the tritone sub for other chords in a progression. So instead of G7 –> C, it will be “tritone sub” –> C . Everyone wants to know about tritone substitution, so let's break it down and hear some examples! 2 Simple Ways to Find the Tritone Sub for any Key The tune "Lo Jo" by George Coleman uses a tritone … any 7th chord). Tommaso Zillio. A dominant chord wants to resolve to the I chord. The goal with tritone substitution is to replace this dominant chord with something that functions in a similar manner. Bars 7 and 8: here are four descending dominant 7th chords, with the E7 and Eb7 being used to connect F7 and D7b9 chromatically. Aren’t you tired of playing always the same old 12-bar Blues chord progression? Thus, … This device, known as a tritone substitution, works because two dominant-seventh chords a tritone apart share the same guide tones. Tritone Subs: In general, you can make what's called a "tritone substitution" on any dominant chord (i.e. Jazz musicians frequently use substitutions to add more harmonic content and colour to a progression and this next example uses tritone substitution. "Lesson taught by Jeff Kollman. Learn songs at JamPlay. Each chord in the turnaround (bars 11–12) can be substituted with a dominant-seventh chord a tritone away (Example 6). Blues Chord Progressions Rhythm Changes Miscellaneous Tritone Substitution Four Ways to Create Tritone Substitution Over a Long ii V I ... "Tritone Bridge" is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. Tritone Substitution Blues. Beyond the old 12-bar "standard" Blues chord progression, many Blues and Jazz players have written Blues songs with incredibly complicated chord changes. The tune "Lo Jo" by George Coleman uses a tritone bridge. Learn to play hundreds of popular guitar songs in all styles. A Better Blues Rhythm via Tritone Substitution. It works like this: if the root of the V chord is X, replace the chord with a 7th chord whose root is a tritone away from X. Who said Blues music is "simple"? Blues Progressions And Tritone Substitutions. Gear (but does it really matter? Keep in mind that no scale is a cure-all for your […] So in the key of C, again the V chord is a G7. Including Rock, Blues, Funk, Country, Metal, Jazz, Classical and more! Tritone substitutions can be very helpful in an improvisational context as well. "Tritone Bridge" is a term used to describe using tritone substitutions throughout the bridge of a rhythm tune. Given the progression I ⇨ VI7 ⇨ II7 ⇨ V7 ⇨ I, each of the chords VI7, II7 and V7 can be thought of as the “V” dominant chord of the next chord in the progression. You can also apply tritone substitutions to various bars in the jazz blues progression, as you can see in the following examples: Bar 6: the Bb7 is replaced with a tritone ii-V (Bm7-E7). I mean, how many songs with the same progression can you listen to, one after another? "Kollman demonstrates examples of Tritone Substitution in the Blues. The original turnaround, F7–D7–G7–C7, is now replaced with F7–A b 7–D b 7–G b 7. Written by Tommaso Zillio. 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. Rhythm Changes Bridge (in the key of Bb) Over the first four bars of the progression I have applied a great jazz blues chord substitutions called tritone or b5 substitution … Tritone substitution in a 12 bar blues. From beginner to advanced. Guitar Technique, Guest Columnists.