I feel like playing one instrument no matter what it is gives you the ability to have so much more respect than a non musician for every other instrument.
One of the best explanations I ever received for "why" the Tritone Sub works so well is that, as far as Western music theory is concerned, all music is basically built around two somewhat disparate principles: 1. strong dominant to tonic motion, and 2. parsimonious voice leading (in other words, movement by half-steps or whole-steps to the next target tone). What the Tritone Sub is doing is substituting the strong dominant-tonic motion FOR parsimonious voice leading. It is the synthesis in practice of every principle Western music is built around. And if that's true, how wild is that?!
Kind of like German augmented 6 chords. They were one of the first chords to resolve a half step away from the root, granted you would most commonly see them move to the dominant from the tonic, but still. It’s like the Dm - Ab - G - C - the the Ab7 spelled as a German Aug 6 chord would be spelled AbCEbF# and resolves to G. Fun stuff.
Man, the level of clarity on this is supreme. And I get to use this video, for free? Dude, this is insane, thank you! I will be using this as a means to teach my students this method. Man, you can tell you're an educator by your sequencing.
This might be the best lesson I’ve seen on tritone subs. Key takeaways for me: 1) use the Lydian Dominant (#11) instead of just the Dom7 tritone. Brilliant. 2) you can tritone sub to any chord, not just to the I (as in a ii-V7-I). 3) You can use it whether or not the bass or piano choose to do it. Excited to continue working with these concepts. Thanks!
The thing to know also is that the reason the Tritone sub sounds so good is because the 3 and b7 of the V are also In the tritone sub. So G7-> G B D F Db7-> Db F Ab B All these notes lead to Cmaj9by a half step (or is the same note) Db-> C F-> E Ab -> G B-> B And if you add extensions G7b9#11-> G B D F Ab C#(Db) ---> Db B Ab F D G It’s all the same notes rearranged
i'm a guitarist and this was very insightful for me as well even without a bit of piano ability. thanks for your sharing your knowledge of theory in an accessible way but without sparing the technical aspects. great instruction, your enthusiasm is refreshing.
Haven’t gotten through the whole video yet but something that I noticed wasn’t mentioned is why the Tritone works so well as a substitution for the V chord: The 2 strongest tones that dictate the quality of a chord are the 3 and 7! When using a tritone sub in place of the V youre still using those same 3 and 7 tones from the V chord. I.e. Key: Cmaj - Your V chord will be G7 and those 3 and 7 tones are B & F but your tritone sub (bii7) will be Db7 which uses those same B & F tones as it’s 7 and 3 tones (respectively)!!! Super cool theory to me
15:12 I love using tritone subs going into the V. So sophisticated and beautiful sounding. If you simply think about tritone subbing in your improvisation, your flavor palette grows exponentially!! Great video!!
If you are interested in music theory, particularly in jazz or other forms of contemporary music, understanding and using tritone substitutions can greatly expand your harmonic palette and help you create more interesting and complex chord progressions. In jazz, the use of tritone substitutions is quite common and can add a level of sophistication to your playing or composing. It can also provide a way to create tension and release in your music, as the tritone substitution creates a sense of harmonic instability that can be resolved in a satisfying way. Additionally, learning about tritone substitutions can also improve your ability to recognize and analyze harmonic progressions in music. This can be particularly useful if you are interested in transcribing and studying the music of other musicians. Overall, understanding and using tritone substitutions can enhance your understanding of music theory and add another tool to your musical toolkit, which can help you create more interesting and complex music.
Amazing explanation.. it's like that sound of jazz finally clicking in my brain and in my playing (I still don't have the chops but it's a start for sure..) where's the super thanks button?!
Herbie Hancock, on ‘SLY’ from the first Headhunter’s album, plays the first 16 bars of the Rhodes Solo in Bb, over a bass line outlining E7…it’s so badass, could you possibly do and episode on that? Thanks for all you do!
This is hands down the best explanation of the tritone sub I've ever heard: that bit about simply playing a dominant chord one half-step above the target chord. This is becoming my go-to channel for music theory lessons.
So glad I found your channel! I've teach and play classical piano but jazz has always been an unknown world to me. These videos and your courses are so helpful!
Man... I've been a classical music guy for literally decades. I love classical. But whenever I heard jazz I always totally dug it. I've recently been getting into it more and more, and the jazz you play on this channel is what I love the most. I don't even know what type of jazz this is, but it's that Los Angeles noir jazz that makes you feel like a 1930s detective. Those chords! Bittersweet like a good scotch. Love and pain. I love it man! Love it!
G7 - Cma9 vs Db7 - Cma9 is the tritone sub sure. Another way to think about it is simply to flatten the 5th of the V7 chord = G7b5 - Cma9; this movement and substitution being rather common in Brazilian/Bossa Nova - Jazz too. Db7 = Db-F-Ab-B G7b5 = G-B-F-Db G7b5b9 = G-B-F-Db-Ab Just another cool way to work around it and explore tensions in voice leading.
Hi, thanks for your show. As I teach jazz and people ask me what to play over the tritone substitute I will say Lydian Dominant as well But, and I think this important for guitar players, I bring that back to the original melodic minor scale. They subsequently find that both for the lets say G7 and the Db7, the Ab melodic minor scale works as this makes for the Altered scale in the context of G7 and the Lydian Dominant scale in the context of Db7. So effectively you can do the same but against a different backdrop.
I transposed a gospel progression for piano to guitar once, with a tritone substitution. An hour later, 5 women were pregnant. Substitute with tritones responsibly kids
7:49 you can also use half whole diminished scales. Maybe even Phrygian dominant. Of course you can use maj7 and m7 chords too. Instead of subbing out G7 with Db7 try using Dbmaj7 or even Dbm7. Those chords can also just be inspiration for scales to use (eg. on a ii7 V7 I in Cmaj play D Dorian, Db Lydian .. oooorrrr D Dorian followed by Db Dorian,, ooorrr Ab mel.min and Db alt…..)
24:30 this whole section really brings it all together. Thanks for going all out and demonstrating the idea in this way. Just what I needed to hear and see.
Thanks for this. I have heard these subs in lots of piano progressions but never really knew what was going on. One thing that would be helpful for ear learners is for you to play the example bars at least once or twice with full voicings so we can hear the quality of the changes and your improvised lead line and then after that just play the baseline for people who play along with it.
Whatever note is 7 semitones away Always harmonizes well and neutral. Starting with A. 7 half-steps away is E. E is supportive to A. A and E always sound great together.
This is only part of the whole picture though. You can substitute any of the other dominant chords derived from the same diminished, not just the one a tritone away. G7 > Cmaj7, Db7 > Cmaj7, Bb7 > Cmaj7, or E7 > Cmaj7.
In your 1st example C7-F the 3rd and flat 7 of C are E and Bb: in the Tsub (F#7) the 3rd and b7 are Bb and E. Same notes making the color and tension. That tritone between 3 and 7 of those two chords resolves to the 3rd and root of the F chord. That’s how I think of it. All about tension and resolution of the dissonant tritone within the dom7 chord.
Great video, great explanation. I had always thought of this sound and motion as a sort of upper leading tone that resolves with a "flat" half step to Do, as opposed to a V-I resolution with the lower leading tone resolving up, or sharp, to Do. Now I see the theory connection, can probably incorporate this more.
This is so great and useful, to have the instruction and also a built-in practice that includes a bass part. A lot of these harmonic concepts make a lot more sense over a bass part.
This is great! After 40 years of jamming, starting with pentatonic pattern, and gradually introducing dissonance and resolution, I do some of this!?! Or, one could just study this for a bit,,, !!!
Classical music has tritone substitutes, for the dominant it is called neapolitan. Also, putting a dominant before any chord is called secondary dominants.
Love this. the way you talk about it is just great. I am so happy you didnt talk about history of TS, or similar nonsense. This is straight to the meat and playing around. Triton subbing secondary dominants. great, great. TY
This is one of the things we've heard all our lives and didn't know until now what it was. When I was young, we owned a piano and I'd fool around on it. Somewhere beyond I-IV-V-I, I discovered a progression I liked. Turned out to be up the scale (IM7-iim7-iiim7) then down (IIIbM7-iim7-IIbM7-IM7). Never knew why it worked, but I loved it. I still play trumpet and I can get around changes ok until I see these codes that aren't in the key. Ah. They''re tritone subs; and they're everywhere.. Intermission Riff, Basie's intro to Shiny Stockings; it's no accident that both he and Kenton played piano. If you know of any pedagogical recommendations on tritones for horn players, I would appreciate it. Great lesson.
great explanation. i've known about tritone subs for years, but have never realised that you can use them in front of any chord. i always thought of them as substitutions for an existing dominant chord, so that Cmaj7 / Bb7#11 / Am7 move kinda blew my mind a little bit. as soon as you hear it though, it's totally recognisable as something you've heard a million times before!
Nice Lesson Adam. Isn't it just like applying the altered scale over the V Chord? Probably just another way of thinking but you get the same notes since Lyd Dom is the 4th Mode of MM. The possibilty to apply it in front of the other Chords was new to me. Thanks for that
Yeah I’m confused about this too. If you’re not voicing the bass and eg only playing a shell, then it’s 100% up to the bass player as to whether you’re doing the tritone sub or not. But I guess if the chord symbol says Eb7#11 or A7alt (b9, #9, b13) those are interchangeable (use Eb Lydian Dominant or A altered which are both Bb melodic minor modes) but if the chord symbol says Ebalt or A7#11 then you want to use E melodic minor, right? So I guess my question is whether tritone substitution is really a meaningful concept if we don’t discuss what the root is doing. It’s more an issue of how the Dominant is being altered. If I see Eb7#11 and Aalt, am I ever going to think about them differently other than the root?
Tritone subs are so easy, guys. These are perhaps the beginning of getting the jazz sound in your playing. Look for b9 in the melodies, try it, and you'll think -- wow! But don't over use them. These are older cliches in jazz, so using every verse makes you sound real '40s. Now. swing is great, but don't overuse. Instead, think about how easy it is to sub the Dom V7, look for other possibilities. The diminished scale is your friend this time. Cheers.
I like how musicians live and breath music so much they tend to forget just how bad new players are, a V - I definitely isn't a first piano lesson subject lol.
i had a V-I in my first piano lesson… its really not hard. and really simple. then again, i had some prior experience before my lessons. but a V-I can be a first lesson subject. i had a II-V-I chord progression as a first lesson subject aswell. just standard jazz theory!
A tritone sub, what is it? Say you have G7 going to Cmaj7. G7 contains G(1)-B(3)-D(5)-F(b7). Inside of that chord is an extremely dissonant interval: the tritone (meaning that from B to F are the 3 tones of B to C# and C# to D# and D# to F). That interval of the tritone (also called #4 or b5), which is contained inside of that Dominant 7th chord is also contained in one other Dominant 7th chord. Take the 3 (B) and b7 (F) from the G7 chord, and view B as b7 and F as 3. So F is 3 of Db7, and B is b7 of that Db7 chord. The same tritone of B to F, or F to B, which is an extremely dissonant interval is in both G7 and in Db7 (its tritone sub). So both V to 1, and bII to I, contain the same tritone (but flipped around). That, my friends, is a tritone sub.
I find that this sound often goes for minor shapes (the IIm of the tritone sub), with the Maj7 sound (which is the #11 on the dominant). In many of those examples here it's actually a minor chord outline. So it makes more sense in my mind to think of it as a minorMaj7 sub, just to keep it aligned in terminology with the actual color I'm going for. (So a tritone sub sound for G7 would be a Ebmin color, always b6 degree of the dominant). Maybe other people also like to think of it in minor terms? (-:
Great lesson, Adam. Just a little comment, I think it would be nice if you play a little impro over the changes, just like an example. Thank you very much for the great job you are doing.
Maybe at the end of the video, but for people still trying to get their heads around certain concepts, that can prove distracting. I think that he's struck a nice balance here without being overwhelming for some people.
Couple of questions: 1 - how come that in the first progression you have 3,5,7,and 9 of Db but you call it "sharp eleven"? 2 - the same with the secon progression. You have 7,9,3,5 of Ab major but you call it #11. Also you play it differently from how it's written (F insted ofEb)
Great lesson. One thing you haven’t mentioned that i find extremely useful is that you can also think of the tritone sub as V7alt and think superlocrian on the V instead of lydian dominant on the bII (which are te exact same scale)
I love watching piano videos as a guitarist.
Funny you would say that. As a keyboardist, I like watching guitar and bass videos.
Me too!
Just play both.
You should try drum videos too.
I feel like playing one instrument no matter what it is gives you the ability to have so much more respect than a non musician for every other instrument.
This is honestly a GOAT channel
One of the best explanations I ever received for "why" the Tritone Sub works so well is that, as far as Western music theory is concerned, all music is basically built around two somewhat disparate principles: 1. strong dominant to tonic motion, and 2. parsimonious voice leading (in other words, movement by half-steps or whole-steps to the next target tone).
What the Tritone Sub is doing is substituting the strong dominant-tonic motion FOR parsimonious voice leading. It is the synthesis in practice of every principle Western music is built around.
And if that's true, how wild is that?!
👍🏻
Wow.. mind blown🤯
lovely insight, thanks for sharing
Nice job Adam. #11 Dom. Subs, Lyd. Dom., Triad Pairs, diminished concepts. Huge colorings & soloing.
Kind of like German augmented 6 chords. They were one of the first chords to resolve a half step away from the root, granted you would most commonly see them move to the dominant from the tonic, but still. It’s like the Dm - Ab - G - C - the the Ab7 spelled as a German Aug 6 chord would be spelled AbCEbF# and resolves to G. Fun stuff.
Man, the level of clarity on this is supreme. And I get to use this video, for free? Dude, this is insane, thank you! I will be using this as a means to teach my students this method. Man, you can tell you're an educator by your sequencing.
Sequencing?
@@tronlady1 sequencing and progression of information/concepts within the lesson
This might be the best lesson I’ve seen on tritone subs. Key takeaways for me: 1) use the Lydian Dominant (#11) instead of just the Dom7 tritone. Brilliant. 2) you can tritone sub to any chord, not just to the I (as in a ii-V7-I). 3) You can use it whether or not the bass or piano choose to do it.
Excited to continue working with these concepts. Thanks!
The thing to know also is that the reason the Tritone sub sounds so good is because the 3 and b7 of the V are also In the tritone sub.
So G7-> G B D F
Db7-> Db F Ab B
All these notes lead to Cmaj9by a half step (or is the same note)
Db-> C
F-> E
Ab -> G
B-> B
And if you add extensions
G7b9#11-> G B D F Ab C#(Db)
---> Db B Ab F D G
It’s all the same notes rearranged
i'm a guitarist and this was very insightful for me as well even without a bit of piano ability. thanks for your sharing your knowledge of theory in an accessible way but without sparing the technical aspects. great instruction, your enthusiasm is refreshing.
Haven’t gotten through the whole video yet but something that I noticed wasn’t mentioned is why the Tritone works so well as a substitution for the V chord:
The 2 strongest tones that dictate the quality of a chord are the 3 and 7! When using a tritone sub in place of the V youre still using those same 3 and 7 tones from the V chord. I.e. Key: Cmaj - Your V chord will be G7 and those 3 and 7 tones are B & F but your tritone sub (bii7) will be Db7 which uses those same B & F tones as it’s 7 and 3 tones (respectively)!!! Super cool theory to me
yea! just wanted to note he does mention this at 14:10, mindblowing stuff
15:12 I love using tritone subs going into the V. So sophisticated and beautiful sounding. If you simply think about tritone subbing in your improvisation, your flavor palette grows exponentially!! Great video!!
Especially if on arriving on the V you play a 4-3 suspension e.g. Ab13 - G13sus which you then resolve to some type of G7.
Exponentially ? You mean there is many steps of growth each one proportional to the growth itself?😅😅😅
If you are interested in music theory, particularly in jazz or other forms of contemporary music, understanding and using tritone substitutions can greatly expand your harmonic palette and help you create more interesting and complex chord progressions.
In jazz, the use of tritone substitutions is quite common and can add a level of sophistication to your playing or composing. It can also provide a way to create tension and release in your music, as the tritone substitution creates a sense of harmonic instability that can be resolved in a satisfying way.
Additionally, learning about tritone substitutions can also improve your ability to recognize and analyze harmonic progressions in music. This can be particularly useful if you are interested in transcribing and studying the music of other musicians.
Overall, understanding and using tritone substitutions can enhance your understanding of music theory and add another tool to your musical toolkit, which can help you create more interesting and complex music.
Did chatgpt write this
Amazing explanation.. it's like that sound of jazz finally clicking in my brain and in my playing (I still don't have the chops but it's a start for sure..) where's the super thanks button?!
Herbie Hancock, on ‘SLY’ from the first Headhunter’s album, plays the first 16 bars of the Rhodes Solo in Bb, over a bass line outlining E7…it’s so badass, could you possibly do and episode on that? Thanks for all you do!
This is hands down the best explanation of the tritone sub I've ever heard: that bit about simply playing a dominant chord one half-step above the target chord.
This is becoming my go-to channel for music theory lessons.
Wonderful lesson for me, a 78 year old amateur guitar hack! Thank you!!
So glad I found your channel! I've teach and play classical piano but jazz has always been an unknown world to me. These videos and your courses are so helpful!
I’m a guitar player and this channel is a goldmine.
I have a grad degree in composition from a Fancy School, where this was NEVER discussed, and this is the first time I’ve understood the concept 100%.
Man... I've been a classical music guy for literally decades. I love classical. But whenever I heard jazz I always totally dug it. I've recently been getting into it more and more, and the jazz you play on this channel is what I love the most. I don't even know what type of jazz this is, but it's that Los Angeles noir jazz that makes you feel like a 1930s detective. Those chords! Bittersweet like a good scotch. Love and pain. I love it man! Love it!
G7 - Cma9 vs Db7 - Cma9 is the tritone sub sure. Another way to think about it is simply to flatten the 5th of the V7 chord = G7b5 - Cma9; this movement and substitution being rather common in Brazilian/Bossa Nova - Jazz too.
Db7 = Db-F-Ab-B
G7b5 = G-B-F-Db
G7b5b9 = G-B-F-Db-Ab
Just another cool way to work around it and explore tensions in voice leading.
Hi, thanks for your show. As I teach jazz and people ask me what to play over the tritone substitute I will say Lydian Dominant as well But, and I think this important for guitar players, I bring that back to the original melodic minor scale. They subsequently find that both for the lets say G7 and the Db7, the Ab melodic minor scale works as this makes for the Altered scale in the context of G7 and the Lydian Dominant scale in the context of Db7. So effectively you can do the same but against a different backdrop.
True that, and the overdone ‘cry me a River lick’ in Ab mi over the G7…
I transposed a gospel progression for piano to guitar once, with a tritone substitution. An hour later, 5 women were pregnant. Substitute with tritones responsibly kids
7:49 you can also use half whole diminished scales. Maybe even Phrygian dominant. Of course you can use maj7 and m7 chords too. Instead of subbing out G7 with Db7 try using Dbmaj7 or even Dbm7. Those chords can also just be inspiration for scales to use (eg. on a ii7 V7 I in Cmaj play D Dorian, Db Lydian .. oooorrrr D Dorian followed by Db Dorian,, ooorrr Ab mel.min and Db alt…..)
This is definitely my favorite video from your channel so far. As an intermediate (?) jazz/pop pianist I need more of this stuff
You seem like a cool dude, thanks for the coaching
This is so digestible, you're an absolute mensch. Thank you.
Just discovered your channel, man you are a good teacher. I don’t know why nobody has explained this in such simple terms to me
24:30 this whole section really brings it all together. Thanks for going all out and demonstrating the idea in this way. Just what I needed to hear and see.
This approach to tritone subs has really unlocked so much for me!
Thanks for this. I have heard these subs in lots of piano progressions but never really knew what was going on. One thing that would be helpful for ear learners is for you to play the example bars at least once or twice with full voicings so we can hear the quality of the changes and your improvised lead line and then after that just play the baseline for people who play along with it.
Hi,Adam,Thanks a lot! Best regards to you and Peter!
Whatever note is 7 semitones away Always harmonizes well and neutral.
Starting with A. 7 half-steps away is E.
E is supportive to A. A and E always sound great together.
This is only part of the whole picture though. You can substitute any of the other dominant chords derived from the same diminished, not just the one a tritone away. G7 > Cmaj7, Db7 > Cmaj7, Bb7 > Cmaj7, or E7 > Cmaj7.
In your 1st example C7-F the 3rd and flat 7 of C are E and Bb: in the Tsub (F#7) the 3rd and b7 are Bb and E. Same notes making the color and tension. That tritone between 3 and 7 of those two chords resolves to the 3rd and root of the F chord. That’s how I think of it. All about tension and resolution of the dissonant tritone within the dom7 chord.
Great video, great explanation. I had always thought of this sound and motion as a sort of upper leading tone that resolves with a "flat" half step to Do, as opposed to a V-I resolution with the lower leading tone resolving up, or sharp, to Do. Now I see the theory connection, can probably incorporate this more.
I don’t know how to express my appreciation… waiting for tomorrow for practicing after you
This is so great and useful, to have the instruction and also a built-in practice that includes a bass part. A lot of these harmonic concepts make a lot more sense over a bass part.
I've been looking for this language for a long time. Thousand Thanks as we say in Gernany :))
Man I can’t wait until you all come back to Charlotte
I like major third sub: it’s a VII7 to I cadence. It’s a reharm of the standard vii^o7 to I or V7/vii to I.
This is great! After 40 years of jamming, starting with pentatonic pattern, and gradually introducing dissonance and resolution, I do some of this!?! Or, one could just study this for a bit,,, !!!
amazing video! glad i found the full length version
Classical music has tritone substitutes, for the dominant it is called neapolitan. Also, putting a dominant before any chord is called secondary dominants.
Love this. the way you talk about it is just great. I am so happy you didnt talk about history of TS, or similar nonsense. This is straight to the meat and playing around.
Triton subbing secondary dominants. great, great. TY
The sneaky V7 is commonly called “secondary dominant”
This is one of the things we've heard all our lives and didn't know until now what it was. When I was young, we owned a piano and I'd fool around on it. Somewhere beyond I-IV-V-I, I discovered a progression I liked. Turned out to be up the scale (IM7-iim7-iiim7) then down (IIIbM7-iim7-IIbM7-IM7). Never knew why it worked, but I loved it. I still play trumpet and I can get around changes ok until I see these codes that aren't in the key. Ah. They''re tritone subs; and they're everywhere.. Intermission Riff, Basie's intro to Shiny Stockings; it's no accident that both he and Kenton played piano. If you know of any pedagogical recommendations on tritones for horn players, I would appreciate it. Great lesson.
Love you guys. Glad I found this channel!
Fantastic videos ... going to invest in the online courses. Keep them coming 🎉
Thank you so much. My teacher is having me work with A night in Tunesia. This has really been great to help me get my head around tritone substitution
Thanks so much! I play chords on my a high-register bass guitar, using only 3rd and 7th. Fits perfectly!
I subbed as a result of this video. Great work
great explanation. i've known about tritone subs for years, but have never realised that you can use them in front of any chord. i always thought of them as substitutions for an existing dominant chord, so that Cmaj7 / Bb7#11 / Am7 move kinda blew my mind a little bit. as soon as you hear it though, it's totally recognisable as something you've heard a million times before!
Same
Yes!! I have used this method many times without perhaps being able to explain what just happened.
Finally someone explains this!! I’ve been wondering what the TT sub really means for YEARS. Thank you!
This channel is a godsend.
Thanks for sharing the love!
Man! Awesome video bro. By far the best video I've seen that really helped understand and play along. Blessings to you and your family brother.
Thank you for your generosity!
i love you Adam!!! This is just THE bomb I've been searching for!!! 🙂
Great explanation, that sahrp eleven really helped, and also seeing those 3 and 7 swithc between the two chords was mindblowing.
Genius! I get it. Tritone sub of a secondary dominant. 🙏
Just discovered open studio - it's the catalyst I was looking for to help me level up after 30 years of playing, thanks my man.
i came looking for answers, and answers I found. Many thanks.
An exceptional video - thank you!
This was incredibly helpful for me, thanks so much.
Nice Lesson Adam. Isn't it just like applying the altered scale over the V Chord? Probably just another way of thinking but you get the same notes since Lyd Dom is the 4th Mode of MM. The possibilty to apply it in front of the other Chords was new to me. Thanks for that
This is how I think about it as well. I also find myself using the half whole diminished scale for a tri-tone sub when I want that flavor.
Yeah. There are at least three scales you could play over a Db7#11 chord.
Dbdim
DbAlt. (DmMelodic)
GAlt. (AbmMelodic)
Yeah I’m confused about this too. If you’re not voicing the bass and eg only playing a shell, then it’s 100% up to the bass player as to whether you’re doing the tritone sub or not.
But I guess if the chord symbol says Eb7#11 or A7alt (b9, #9, b13) those are interchangeable (use Eb Lydian Dominant or A altered which are both Bb melodic minor modes) but if the chord symbol says Ebalt or A7#11 then you want to use E melodic minor, right?
So I guess my question is whether tritone substitution is really a meaningful concept if we don’t discuss what the root is doing. It’s more an issue of how the Dominant is being altered. If I see Eb7#11 and Aalt, am I ever going to think about them differently other than the root?
Tritone subs are so easy, guys. These are perhaps the beginning of getting the jazz sound in your playing. Look for b9 in the melodies, try it, and you'll think -- wow! But don't over use them. These are older cliches in jazz, so using every verse makes you sound real '40s. Now. swing is great, but don't overuse. Instead, think about how easy it is to sub the Dom V7, look for other possibilities. The diminished scale is your friend this time. Cheers.
that’s the sound i been lookin for!
I like how musicians live and breath music so much they tend to forget just how bad new players are, a V - I definitely isn't a first piano lesson subject lol.
i had a V-I in my first piano lesson… its really not hard. and really simple. then again, i had some prior experience before my lessons. but a V-I can be a first lesson subject. i had a II-V-I chord progression as a first lesson subject aswell. just standard jazz theory!
however… i did have some prior experience… so i wont talk too much XD.
A tritone sub, what is it?
Say you have G7 going to Cmaj7.
G7 contains G(1)-B(3)-D(5)-F(b7).
Inside of that chord is an extremely dissonant interval: the tritone (meaning that from B to F are the 3 tones of B to C# and C# to D# and D# to F).
That interval of the tritone (also called #4 or b5), which is contained inside of that Dominant 7th chord is also contained in one other Dominant 7th chord.
Take the 3 (B) and b7 (F) from the G7 chord, and view B as b7 and F as 3.
So F is 3 of Db7, and B is b7 of that Db7 chord.
The same tritone of B to F, or F to B, which is an extremely dissonant interval is in both G7 and in Db7 (its tritone sub).
So both V to 1, and bII to I, contain the same tritone (but flipped around).
That, my friends, is a tritone sub.
I finally get it. Thanks for the vid.
One of the best lessons ever. Thank you!
I find that this sound often goes for minor shapes (the IIm of the tritone sub), with the Maj7 sound (which is the #11 on the dominant).
In many of those examples here it's actually a minor chord outline.
So it makes more sense in my mind to think of it as a minorMaj7 sub, just to keep it aligned in terminology with the actual color I'm going for. (So a tritone sub sound for G7 would be a Ebmin color, always b6 degree of the dominant).
Maybe other people also like to think of it in minor terms? (-:
Thanks for the hoos while I impovise. It really helps.
This absolutely opened up a bunch of stuff, pulling together things I already knew. Solid lesson. 👍🏽
Great lesson, Adam. Just a little comment, I think it would be nice if you play a little impro over the changes, just like an example. Thank you very much for the great job you are doing.
Maybe at the end of the video, but for people still trying to get their heads around certain concepts, that can prove distracting. I think that he's struck a nice balance here without being overwhelming for some people.
The lydian dominant scale is enharmonic with the alt scale a tritone away.
I’ve LOVED this sound for years and I’ve been trying to recreate this in my guitar playing having no idea how this concept is named, lol.
Really useful and enjoyable. Thanks!
Love Peter's playing.
Thank you so much brother
Fantastic content. I love you guys! I always feel like I walk away from these videos a better musician.
Once again making me better..Thank you
Marvellous, thanks!
At 8:36, all I can hear is that first chord from “Graveyard Theme” by Vince Guaraldi
haven't even finished watching, paused to say that its a great video
i love this. i love u guys. thank u
Essential tutorial video. Again thanks a lot
Love the intro featuring Peter. Very cool!
Awesome Lesson Adam :) !!
thank you for always sharing the real Chanlenging musical information, to inspire and enlighten the musical comunity and audience.
Awesome video. Love it! Trouble is I now have hours of practice ahead of me ☹️👍
Your keyboard sounds so good. Very rich and authentic. I'd really like to know what equipment you are using.
No tengo palabras para darte las gracias por tanto
Excellent! Thanks!
Interesting.
Thank you.
Wow. This was one of my favorite lessons. Really unlocked so many possibilities. Thank you!!!
Well explained... thank you....
Couple of questions: 1 - how come that in the first progression you have 3,5,7,and 9 of Db but you call it "sharp eleven"? 2 - the same with the secon progression. You have 7,9,3,5 of Ab major but you call it #11. Also you play it differently from how it's written (F insted ofEb)
Damn. It is one perfect lesson on tritone subs. Honestly nothing more we need :-)
Great lesson.
One thing you haven’t mentioned that i find extremely useful is that you can also think of the tritone sub as V7alt and think superlocrian on the V instead of lydian dominant on the bII (which are te exact same scale)
Yeah, I’ve noticed that Nickelback does this beautifully well.
The last example was Vince girauldi all day this is what I was looking for to play that stuff.