Scribd
Upload
238 views4 pages

Substitute Dominant Chords

Substitute dominant chords, also known as tritone substitutes, are dominant 7th chords that are a tritone away from the chord they are substituting. They are commonly used in jazz to add variety and complexity to chord progressions. The substitute dominant for a G7 chord is Db7, and they always contain the tensions of 9, #11, and 13. Musicians can use substitute dominants by either replacing existing dominants or preceding chords with them. This allows chord progressions to be reharmonized and more chords to be added. The document provides examples of using substitute dominants in both blues and standard chord progressions.

Uploaded by

Nicky Alejandrino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
238 views4 pages

Substitute Dominant Chords

Substitute dominant chords, also known as tritone substitutes, are dominant 7th chords that are a tritone away from the chord they are substituting. They are commonly used in jazz to add variety and complexity to chord progressions. The substitute dominant for a G7 chord is Db7, and they always contain the tensions of 9, #11, and 13. Musicians can use substitute dominants by either replacing existing dominants or preceding chords with them. This allows chord progressions to be reharmonized and more chords to be added. The document provides examples of using substitute dominants in both blues and standard chord progressions.

Uploaded by

Nicky Alejandrino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Ads by ViewPassword Ad Options

Substitute Dominant Chords http://www.thejazzresource.com/substitute_dominant_chords.html


1 de 4 01/07/2014 08:38 p.m.
Substitute Dominant Chords
Substitute Dominant chords, sometimes referred to as tritone substitutes,
are some of my favorite chords in jazz. Some songs have them already in
the chord progression, other times the player will actually play the
substitute dominant instead of the regular or secondary dominant
Additionally, players will precede chords with substitute dominant chords to
add more chords to a progression (this one of the easiest and one of my
favorite ways to sound more "sophisticated").
So what is a substitute dominant chord?
Well, it's a dominant chord an augmented fourth, aka tritone, away from
the dominant chord it's substituting for.
Now the term "substitute dominant chords" is a real mouthful, so they are
often called subV's ("sub five's").
So in the key of C, the primary dominant is the V7 chord, G7, and the subV
for G7 is Db7. The subV for the V7ofII, A7, is an Eb7. So a I VI7 II-7 V7
progression with substitute dominants would be C Eb7 D-7 Db7.
Notice that the SubV for G is Db and likewise the subV for Db would be G.
Dominant V chords can have a variety of chord tensions, but subV's always
have the same: 9, #11, 13.
A common trick to make this easier is to play a major triad a whole step
above the dominant chord. So on the subV of F#7, which is C7, you can
play a D major triad on top of the regular C, E, G, and Bb. Note also that
these tensions of 9, #11, and 13 all sound great and very jazzy.
How do you reharmonize chord progressions with subV's?
As I said above, sometimes they are part of a chord progression naturally,
but if you want to change a chord progression, here is how:
1)Replacing dominants with their substitutes. It's pretty self explanatory,
here is a jazz blues chord progression with substitutes:
C7 / F7 / C7/ G-7 Gb7
F7 / F#dim7 / C7 / E-7 Eb7
D-7 / Db7 / C7 Eb7 / D-7 Db7
Notice that I only substituted the dominants that were a V7 of something
(including the primary dominant, G7).
2)Preceeding chords with subV's. Just add a dominant chord with 9, #11,
and 13 a half step above the chord it's proceeding. This creates a lot of
chords and can be sometimes done to excess. Here's the same blues
progression with subV's added but not replacing the existing dominants:
C7 Gb7 / F7 Db7 / C7 Ab7 / G-7 C7
F7 / F#dim7 Db7 / C7 F7 / E-7 A7
D-7 Ab7 / G7 Db7 / C7 Bb7 A7 Eb7 / D-7 Ab7 G7 Db7
Note the last two bars have a chord on every beat with every possible
subV. Usually this can be a little crazy but I like it at the end of the
Substitute Dominant Chords http://www.thejazzresource.com/substitute_dominant_chords.html
2 de 4 01/07/2014 08:38 p.m.
SubV's sounds great and I love playing just an occasional subV every now
and then, or playing a ton of them, both while comping and soloing.
Want to head back to Jazz Theory?
or head back to the Home Page
Substitute Dominant Chords http://www.thejazzresource.com/substitute_dominant_chords.html
3 de 4 01/07/2014 08:38 p.m.
Ads by ViewPassword Ad Options
Substitute Dominant Chords http://www.thejazzresource.com/substitute_dominant_chords.html
4 de 4 01/07/2014 08:38 p.m.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy