Hello fellow Musicians,
I want to understand better the idea or usage of Sub V chords / tritone substitution, and, while I understand the concept, I'm struggling to find good sounding examples without any additional notes. Any suggestions or examples would be greatly appreciated.
Exploring Tritone Substitution
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Chrisguitar
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2026 7:23 pm
Exploring Tritone Substitution
The Beatles use it in some of their music.
https://www.hooktheory.com/blog/tritone-substitutions/
Tritone subs let you easily create chromatic lines in your music and it is these chromatic lines which give it that sounds that is appealing.
The most basic tritone sub is when you sub the V in ii-V-I, which gives you ii-bII-I and the root notes descend chromatically 2-b2-1.
https://www.hooktheory.com/blog/tritone-substitutions/
Tritone subs let you easily create chromatic lines in your music and it is these chromatic lines which give it that sounds that is appealing.
The most basic tritone sub is when you sub the V in ii-V-I, which gives you ii-bII-I and the root notes descend chromatically 2-b2-1.
Exploring Tritone Substitution
I love diving into different chord substitutions! Have you tried experimenting with tritone subs in a blues context? They can add a really cool tension and release dynamic.
Exploring Tritone Substitution
Dream a little dream of me where there is the eb7 to d7 motion. I tend to see if more of a chromatic bass movement than chord colour itself.