Tritone Substitutions
"Tritone substitutions" is the name given to those jazz chords which use intervals of three whole tones and these are frequently used in jazz harmony. A substitute chord is simply a chord that is used interchangeably with another. Jazz musicians often use these to give a more modern feel to old standards.
The following is an example of this interval:
A tritone is the interval between the third and the seventh of a seventh chord.
It could be said that this is the defining characteristic of dominant seventh chords, as tritones do not appear in minor seventh or major seventh chords.
Look at the relationship between the two chords above. The third (B) and seventh (F) of the G7 chord are also the seventh and third of the Db chord. For this reason these two chords can be used in place of each other. The interval between the roots of the two chords (G and Db) is also a tritone.
Here is a II-V-I progression in C major. Next to it is is the same progression with a substitution. The G7 chord has been replaced with a Db7 chord.
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