Tritone Substitution Explained: One Shape, Two Dominant Chords

Tritone substitution explained on the piano: one two-note shell voicing plays two dominant seventh chords. Keep F♯ and C in your right hand, move only the bass from D to A♭, and D7 becomes A♭7 — the jazz chord substitution behind countless ii–V–I progressions. In this lesson you start with a ii–V–I in C and hear what happens when D♭7 takes the place of G7. Then you build the shell voicing on D7 — the root and 5th in the left hand, the 3rd and ♭7 in the right — and see why those two notes are a tritone apart, whichever way round you play them. That is the whole trick: keep the same shell, change the bass, and the 3rd and ♭7 simply swap jobs. You practise it with a Charleston rhythm (then displaced), learn why it works for dominant 7th chords, and walk through all six shapes that cover the twelve dominants — with a tip for bass players on using the tritone as an ornament. To finish, you play the ii–V–I in G with A♭7 in place of D7. 🎹 Practise the tritone sub free in the Jazz Harmony Lab: https://jazz.nathanielschool.com/#tritone-sub 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 📹 Everything for Life Bundle ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ▶ Related lessons • Shell Voicings on Piano: Why C7 and F#7 Are the Same Two Keys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxnZBXL-1PA • Jazz Piano Chords: The Voicing Exercise That Teaches Every 7th Chord and Its Tritone Sub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHLV3iA-56s • Reharmonize Hallelujah on Piano: Secondary Dominants & Tritone Subs (Part 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLWdZDcQugs • Beyond V–I: 8 Piano Cadences That Change How Music Ends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Zdkdxd_HY • Free practice apps: https://apps.nathanielschool.com 🎓 https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All 1000+ lessons ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 - What is tritone substitution? One shape, two dominant chords 01:30 - The ii–V–I in C, and the D♭7 swap 02:24 - Shell voicings: building D7 03:25 - The 3rd and ♭7 are a tritone 03:44 - Same shell, new bass: D7 becomes A♭7 04:43 - The tritone workout: the Charleston rhythm 05:25 - Why it works: the 3rd and ♭7 swap jobs 05:58 - Six shapes for all twelve dominant chords 07:43 - The ii–V–I in G with the tritone sub 08:49 - More lessons: modulation and reharmonisation 09:25 - Recap 💛 PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasonzac 💬 WhatsApp: +91 77604 56847 📧 music@nathanielschool.com #PianoLessons #PianoTutorial #MusicTheory #JazzChords