What’s on the Tritone Substitution poster
The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes.
- Any dominant 7th can be replaced by the dominant 7th a tritone away.
- G7 ⇄ D♭7 · both contain B and F
- ii–V–I in C = Dm7 → G7 → C
- With the substitution = Dm7 → D♭7 → C
- Why it works = G7 has B and F; D♭7 has F and C♭ (= B)
- Common mistake: Substituting any chord a tritone away → Only dominant 7ths
The chromatic bass line it creates is the reason this is everywhere in jazz.
Questions about the Tritone Substitution poster
- What’s on the Tritone Substitution poster?
- The rule, 3 worked examples, and the mistake everyone makes. Any dominant 7th can be replaced by the dominant 7th a tritone away.; G7 ⇄ D♭7 · both contain B and F; ii–V–I in C = Dm7 → G7 → C; With the substitution = Dm7 → D♭7 → C; Why it works = G7 has B and F; D♭7 has F and C♭ (= B); Common mistake: Substituting any chord a tritone away → Only dominant 7ths. The chromatic bass line it creates is the reason this is everywhere in jazz.
- Who is the Tritone Substitution poster for?
- Tritone Substitution belongs to the Music section rather than to a school year, because music is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning theory can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Tritone Substitution poster?
- The two chords share their tritone. That shared tension is what makes the swap sound right. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Tritone Substitution belongs on the wall where that music work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Tritone Substitution?
- Borrowed Chords, Cadences and Building Chords sit alongside Tritone Substitution in the Music section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Borrowed ChordsCadencesBuilding Chords
- Is the Tritone Substitution poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Tritone Substitution downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Music section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Tritone Substitution poster print at?
- Tritone Substitution is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Tritone Substitution loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Tritone Substitution on the same wall.
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