Tritone Substitution
Pieces on this website that contain examples of the tritone substitution are listed below.
Tritone Substitution: The substitution of a major-minor 7th chord whose root is a tritone away from the dominant for the dominant 7th chord.
Pieces that are not in the Public Domain are marked as NON-PD and may not have a score.
| PERIOD/PAGE | COMPOSER | COMPOSER CATEGORY | COMPOSITION | ANALYTIC TOPICS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Jones, Isham and Symes, Marty | American | “There Is No Greater Love” (1936) – NON-PD | Tritone sub, secondary dominants, ii-V-I progression, Aug 6 |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Garner, Erroll and Burke, Johnny | American, Male, black (Garner) | “Misty” (1954) – NON-PD | Mixture, Tritone sub, 32-bar song form |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Jobim, Antonio Carlos and Moreas, Vinicius | Brazil | “The Girl from Ipanema” (1963) – NON-PD | Tritone sub, neapolitan |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Sampson, Edgar | American, Male | “Stompin’ at the Savoy” (1936) – NON-PD | passing diminished 7th, Tritone sub |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Rodgers and Hart | American | “My Funny Valentine” (1937) – NON-PD | modulation from minor-rel major, Tritone sub |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Parker, Charlie | American, Black | “Confirmation” (1946) – NON-PD | Tritone sub, circle of 5ths progression, 32-bar song form |
| Romantic | Beach, Amy | Female | Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23, Mvt. I | Ternary form, Tritone sub |
| 20th Century | Raum, Elizabeth | Female, Canadian | Sweet Dances for Unaccompanied Tuba, Mvt, 1: Blew Tango | Ternary form, Tritone sub |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Bacharach, Burt and David, Hal | American, male | “Alfie” (1966) – NON-PD | Tritone sub, cto7, ii-V-I progression |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Brown, Clifford and Roach, Max | American, male, black | “Daahoud” (1962) – NON-PD | Tritone sub, descending bass |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Ellington, Duke | American, male, black | “Satin Doll” (1953) – NON-PD | Tritone sub, ii-V-I progression |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Ellington, Duke, and Bigard, Albany, and Mills, IrvingAlbany | American, male, black | “Mood Indigo” (1930) – NON-PD | Tritone sub, altered dominants |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Gillespie, John “Dizzy” and Paparelli, Frank | Black | “A Night in Tunisia” (1944) – NON-PD | Tritone sub |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Hancock, Herbie | American, Black | “Dolphin Dance” (1965) – NON-PD | Tritone sub |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Harrell, Tom | American | “Little Dancer” (1996) – NON-PD | Circle of 5ths progression, Tritone sub |
| Jazz, Pop, and Film Music | Wells, Robert and Torme, Mel | American | “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” (1944) – NON-PD | ii-V-I progressions, Tritone sub |