: Is there a way for a beginner in jazz to learn how to play tritone substitutions? Is there a way for a beginner in jazz to learn how to play tritone substitutions? Or is this something that you should only try after you

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Tritone substitutions are used instead of the preceding V chord to reach the next. As in G7>C, tts would be D♭7>C.

The point of them is that their 3rds and 7ths are swapped over. In the case above, G7 has B and F as 3 and 7, while the tts (D♭7) has F and B (actually C♭) as 3 and 7.

In jazz, it's often the case that chords are thinned out, and 3rds and 7ths are the only notes played. That actually falls right into your hands: play 3 and 7 (or 7 and 3!) and you're effectively doing it.

In order to find any tts, it's pretty straightforward: establish target chord (say C here). Tts is one semitone above that, so tts of G7 (the V of C) D♭7.

If it's on piano or guitar, you may want to include the other two notes, but bear in mind it works better if all those playing with you use the same tts. If they continue with the original V>I, it (really) won't (really) work well.

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Forget jazz, you can do it in pop and rock just as well. Instead of a dominant 7th (or 9th or 13th etc) chord, play a 7th or 9th (or many other things) a tritone higher (or lower, it's the same thing).

Sometimes, all it takes to do a tritone substitution is to move the bass. The bass player can do it without consulting others.

A special case is when others (except the bass) are playing a completely symmetric chord like dim7. Then the bass can take the tritone step, and the chord stays the same, just with a different root.

Example: Bdim7/G - C.
Tritone-substituted it becomes: Bdim7/Db - C.

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The simplest way to play tritone substitution is training the V7 chords the chromatic scale down instead of the circle of fifths. Learn the circle of fifths:

B,E,A,D,G,C,F,E ....

Now play

B,Bb,A,Ab,G,Gb,F,E (all chords 7b9)

you will see that each second chord (colored in right circle) is the tritonus substitution of a secondary dominant in the circle of 5ths (left).

The colored chords in the circle right (chromatic progression) are the tritone substitutions of the chords in the progression of fifths.

e.g.
F7 (FACEb) is substitution of B7 (BD#F#A)

adding b9 and flatting the 5th: F b9 b5 => B b9 b5 (because

F = b5 of B

A = 7 of B

Cb = B

Eb = D#

Gb = F#

FACbEbGb = BD#FAC

so the colored V7 chords of the chromatic circle can be used as substitutions of the chords in the left circle - where all 5ths are secondary dominants.

Is there a way for a beginner in jazz to learn how to play tritone substitutions.

So you first have to know how to build triads, seventh and ninth chords and to learn the circle of 5ths if you are a pianist.

A guitar player can play e.g. E, then play the barré E7 shape in fret vii (B7) and slide down fret by fret back to E. (B7,Bb7,A7,Ab7,G7,F#,F7,E). But if he doesn’t analyze the chords he will be playing without knowing what he’s doing.