A sub V chord is a substitute chord for the original V chord. An example of this would be a Eb7 chord instead of A7. The Sub V chord shares the same (tri-tone) Below is the tri-tone in both chords A7 and Eb7.
Tri-Tone
E||-----------||
B||-----------||
G||--6--------||
D||--5--------||
A||-----------||
E||-----------||
In the key of G the V chord is D7 you can substitute D7 with Ab7 instead. Sub V chords come in handy and give an added twist to your chord progressions. We will use a blues progression as an example.
Example 1.
Below is the basic 12 bar blues progression in the key of A.
A7 | D7 | A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | A7 | A7 | E7 | D7 | A7 | E7
Example 2.
Here's the same blues progression with the added SUB V chords.
A7 | D7 | A7 | A7 Eb7 | D7 | D7 Ab7 | A7 | A7 Eb7 | E7 | D7 | A7 Eb7 | Bb7 E7
Sub V chords sound are cool in blues since you can add chromatic chord voicing's that differ from the same old 1,4,5 that we all know.
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