Slash chords

Slash chords are chords that look like a fraction. The numerator of the “fraction” is a chord and the denominator of the “fraction” is the bass note. Sometimes my students think of these as being polychords, which are two chords layered on top of each other. Slash chords are not polychords.

Slash chords are chords with a bass note different than the root of the chord. People often “read” them as, “C over B”, or “G over A” or “F# minor 7 over Bb.”

Let’s take an example.

C/B

This chord is a C major chord. The bass note is a B. So you have a C major chord with a B in the bass. That’s it. C over B is how you’d read this chord to someone else.

Let’s look at another example.

G/A

This is similar to the above chord. It’s a G major chord with a A in the bass. The numerator (G in this case) is the chord that is being played. The denominator (a A in this case) is the bass note. G over A is how you’d read this chord.

Now let’s look at a more complicated example.

F#m7/Bb

This chord is an F# minor chord with a Bb in the bass. There’s a full F# minor chord with all of the notes in that chord (F# A C# E) with a Bb note in the bass. F#m7 over Bb is how you’d read this one.

Slash chords can be a great way to spice up a chord progression because they’ll add some more color. Even if you just change the bass note to a chord tone (like the 3rd or 5th) it can change the color and sound of a chord and give it some more spice.

These chords often confuse my students at first because they look really strange, but if you can remember that people read these chords as “[top chord] OVER [bottom note]” it can help you remember that the numerator is a chord and the denominator is a single note in the bass.

One other thing to keep in mind if you play a chordal instrument like piano or guitar is that you don’t necessarily need to play the bass note if you have a bass player. I impressed one of my teachers at Berklee College of Music in an ensemble once because I was playing guitar. I just played the numerator chord. He asked me what I was playing and why and I explained that our ensemble has a bass player so I don’t need to play the bottom note because they’ll have it. I only needed to play the top part.

He was impressed that I realized what type of ensemble I was playing it and how that specific ensemble effects the music. He was also probably a little more impressed than he would be because that chord tricked up a few other people in the ensemble. I was just familiar with it because of other groups I’d played in.

So next time you have a college ensemble rehearsal with a slash chord and a bass player, remember you don’t need to play the bass note if they have it.

ISJ