Have you ever seen chord symbols in sheet music like D/F# or G/B and wonder what the heck they mean?
Well in today’s post we will demystify slash chords.
First let’s look at what these chords are not.
- These are not chords named after the guitarist Slash from Guns and Roses fame.
- D/F# does not mean you can play either a D major chord or an F# major chord.
Slash chords are simply chords that are written as chord/bass note.
The bass note is the lowest sounding note in the chord.
In the G/B chord you would play a G major chord with B as the lowest-sounding note.
The D/F# chord would be played as a D major chord with F# in the bass.
The F#/C means you would play an F# major chord with a C as the bass note.
Slash chords are often used to simplify chord notation.
For example, F#/C could also be written as C7 b9 #11.
Slash chords are always written as chord/bass note. The bass note is the lowest sounding note in the chord.
Technically, there really are two different types of slash chords. The first kind is where a non-chord tone is the bass note. An example of this is F#/C. C is not part of the F# major chord. F# major consists of the notes: F# A# C#. As you can see, the C is not a part of the F# major chord.
The other category of slash chords is inversions.
In an inversion, the bass note is a chord tone. In other words, you may see F#/C#. This means you could play a voicing you know for F# major and arrange the notes so that the C# is the lowest note in the chord.
Simplifying Slash Chords
If you don’t know the notes on the guitar yet, or only know a few chords, you can simplify any slash chord by dropping out the bass note. So in other words, when you see G/B you just play a G major chord. If you see a D min/F, you just play D minor.
Get the idea? It won’t sound exactly like it should, but you will still have a close runner up.
So there you go. Now that you understand what slash chords are and how they work, you can now make sense of those songs books. So happy strumming!
By the way, if you want to learn more about these chords and many of the other chords that will improve your guitar playing, check out my guitar chord course –> 7 Secrets to Learn any Guitar Chord Super-Fast.
In an inversion, the bass note is a chord tone.In other words, you may see F#/C#.This means you could play a voicing you know for F# major and arrange the notes so that the C# is the lowest note in the chord.
