![\"Slash](\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2020\/What%20Are%20Slash%20Chords%3F\/desperado-slash.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s what it looks like in music. But what does it mean and more importantly, how do you play it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s break it down and look at that slash chord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first letter is the CHORD. That is the chord we are playing at that time. I find it helpful to think about it as what your right hand is doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The slash just means \u201cover the top of\u201d<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the second letter is the name of the note you\u2019ll play with your LEFT hand in the bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So a G\/B<\/b> chord would be a G chord with your right hand and a B note with your left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It may be useful to think of slash chords in terms of their structure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slash chords as inversions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAnother way of thinking about slash chords is that the symbols are giving us an INSTRUCTION about which INVERSION<\/a> to use to pay the chord in.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThink of a G chord. The notes are G-B-D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the B note is on the bottom (which is what the slash chord is telling us), then we\u2019re actually playing a G chord in 1st inversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"1st](\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2020\/What%20Are%20Slash%20Chords%3F\/g-1st-inversion.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWalking basslines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nYou can get slash chords that have notes that don\u2019t belong to the chord. So they\u2019re not really an inversion and on their own, they can sound pretty crunchy and just wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are often used as part of a walking bassline. Where the bottom note is traveling somewhere, and the slash chord is just a step on that journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look at the song \u201cA Whiter Shade of Pale\u201d by Annie Lennox. There are lots of slash chords here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Slash](\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2020\/What%20Are%20Slash%20Chords%3F\/whiter-shade-of-pale.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nNotice that the notes DON\u2019T belong to the basic chords. C\/B can sound pretty crunchy when played on its own. But here the technique is used to WALK the bassline down from the C chord to the Am chord. And using the B to get there is a beautiful way to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can see this entire line of music uses slash chords to walk the bass from a top C down to a lower C. Pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slash chord practice tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nSlash chords make a dramatic difference in songs. It helps to get comfortable knowing how to play them and also learning how they SOUND.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pick a chord, look at the notes of that chord, and try playing the chord in your right-hand while alternating the bass notes in your left hand!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You could also try playing other notes from the scale of the chord to see how that sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slash chords don\u2019t have to be intimidating, scary, or something to avoid. Now you know what they are and how to play them, your songs will sound even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nMaster the Piano YOUR Way \ud83d\udd25<\/b><\/h3>
As a Pianote+ Member, you\u2019ll get access to our 10-step Method, song library, and growing community of piano players just like you. Plus: get coached by world-class pianists and learn whenever you want, wherever you want, and whatever you want.<\/p>TRY PIANOTE FOR 7 DAYS<\/a><\/center>
<\/span>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Slash chords are amazing. They can totally change the sound and feel of a song. But they can be confusing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1487,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507],"tags":[1091],"class_list":["post-1482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chord-theory","tag-7dsr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1482"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14458,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions\/14458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Think of a G chord. The notes are G-B-D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the B note is on the bottom (which is what the slash chord is telling us), then we\u2019re actually playing a G chord in 1st inversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can get slash chords that have notes that don\u2019t belong to the chord. So they\u2019re not really an inversion and on their own, they can sound pretty crunchy and just wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are often used as part of a walking bassline. Where the bottom note is traveling somewhere, and the slash chord is just a step on that journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the song \u201cA Whiter Shade of Pale\u201d by Annie Lennox. There are lots of slash chords here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notice that the notes DON\u2019T belong to the basic chords. C\/B can sound pretty crunchy when played on its own. But here the technique is used to WALK the bassline down from the C chord to the Am chord. And using the B to get there is a beautiful way to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can see this entire line of music uses slash chords to walk the bass from a top C down to a lower C. Pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slash chords make a dramatic difference in songs. It helps to get comfortable knowing how to play them and also learning how they SOUND.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pick a chord, look at the notes of that chord, and try playing the chord in your right-hand while alternating the bass notes in your left hand!<\/p>\n\n\n\n You could also try playing other notes from the scale of the chord to see how that sounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slash chords don\u2019t have to be intimidating, scary, or something to avoid. Now you know what they are and how to play them, your songs will sound even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a Pianote+ Member, you\u2019ll get access to our 10-step Method, song library, and growing community of piano players just like you. Plus: get coached by world-class pianists and learn whenever you want, wherever you want, and whatever you want.<\/p>TRY PIANOTE FOR 7 DAYS<\/a><\/center> Slash chords are amazing. They can totally change the sound and feel of a song. But they can be confusing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":1487,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507],"tags":[1091],"class_list":["post-1482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chord-theory","tag-7dsr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1482"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14458,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions\/14458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWalking basslines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSlash chord practice tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Master the Piano YOUR Way \ud83d\udd25<\/b><\/h3>
<\/span>\n\n\n\n