Slash Chords on Guitar
Using alternate bass notes

If you've been working through the other guitar chord lessons on this site, you'll know that most chords are built from a low/bass root note, on the E, A or D string. That bass note defines the key and context of the chord.

Slash chords are chords with an alternate bass note. So the root note is still there, but it's not the lowest note in the chord anymore. This gives the chord an entirely different feel (well...sound).

They're called slash chords because of how we write them - e.g. C/G denotes a C major chord with a G bass note. Simple eh?

In music theory, slash chords are a form of chord inversion (where the natural order of chord tones is altered). For example, the added bass note could represent the 3rd, 6th, 7th, 9th etc. of the chord. More on this in the chord theory section!

Slash chords - adding a new bass note to guitar chords

Let's use the example from above to start with - C/G

Click the diagrams and tabs in this lesson to hear

So by adding that G bass note, we can "thicken up" the regular open C chord. How did I know the bass note was a G? I learned the notes on the fretboard (that was a hint!).

However, we can also remove the original A string root note altogether to get a more defined G bass note. Since there's another C root note on the B string, all the ingredients are still there for a C major chord.

Here's another - Bm/A. That's a B minor chord with an A bass note.

The original B bass root note has been replaced by the open A bass note. However, the B root note for the chord is still there on the G string (a higher/octave root note), so it still has all the ingredients of B minor.

Now, here's where slash chords get interesting. We can use the alternate 
bass note to create a progression. Take a look...

So we start with the regular B minor shape, then we move the bass note to  (open) A, then to G on the low E string, then finally to open E. Because all these bass notes are compatible with the B minor chord (essentially within the B minor scale), they work as a progression in the B minor key.

Let's look at another progression using a moving bass note, this time 
starting on D major...

So that's the basic idea behind slash chords on guitar. Try modifying chord shapes to include new bass notes, and as long as that new bass note is compatible with the rest of the chord (e.g. it provides a low 3rd or 5th in the major triad) then it'll add a new dimension to the chord. If you're playing with a bassist, they will also define the bass note for a particular chord.

The new bass note you apply to a slash chord must also work within the context of the chord progression as a whole. For example, take this simple jazz progression where the bass note follows a chromatic downward  progression. starting on Ab/C (A flat with a C bass note)...

Only the first Ab major chord was altered, as it was in fact a modified D-shape with a new C bass note on the low E string. Here's how it was altered:

So that D string root note is still there, as is the even higher B string root note, we're simply adding a low 3rd on the low E string which gives it that unstable, unresolved feeling.

More on creating chord inversions in the chord theory section!

Going back to the tab, notice how the bass line on the low E string ties the following chords together into context. When used in a progression, an alternate bass note pattern can provide that underlying progression. So it's good to think of using slash chords beyond the individual chords themselves, rather as part of a sequence of chords.

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