Slash Chord Question

[Febs]

If I'm supposed to play a line cliche, usually I see it like this: E /D# | /C# /B |

So yeah, if you have that kind of thing in context, the intention becomes obvious. But apart from a line cliche, and having a E/C# chord outside of that context, it is an E triad over C# triad. That being a fact, I won't argue that point any further.

It is not a fact. I routinely see the "slash chord" designation used in charts where it is clearly intended to designate a non-chord tone bass note, rather than a polychord. I'm currently playing a production of Hairspray, for example, where the following progression is extremely common:

C | Am | F | F/G

The F/G in this instance is clearly intended to desigate an F triad over a G bass rather than an F triad over a G triad.

 

[Snarf]

It is not a fact. I routinely see the "slash chord" designation used in charts where it is clearly intended to designate a non-chord tone bass note, rather than a polychord. I'm currently playing a production of Hairspray, for example, where the following progression is extremely common:

C | Am | F | F/G

The F/G in this instance is clearly intended to desigate an F triad over a G bass rather than an F triad over a G triad.

So I saw your unedited post, and it made me have a "OMG I can't believe I forgot that" moment. You were definitely right about this:

E
---
C#


I completely forgot about that style of chord symbol. So you are right! My bad. But I still maintain that E/C# is just not useful, as it's just a C#- chord, and it doesn't matter if the keys or guitar player plays the inversion, because if the bass is hitting that root, it's just immediately a C#- chord.

F/G is another matter. That's a great chord. It is definitely a hybrid chord, because the G is the root, and the F triad gives it the b7, 9, and 11, basically making it a 7sus.

 

[sammyp]

Dang it.....just play a D under his A. That's what it means. Nothing more, nothing less!

yup ...i would concur ....

to the OP - what kind of music? i see this type of thing mostly in say adult contemporary piano driven pop songs ...or ballads.

sometimes you need to blow off those slash chords and just go with the root....for instance if a guitar and bass player are covering a piano tune with no keyboards the slash chords often just make a mess of what you're trying to do ....it's all looking at the context.

 

[bigboy_78]

I have come across another theory question with these singer/guitarists I've been playing with. One of them brought a song with an "A/D" chord. The other guitarist thought that I should play an "A' as the root for that chord. I explained that that notation means that I should be playing "D". I have no question about this. What I want to clarify is if my playing my D with their A chord (A - C# - E) makes the A chord a Dmaj7.

Thank you in advance for your replies.

Yes.

D A-C#-E is Dmaj9 (no 3). If you played an A root, it wouldn’t sound bad, but it would be wrong as far as the composer is concerned because they are after that maj9 sound, not an A triad.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

So I saw your unedited post, and it made me have a "OMG I can't believe I forgot that" moment. You were definitely right about this:

E
---
C#


I completely forgot about that style of chord symbol. So you are right! My bad. But I still maintain that E/C# is just not useful, as it's just a C#- chord, and it doesn't matter if the keys or guitar player plays the inversion, because if the bass is hitting that root, it's just immediately a C#- chord.

F/G is another matter. That's a great chord. It is definitely a hybrid chord, because the G is the root, and the F triad gives it the b7, 9, and 11, basically making it a 7sus.

Wouldn't it be Fmaj9/G ... it would be so much easier to have all the information you need to make the chord ... like it is in jazz realbook. This is something I hate about pop music ... they don't always write everything you need to know in a chord name.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

Yes.

D A-C#-E is Dmaj9 (no 3). If you played an A root, it wouldn’t sound bad, but it would be wrong as far as the composer is concerned because they are after that maj9 sound, not an A triad.

You could also say it is a Asus/D

 

[Russell L]

Dang it.....just play a D under his A. That's what it means. Nothing more, nothing less!

Yep. That's all you need to know. That's the way those symbols read in the Real Book and everywhere else that you're likely to find. "A" chord with "D" in the bass.

 

[Groove Master]

Yes.

D A-C#-E is Dmaj9 (no 3). If you played an A root, it wouldn’t sound bad, but it would be wrong as far as the composer is concerned because they are after that maj9 sound, not an A triad.

That is correct. It is a specific and easy way to notate a DMaj9 (no 3) with a strong and definitive open voicing.

One very important thing to know about slash chords is this simple rule:

When the bass note is in the upper chord like D/A as an example, this indicate an inversion of the chord and the real chord in this case is D major with the fifth in the bass.

When the bass is NOT in the chord, then the bass note is the tonic or root of the chord just like this A/D.

So the thing to do is to play the note on the right side of the slash and it will be accurate to do so, but knowing if you play an inverted chord or a tonic of a specific chord will give you more options regarding the other notes you can play to fill in.

 

[Groove Master]

You could also say it is a Asus/D

This is a wrong interpretation because you are changing the color of the A triad by doing so.

The best way to understand slash chords is to 1) write them on a piece of paper from the bass note to the triad. In this case we would have a D bass in the bass clef and a A triad in the treble clef. Then figure out the interval between each note of the triad in relation with the bass note and discovering that the A is the fifth of D, the C# is the major 7 of D and the E is the ninth of D.

2) it is also very helpful to play these kind of voicing on a piano or a keyboard to hear and visualize the structure.

 

[Roscoe East]

Wouldn't it [F/G] be Fmaj9/G ... it would be so much easier to have all the information you need to make the chord ... like it is in jazz realbook. This is something I hate about pop music ... they don't always write everything you need to know in a chord name.

Sometimes those omissions are intentional.

F/G is *not* the same as Fmaj9/G because that latter chord implies the presence of the major-seventh chord tone -- an E natural -- and if you explicitly *don't* want to hear E natural in that chord, what's the easiest way to indicate it? Simple: F/G

 

[the_stone]

For anyone who's interested, this link goes to a 1 page chart that Dan Haerle (former professor of jazz piano at the University of North Texas) put together years ago on polychord-scale relationships. He's got a number of other interesting articles under the "Books" section of the page.

Link Removed

 

[Whousedtoplay]

One of them brought a song with an "A/D" chord.

Let's take a look at "Oyster Bay" by Billy Joel.

At 0:51, with "I've never thought that things would go this far..." we have a "NASTY" chord = C/F going to Emin7.
I seriously don't like it.



But...

Billy Joel used quite a few "normal-sounding" slash chords like in "She's got a way".

Or "These Rhinestone Days".

P.S. Once again, Billy Joel is using that C/F chord construction!(WHY???).
These Rhinestone Days Piano, Vocal & Guitar (Right-Hand Melody) by Billy Joel

 

[Don Kasper]

if my playing my D with their A chord (A - C# - E) makes the A chord a Dmaj7.

Yes. You are exactly correct IF your "D" note is the lowest pitch sounding beneath the(ir) Amaj triad.
Note: Even though there is no 3rd (F#) in the voicing, your ear, (and my ear) hears this as a Dmaj sonority.
QED.
Thanks.