Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Slash chords – optional or not?
- Thread starter zZippy
- Start date
That’s a typical descending bass line against: Major chord w/octave, Major7, Dominant 7, Major 6.
You pick the key. I would notcconsidythem bizarre once you understand chord structure.
I think its easy to get sidetracked by theory-centric language, and miss the music therein, which I suspect is something we have in common - BUT let's not throw out any babies as it were -
these "slash" chords are related to ancient systems of chordal, often vocal-music shorthand that should be respected because they are not just arbitrary , different opinion naming conventions that make no difference in the end -
your job is playing the bass voice, and these notes indicate movement in the bass - if bass is moving, where is it likely to be moving from? the root. In more modern terms, it is very much like thinking in doo-wop with slash chords. If the melody is known, you could write out an easily implied 4-part doo-wop or folk-rock harmony arrangement with just slash chords. If there were a lazier, more efficient system, someone would have thought of it.
just keep in mind that the first note is the root in a slash chord. As well it should, the root comes first. The note after the slash is your special sauce formula, but does not change the root. Especially with bass guitar, the altered bass note need not be in the lowest octave - they are often in the mid and upper octaves when you hear them in Beatle, Beach Boy, Motown, etc. era records.
By reversing it, you are implying dramatically more complex chords (G/B becomes Bmajor-minor6th ***? ) than necessary, and you will have to have this conversation with other musicians repeatedly.
I know something about this. With classic music like old hymns, they were quite often written for a 4 part choir. So the slash note is the note that the basses happened to sing at that point. however, if you're not playing from the sheet music, by default you're creating your own version of of the bass line. At that point, the slash note becomes optional: it'll never be incorrect, just as the root note is never incorrect, but it might sound odd based on the sequence of notes you played ahead of it. In a chord marked G/B, the basses originally sang a B at that point. But the bass line you've constructed might mean that actually a D is the best note to play. It all depends.
The lowest note played doesn’t define the root of the chord.
Both B maj and B minor have an F# in it making it closer (though not exactly)to a G maj7
When I play/hear that in my head with the roots only, it sounds ok, but doesn't have the same tension as the descending line that's played as written. I suppose that's a choice you could make but it would really alter the feel of the song. The bass line is bouncing around a lot more and it almost turns into Pachelbel's Canon at that point (at least through the first five changes). It's sing-songy. But maybe that's what someone decides they want for this song.
Just as an edit: Personally I think that beginning players get "play the root" drilled into them to an absurd degree, and it can hinder advancement farther along the road. Playing the root is never "wrong" from a sonic standpoint but it sometimes isn't the most interesting choice.
Last edited:
- Sep 14, 2009
- 903
- 665
- 57
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: GullanskyLab pickups
Nonononono.....
Quite different: it's a G chord, with the third on bass.
Yep, yep, yep! Love that. It does change the whole song, which is what the arranger was going for. This is a good example of taking a song and using inversions and rhythm to make it your own, rather than just a copy of what someone else did. There's a time and place for both techniques.
that is true -
I have had so much experience with faulty charts - especially jazz guitarists i've found to write a slash chord to notate how they are voicing the chord, and not indicating an actual bass note.
the only other contextual thing I regularly deal with in regards to this would be melody vs solos - on solo sections i'm often more liberal with those notes than on a melody statement - but not always. again, it depends on how integral it is to the structure of the harmony.
but yes..... if the note is confirmed correct and intended to be the bass note, play it!!
I voted play whatever. It all depends on the context and what I am doing. It's an inversion and by law we do not have to only play the lowest note in chord. I know it's crazy but I don't always land on the root on 1. 
If I am walking I will included it if it works. The slash could also be part of a line and I will likely play that as a line if it works out, it usually works out well. In church playing the slash does not always work out, sometimes it will clash with a harmony someone is singing, and I am not going to fight it out with the singers. I will play what sounds good and adds to the mix and not create musical conflicts. We all work these out during rehearsals usually without conversation, we all listen to each other, by the 3rd verse we're tight. Everything on the lead sheet deserves our attention and thoughtful appropriate execution, and I think the slash should be taken seriously.
Most of our sheet music has the harmonies and the 2 staffs for the piano. I often follow the bass line written with the more standard Church music, and follow the recording more on the contemporary pieces. I usually stay away from the Bass vocal lines because then you are literally following the voices.
If I am walking I will included it if it works. The slash could also be part of a line and I will likely play that as a line if it works out, it usually works out well. In church playing the slash does not always work out, sometimes it will clash with a harmony someone is singing, and I am not going to fight it out with the singers. I will play what sounds good and adds to the mix and not create musical conflicts. We all work these out during rehearsals usually without conversation, we all listen to each other, by the 3rd verse we're tight. Everything on the lead sheet deserves our attention and thoughtful appropriate execution, and I think the slash should be taken seriously.Most of our sheet music has the harmonies and the 2 staffs for the piano. I often follow the bass line written with the more standard Church music, and follow the recording more on the contemporary pieces. I usually stay away from the Bass vocal lines because then you are literally following the voices.
Attachments
I had no idea that in jazz theory (I thought theory was theory, but for sake of discussion) there were no inversions. When were the inversions taken away?
Please re-read my post. I wrote that the inversions were notated with numbers (figured bass) in classical notation. Nowhere did I say that there were no inversions in jazz. The use of "slash chords" and other methods of notations regarding inversion in jazz was implied. That is unless you have been using figured bass in jazz and then I would really like to see some examples.
Edited for clarity.
Well done, I wish I said that.
I find often that if it's more than one note length like 4 beats the "slash" is better played by the guitarist where they can sustain that tone in a chord. Bassists are more note oriented and unless your peddling it's hard to make one note work over 4 beats.
I don't have time to wade through all 100+ posts to see if anyone corrected you on this, but a Gmaj7 chord with B in the bass is definitely not a B chord. It's a Gmaj7 chord with B in the bass.
If you choose to say 'It's a B chord for me'... well, we are living in a world of alternate facts.
It would appear you don't really know what a root is. That's all. This goes back to what I said about teachers banging on about "play the root" without teaching anything about chord structure. So this is a chance to learn something (if you'd stop arguing with everyone).
The root isn't just the note the bass is playing, and it's not the note that is the lowest note in the chord. Chords are built around a note, which is the root of the chord, but the root can be anywhere in the chord. Those chords always contain the same notes, but those notes might be in different octaves.
Those chords with roots somewhere in the middle or at the top of the chord are called inversions, but the root of a C chord is always a C note, whether the C is played at the bottom, in the middle or at the top of the chord.
