What are slash chords?
The simplest definition of a slash chord is “a triad over a bass note”
For the purpose of this lesson, we are going to look at major triads over a bass note. You might know that there are 12 major triads. Playing these triads respectively over a particular note on the lower octave of the piano, opens us up to possibilities of chords; both tension and release that aids in our piano playing.
*note that slash chords are represented this way e.g C/D
Interpretation: This signifies C major triad played over a D bass note.
Let’s take a bass note C and look individually on some major triads played over the C bass note
Now let’s go on
C/C — This is a C major triad played over a C bass
Note that C is used to represent a C major chord
Db/C — this is a Db major triad over a C bass note
This chord is a Db major with the major 7th to it. Therefore a Db major 7th chord. It could serve as a C dom 7 b9 b5 sus chord that moves to your F major chord
D/C — This is a D major triad over a C bass note
It’s a D major with the dom 7. Therefore a D dom 7 that resolves to a G major chord. Also this chord has a lydian flavour in the key of G
Eb/C — this is an Eb major triad over a C bass note.
This is a regular C min 7th chord
E/C — this an E major triad over a C bass note.
It’s a C major 7th #5 that can resolve to an F major chord
F/C — an F major triad over a C bass note.
This is a regular F major chord
Gb/C — a Gb major triad over a C bass note.
Its a C dom 7th b5 b9 that resolves to an F minor chord
G/C — a G major triad over a C bass note.
It’s a C major 9 chord
Ab/C — This is an Ab major triad over a C bass note.
This could be looked at as a C dom 7th #5 #9 chord that resolves to an F minor chord
A/C — an A major triad over a C bass note.
This could looked at as a C dom 7th b9 sus chord resolving to an F major chord
Bb/C — This is a Bb major triad over a C bass note.
This is a C dom 11th chord which resolves to your F major chord
B/C — This is a B major triad over a C bass note
This is a type of C major 7th #9 b5 chord and could resolve to a C major 7th chord or an F major 9th chord
I hope this lesson helps you understand chord structures better
