Slash Chords

[Leslie Sanford]

What would be a good rule of thumb for determining if a chord is a slash chord?

I know chords can be interpreted in various ways, and a lot of it depends on context. Taking that into account, I'm just looking for a good general definition.

It seems to me that the bass note would need to be far enough away, i.e. lower in pitch, than the rest of the chord to be distinct from it. This leads to the question:

How much lower in pitch must the bass note be in order to be considered distinct from the result of the chord? In other words, when is a note considered a bass note?

It helps if the bass note is not part of the upper chord. If you play a C in the bass and a C major triad an octave higher, you wouldn't write it as C/C. That would be pretty silly. On the other hand, if you played a D, you could describe it as C/D. But this leads to another question:

If the bass note is part of the upper chord but is not the root, is the overall chord considered a slash chord?

For example, if you have a C major triad with G in the bass, would you notate it as C/G?

Thanks for any input.

[BLynx]

How much lower in pitch must the bass note be in order to be considered distinct from the result of the chord? In other words, when is a note considered a bass note?

Just has to be lower, IMHO. For example, when you're fingerpicking something on the guitar and you change the root note, you mostly certainly perceive it as the bass, even when it's only a third or a fifth away from the closest note. When fingerpicking a progression like Bm Bm/A Bm/G Bm/F# (very cliched, but I don't remember any song that uses it right now) on a single guitar, it's fairly easy to pick up the bass notes.

OTOH, you can have something like a bass guitar playing the root notes and a drone synth or something else playing notes lower than the bass, but sorta hidden in the mix. You'll still perceive the bass guitar as the "root note" instrument... again, IMHO...

If the bass note is part of the upper chord but is not the root, is the overall chord considered a slash chord?

For example, if you have a C major triad with G in the bass, would you notate it as C/G?

I would, yes...

But to me, chords symbols are just a guide when accompanying music or laying down ideas... there's much more on a chord than you can notate by letters and numbers. Like how open/closed it is, or what's the top note... stuff like that [/b]

[sammy24]

I'll try to answer your 2nd q. first. C/G is really an inversion chord symbol, rather than a slash chord. Obviously they look exactly the same, C/D and C/G. But really they are quite different. The way to determine which one is which is by figuring out if the bass note is the 3rd, 5th, (and sometimes the 7th) of the chord. If it is, then it's really just an inversion of the chord. So inversions of C would be C/E and C/G. So obviously, all these symbols are still C chords, and the only thing changing is which chord tone is played in the bass, giving the C chord a different sound. But if the bass note is not a basic chord tone of the chord, like in C/D, C/A, C/F, etc., then the bass is the real root of the chord, NOT an inversion:

For instance, C/F is an F chord, with the 5th, 7th, and 9th, but no 3rd. (Because C/F gives you the notes F, C, E, and G.) It implies Fmaj9, even without actually playing the 3rd, the note A. That's a real slash chord. (A lot of people, however, don't make this distinction, and refer to inversions as slash chords. But really, they're not the same things.) Or, for example, C/A is an Ami7 chord. So basically, if the bass isn't a chord tone, then it's not an inversion, rather the bass note is the root of some larger chord. Slash chords are just a way to write bigger chord symbols in a more convenient way, or sometimes to tell the player exactly how they want the chord to be played. Hope that made sense.

Regarding your first q., there is something called the fundamental register. This is all the notes from B2 and down (the 2nd B below middle C, or 2nd line on the bass clef). In general, any note that's played down there sounds like the root of the chord. So for example, if you play a C chord with E as the lowest note, but you play it higher on they keyboard than the fundamental register (which is called the melodic register), then it's not for sure a C/E chord. Because, you could still have someone else like a bass player play C as the root, in the fundamental register, which makes the chord a regular C in root position. I guess if no one else is playing any notes at all, then it could be C/E. But if you play the E in the fundamental register, then it's definitely C/E. And if someone else plays a C or G, also in the fundamental register, then it will probably just sound bad, so low down there. (This is also why when a keyboardist plays with a bassist, unless they know what they're doing, they should stay out of the fundamental register as much as possible, so as not to interfere with the bassist.)

Take care.

[Leslie Sanford]

Thank you both for replying to my post. Your reponses have been very educational.

Interesting, I had never heard of the fundamental and melodic registers before, but they make complete sense. And also I now appreciate the difference between slash chords and inversions. This helps a lot, thanks.

[wrench45us]

I've never come across this concept of fundamental register and melodic register either. I have come across certain rules of thumb (which in this case literally referred to placement of the right thumb to keep a chord from sounding muddy)

slash chords are used for both designating a particular inversion and a simpler notation of more complex chords
a few of my books indicate that a practiced keyboardist should be able to translate a complex chord designation into a simpler slash chord 'on the fly' That's not me. That takes some mental training.
Slash chords were my first entry way into the world of more extended chords, esp sus chords. A lot of gospel or jazz tinged pop sheet music will use slash chords to bring that flavor in without introducing complex chord symbols.
But it's that mental translation the other way around with 'Real' guide sheets etc where slash chords can really be useful -- sort of a deconstruction

[sammy24]

One thing about the melodic and fundamental registers-- B2 is the basic cutoff point, and the easiest way to think about it. But like many things, it can be a little more complicated Try playing a harmonic interval somewhere on the keyboard (two notes at the same time), say a fifth, seventh, anything. If you keep playing that same interval, but lower down the keyboard each time, eventually you reach a point where it doesn't sound real good, like it's very muddy and the sound doesn't project well. This will happen right around the fundamental register (meaning, the higher note in the interval will be somewhere near there). But the exact point where an interval no longer sounds too good varies depending on the interval. There are charts available for this, usually called Low Interval Limit or something like that. This doesn't always have to be followed exactly, you just have to make a judgment call on whether or not you think it sounds ok. (and you will probably agree with what those charts say )

Basically, the only two intervals you can get away with where both notes are deep into the fundamental register are octaves and fifths. Fifths do have a limit, way down there, and octaves do not. This does help simplify what is going on the left hand of piano parts sometimes-- you are unlikely to find anything else down there other than roots and sometimes fifths.

Just one more thing-- this concept is not a "piano" concept. It applies the same way to all instruments in general. Whether voicing chords for brass, woodwinds, strings, voice, etc, these things apply. So it's a really good idea if you are working with other instruments to be able to "see" their ranges on a piano. Also, guitar is a great example-- the low E and A strings do have some notes in the fundamental register, and this affects many things. Notes down there can function in place of a bass sometimes (depending on the mix it could even be a little hard to tell if the lowest notes are a guitar very low down, or a bass playing medium-high.) Also, you know how open chords often skip the lowest one or 2 strings? There's a reason for that. Usually, it could have been possible to add another chord tone lower down, but either it will sound like an inversion, or the voicing will be too muddy because certain intervals are too low.

[psenior]

a few of my books indicate that a practiced keyboardist should be able to translate a complex chord designation into a simpler slash chord 'on the fly' That's not me. That takes some mental training.

This is how I think about harmony. Makes it a lot simpler to read and play chord charts.

[psenior]

One thing about the melodic and fundamental registers-- B2 is the basic cutoff point, and the easiest way to think about it.

I have heard of something along this concept. I have a book called "Piano Chord Dictionary" where the guy recommends you play all your chords between middle C and the G an octave above for the best sound.

What I do nowadays to avoid muddiness in the low end is either play an interval of a 10th or a 7th in the right hand. It always sounds good. Sometimes I may play both a 7th and a 10th at the same time, but it is tough for me, even though I have big hands. If you don't have big hands, just roll quickly when you play this way or drop the root altogether.

I wish I could play stride piano...