what's the chord mean?

pebbleInDaPacific

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Just a little help on some chords I see when I look up songs. What does it mean when there is a slash between chords, like G/B or C/A. I always wondered if this was a common practice. Any info would help. Thanks!
 
Here's an excerpt from one of the threads regarding slash chords; you can also use the search function to find other threads regarding this topic.
The note after the slash in slash chords denotes what should be the lowest note in the chord. It's important to stress correct terminology here. The lowest note in a slash chord is not the "root" note. The root note in any chord never changes. If the slash chord is A/G#, for example, your root note is still an A, but the lowest note is a G#. The way I usually say it is, "A chord with a G# in the bass."

There's not much you can do with some slash chords on an ukulele. In your Mony Mony example I would just play the B chord 4322 and be done with it. Technically, that voicing is a slash chord already. It's a B/D#.
 
Thanks Kanaka!

That was quick. I tried the search function with G/B C/A but it didn't come up with anything. I guess I know what they are called now. "slash chords" good stuff to know. mahalo!
 
^^Yep. That's a good, detailed explanation!^^

In a nutshell, just play the chord on the left of the slash and ignore everything on the right. ;)

G/B ... just play the G! :cool:


Yeah, that's what I've been doing and it seems fine. I just thought I was missing some sound that I should be making. Thanks!
 
Yeah, that's what I've been doing and it seems fine. I just thought I was missing some sound that I should be making. Thanks!

The only time you could miss something is if there is something like C/Bb or G/F, which indicates 7th chords. Theory helps figure those out, but you can still go with the default play what's left of the slash!

That C/A you initially mentioned is another way of saying Am7. C major is spelled C E G, add the A in the bass and you've got Am7 (A C E G); it could be thought of as C6/A (same spelling, different function). Either one works, especially if you have a bass player hitting that A. In short ... just play the C!!!
 
In a nutshell, just play the chord on the left of the slash and ignore everything on the right. ;)

G/B ... just play the G! :cool:
Not necessarily...it depends on whether you're playing with a low G and where you are on the neck with respect to the chords around the slash chord. With a low G, for example, you can play G/B as 4232. With a high G, if you're up on the neck you can play it as 79710. (C/A would be 3003 or 99810.)

A slash chord is usually indicated only when the bass note IS important, so if you leave it out you are taking away from the composer's original intention for the piece. With a re-entrant tuning this may be inevitable, but with a low G you should do your best to play the chord as indicated, if only to hear what the composer was trying to accomplish.
 
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Not necessarily...it depends on whether you're playing with a low G and where you are on the neck with respect to the chords around the slash chord. With a low G, for example, you can play G/B as 4232. With a high G, if you're up on the neck you can play it as 79710. (C/A would be 3003 or 99810.)

Good point, but in general you can just hit the G and let the bass worry about the bass note.

Paying attention to slash chords could be more important in a solo setting, but it would depend on if there was some kind of defining bass line being fleshed out or other factors. Context is everything ... and so is the player's skill level and arranging preferences. :)
 
Good point, but in general you can just hit the G and let the bass worry about the bass note.

Paying attention to slash chords could be more important in a solo setting, but it would depend on if there was some kind of defining bass line being fleshed out or other factors. Context is everything ... and so is the player's skill level and arranging preferences. :)
I should have mentioned that I was assuming a solo setting!
 
Good points, everybody. I'll just add a couple of things:

It's easier to get away with ignoring the bass note in a slash chord (the "bottom" or "right side" of the slash) when that note appears in the chord already. In those cases, you're still playing the note, but maybe not as the lowest note. So a C/E or a C/G could just be played as a C without the song suffering too much, because a C chord already has an E and a G in it.

But when the note isn't normally in the chord, you might want to think about adding it in, regardless of whether you add it to the bottom or not. For instance, the previous example of C/A should be played as a C chord with the A note tacked on (which is a C6, or an A-7, depending on how you look at it). A regular C will sound noticeably different.

Finally, realize that a good number of the chords most people play on the ukulele are actually "slash" chords anyway, even when the song calls for a plain-old, root-position chord. I haven't heard anyone complain yet, which goes to show you how unimportant that bottom note is on a small-range instrument like the uke. ;)

Here are some examples of open chords you probably play all the time, along with what they "really" are (assuming a standard, high-G uke):

F (2010) = F/C
G (0232) = G/D
A (2100) = A/C#
Bb (3211) = Bb/D
E7 (1202) = E7/D
"Hawaiian" D7 (2020) = F#dim/C


JJ
 
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Ukulele JJ comes through again. Just want to point out one thing, man - your notation for the "Hawaiian D7" is backwards.
 
How do I play the D/F slash chord for uke?

Interesting chord

D chord is D F# A

Over a F bass could sound a little clashy

so F A D would be a F6 chord with a F# would make it F6b9??? That's not a chord you see very often

You sure it's not D/F#???

because that combination happens all the time.
 
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But when the note isn't normally in the chord, you might want to think about adding it in, regardless of whether you add it to the bottom or not. For instance, the previous example of C/A should be played as a C chord with the A note tacked on (which is a C6, or an A-7, depending on how you look at it). A regular C will sound noticeably different.
JJ

What JJ said. If I can add the note in, I'll try and see if it sounds good and in character with the song. Usually nice results.
 
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