What Is A Slash Chord?
A slash chord is any triad played above a bass note: D/C, Bb/C, F/C, and Ab/C are all examples of slash chords. These four chords fall into two different categories. The first two are examples in which the bass note acts as the root of a chord, while the second two are more commonly called inversions, since both contain the bass note within the structure of the triad itself. Since most musicians are familiar with inversions and their usage, well explore the less commonly used slash chords and their tonalities. Perhaps the most frequent use of the slash chord is as a substitution or simplification of complex harmonic structures. Oftentimes, its easier to write Bb/C than Csus4(9). With this in mind, Example 1 lists some commonly used slash chords and their respective substitutions. Example 1 Slash Chord Substitution For E/C Cmaj#5 G/C Cmaj7(9) A/C C7(13,b9) Eb/C C7#9 D/C C7Sus(9) (Dom or Maj7) Bb/C C7Sus(9) Now that we know some commonly used slash chords, lets take a look at a few ways
