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I'm trying to work out whether it is technically correct to have a "slash" chord where the bass note is not one of the notes in the chord.

I thought the main reason for slash chords is to show which inversion of a chord to play.

However, someone has given me the chord progression B – B/A♯ - G♯m7 – B/F♯ which shows a slash chord with an outside note in the base.

You will note that A♯ is not in the B chord.

But isn't it more correct to call that chord Bmaj7 rather than B/A♯ ?

Is there any valid case of having a "slash" chord where the slash note is not in the actual chord?

user45266
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asgeo1
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  • I'm agreed with NReilingh, the slash serves only to denote the particular base note to be played and has nothing to do with the key or rest of the chord. –  Feb 15 '12 at 23:14
  • I'm guessing Gm7 should be G♯m7 (so the bass descends diatonically in B major). – Mirlan Apr 30 '19 at 14:45

7 Answers7

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To answer your last question: Yes -- because it sounds cool.

A common gospel piano thing is a IV chord with dominant function because it's over the dominant in the bass, i.e. F/G (in the key of C).

Inversions were historically notated using a figured bass style. Slash chords are a relatively recent invention, and they can be used both for inversions and for other chords that don't fit "traditional" harmony.

In many cases it is not practical to extend your notation up through the chord members until you come to the "weird" note -- you'll end up with a weird 13th chord or something (which is just not accurate) and, in the case of the 13th being the bass note, inversion notation just doesn't go that high. It makes much more sense to just say C/G#.

NReilingh
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    Thanks. When I see F/G I think that it could be written as Fadd9 or Fadd9/G, and C/G♯ could be written as G#maj7♯5. But you're saying that if a G♯maj7♯5 is functioning as a C chord in a progression, then it can be better to write it as C/G♯ ? – asgeo1 Feb 16 '12 at 00:08
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    Absolutely -- and it's easier to read that way, too. – NReilingh Feb 16 '12 at 04:07
  • Though I'd say that C/A♭ is likely more accurate than /G♯. – leftaroundabout Feb 19 '12 at 13:06
  • My real book does notate D-7/G (similar to your F/G), which I also think rather should be a Gsus9. – Gauthier Feb 26 '12 at 10:16
  • D-7/G, F/G, Gsus9, and G9(11) are (not exactly the same but) pretty much different flavors of the same idea. Context and/or preference will determine what to write. In some modernish jazz writing it is quite common to use slash chords where the bass note is rather unrelated to the chord. As stated "it sounds cool". :-) – Ulf Åkerstedt Apr 24 '12 at 20:54
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The note behind the slash is often meant as the note played by the bass guitar, and if you are playing this in a band where you do have a bass guitar, it can even be ignored on the guitar.

In this particular example you see that the bass is actually a movement going down one note at a time (B A# G F#), where the movement itself is more important than if it fits perfectly within each chord. It is more like a simple bass melody than part of the chord. It is relative to the chords in much the same way the main melody relates to the chords.

The last note in the movement usually ends up on the ground note in the chord at the first beat in the following measure. Based on this, I would guess that the next chord in your example (which is the first in the following measure) would be an E.

awe
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  • to the extent that none of the guitarist's notes would be 'wrong' this is true, but do we really want Steely Dan songs to sound like Billy Ray Cyrus? – Areel Xocha Oct 20 '17 at 20:44
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I play bass and everything I've ever been taught says slash chords are used to designate the bass note. This can either be an inversion or outside the chord, essentially making it a different chord. This does mean that if the bass player is playing the note you don't necessarily have to but often times in rock and pop music it can be helpful to play it anyway to fatten the chord a little.

I would like to add that slash chords can also be easy ways to accomplish some cool jazz voicings and is an entire topic taught by lots of jazz teachers. Check out Mark Levine's jazz theory books, there is a whole chapter dedicated to slash chords. One such example is C/D would spell out a Dsus chord in a jazzy way. To start with that concept the chord should be a 4 note voicing, the 3 from the C triad and the D bass note. It probably won't sound as awesome with just the bass player playing the D against a big C barre chord, maybe even sound wrong.

I play bass in a Rock group and often try to incorporate jazzy chords but my band mates don't speak the lingo so I use slash chords to relate. In one song I put an F under a C9, which would be a sort of Fmaj7 sus4 but they would never understand that.

Basstickler
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I agree with the above, but sometimes the composer wants a basic chord eg. Cmaj, but with a bass note which is not contained in that chord ( C/G#) However this is a poor example as the G from the chord clashes with G#. In the example in the question, the bass line is moving down,so A# bass is good, and works against a Bmaj chord, which doesn't need to be played (or written) as Bmaj 7. Tim

Tim
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Slash basses are a short form of writing a desired bass movement, essentially separating the chord into two distinct parts. The bass note does not necessarily need to belong in the chord however the most common slash bass voicings will use chord tones, such as D/F# descending to Em for instance. The chromatic movement you have indicated with the Gm7 is more like a Bb maj with a G bass.

user8497
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I agree that jazz charts often do show slashes to denote added notes, when they are NOT bass notes. Certainly for the purpose of clarity, and ESPECIALLY because a bassist may be reading my chart, I try to only use slashes for bass notes, i.e. chord inversions. If you want a choice (choices are good!) you have the option of using the word "add", or using parenthesis. I write a C7 chord with an F on top C7add11 or C7(11). I write a D chord with an added B (6) and an added E (9) Dadd6,9 or D(6,9)

Hardcore
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It can be physically any note as anything can have a meaning if played logically, but you should include the bass note on the spelling of the chord. There should not be things such as C/F, but Cadd11/F. But this is traditional convention. Nowadays, specially guitarists, are redefining rules. Slash has been traditionally used to indicate inversions, more than "added notes".

Whimusical
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    A `C/F`, `Cadd4`, and a `Cadd11` all contain at least one F, but in the former it should be below the lowest root; for the second, it should be somewhere above the root, and for the third it should be more than an octave above the root. One would generally only write `Cadd11/F` if there should be (at least) two F's, two octaves apart. – supercat Jul 03 '14 at 22:37
  • Last conventions are that chords describe notes not voicings. Aside from that, AFAIK, a bass note should be contemplated in the chord itself when spelled properly as bass note should only identify inversion not the chord – Whimusical Dec 09 '14 at 13:34
  • The notation "C/F" represents a "C" chord in some arbitrary inversion (i.e. some arbitrary combination of C's, E's, and G's), with an "F" played in the bass line below it. Such notation is often use to establish a stepwise or chromatic moving bass line which creates and resolves tension with the chords above. – supercat Dec 09 '14 at 14:06
  • Do you have any refence on why it's preferrably to call it a C/F instead of Csus4/f (chord=Csus4, inversion=F as the bass)? – Whimusical Dec 09 '14 at 17:20
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    A C/F chord would be expected to have an F in the bass, but have only C's, E's, and G's elsewhere. By contrast, a Csus4/F would be expected to replace all the E's with F's (rather than just having a single F in the bass). – supercat Dec 09 '14 at 17:45
  • Right, a lapsus. I meant Why C/F is preferrably to Cadd11/F. – Whimusical Apr 28 '15 at 22:52
  • I mean if you play an inversion like Am7/C or Am7/G, are you gonna spell it A7/C or Am/G since the bass note makes the rest of the chord implicit? What if we have something like C11/D, should we use something like C7add11/D for that? – Whimusical Apr 28 '15 at 23:03
  • Am/G would indicate that there should be a G on the bottom, and A's, C's, and maybe E's above it. Am7/G would indicate that there should be a G on the bottom and A's, C's, G's, and maybe E's above it. Once chords go beyond 7ths things get a bit messy since it's normally necessary to omit notes, but it's not always clear which notes should be omitted. – supercat Apr 28 '15 at 23:24
  • So are you stating that Am7/G implies there is an extra G aside fro mthe bass? That's the first time I heard that theory, any reference or book that defends it? – Whimusical Dec 14 '15 at 19:37
  • I don't think the Music Police will arrest someone for neglecting to have any G outside the bass when playing an Am7/G chord, but the chord without any G above the bass could just as well be notated Am/G. In most cases, when practical, the 7th should be a note which is near a note which is played in the following chord. For example, if Am7/G is followed by a standard-guitar-tuning D chord, that would suggest that it would be very desirable for the chord to include a high G which could resolve down to the D chord's F#. – supercat Dec 14 '15 at 20:57
  • II'm not a music police precisely by any chance, but notation is language and language has rules, and even though there is no academy, I try to find evidence on the de facto standard. I'm not even looking it in a comfortably way, Cadd11/F is pretty ugly for a typical C/F, but it is certainly pretty useful as a standard to keep the chord description in a side, and the bass note in another so just can get the part your interested. When I read C/F in harmony analysis, I have to trasnlate it to Cgdd11 mentally. As I said, the ambiguity of A7/C Am/G and Am7/G notatin the same is confusin – Whimusical Dec 15 '15 at 00:03
  • Summing up, if there's a rule, tell me the one in use that is less ambiguous, if you thik rules should not be strict (so they are not a rule at all), I can understand your position, but then why are we discussing? I can pass you a lot of references on why chords should describe notes and not voicings, which is the premise it starts everything – Whimusical Dec 15 '15 at 00:07
  • I'd say an effort should be made to play the indicated bass note in the bass, and to play the whatever notes of the marked chord can reasonably be played *in addition to* the bass note. If playing all the notes isn't practical, however, one may have to do with less. – supercat Dec 15 '15 at 15:15
  • Based on the discussion above. I conclude that not every slash chords should indicate an inversion. Although traditionally it's true, as the knowledge evolves, it's wise to generally consider it as bass notes first. @supercat definition is better since it relates the notes with its octave placement. I have no trouble differentiating between `C/F`, `Cadd4/F`, `Cadd11/F`, and `Cadd4add11/F` They are each just different. – Unknown123 Jul 26 '22 at 23:11