How to Slash Your Way to Advanced Chords

Your average piano player will be quite familiar with basic chords.  You know... Major, minor, suspended etc.  In fact, you’ll find basic chords (and sometimes their chord symbols) in most popular sheet music for simple pop or folk songs.

But what about more advanced chords that we hear in our favorite music?  I‘ve had people tell me that they can play some of the same songs they hear elsewhere, but their version is so bland.  The chords they play have no flavor.

The most apparent reason for this is that they are playing basic chords when it’s the more advanced chords that give a song its flavor.

So what exactly are advanced chords?

Without getting into and breaking down advanced chords in detail, I’ll just define them as extended or altered chords that can give a plain Major or minor chord a more colorful sound.

Comparative Examples

Major chords are as simple as it gets.

C Major Chord

F Major Chord

G Major Chord

Adding tones to them to create extended chords give you an entirely new sound.

Suspended chords fall into the category of simple chords, but when you add extended tones to them, they too give you an entirely new sound.

A C sus4 chord turns into a C11 chord when you add the dominant 7th (B flat)

This article is about slash chords and how you can use them to create more advanced chords.  It’s about simplifying the process instead of building those advanced chords from the ground up.

Introducing the Slash

Regular chords emphasize the root of the chord in the bass.

C Major will have a C in the bass.G Major will have a G in the bass.

Etc.

Having the root note in the bass establishes the foundation of the chord.  It solidifies the chord as being a part of the diatonic structure of the key it’s being played in.  Diatonic simply means within the key and the root of any particular chord can represent any one of the 7 different notes in that key.

What does a slash do?

A slash indicates that you play a note that is not the root of the chord.  It’s an alternate bass note that can cause the chord to have a different character while still remaining the same chord.  It can also redefine the chord as to create a totally different chord.

Different Note, Same Chord

If you’re playing a chord that could really benefit from a different sound without altering it entirely, you can play one of the tones within the chord itself in the bass.  One very common slash chord is to have a chord over its 3^rd.

The C Major chord over E is still a C Major chord but definitely has a different sound without the root in the bass.  You wouldn’t make this choice if your desire was to play the chord with a sound of resolution or ending shall I say.  But it is a refreshing chord change.

Here are some other examples of a Major chord over its 3^rd.

The 5^th of the chord can also be played in the bass without changing the chord.  This would be a Major triad over its 5^th.

other examples of a Major chord over its 5^th.You’re not limited to playing simple triads with the 3^rd in the bass.  Check out the sounds of playing 7^th chords with the 3^rd in the bass.