A slash chord is a chord with a specified bass note, written as the chord name, a slash, and the bass note: C/E means a C major chord with E in the bass. The notes above the bass are the ordinary chord, and only the lowest note is different.
What are slash chords?
A slash chord is a chord symbol with a bass note attached after a slash: C/E, G/B, F/A, D/F#. The part before the slash is the chord, and the part after the slash is the note that must be the lowest note, the bass. C/E means play a C major chord, C, E and G, with E as the lowest note. The notes are the same as an ordinary C major chord in first inversion, and in fact C/E is exactly that: a first-inversion C major chord written in a way that tells the player the bass note directly. Slash chords are the everyday language of pop, rock and worship music, where chord charts need to tell a bass player or a guitarist exactly which bass note to play. They are also used for bass notes that are not part of the chord at all: G/B is a first inversion, because B is the 3rd of G major, but C/G is a second inversion, because G is the 5th of C major, and Am/G is a chord with a non-chord bass note, because G is not in the A minor triad at all. That last type, the slash chord with a non-chord bass note, is what creates the smooth descending bass lines that run through so many songs.
How slash chords work
Read a slash chord in two parts. The chord before the slash tells you which notes to play; the note after the slash tells you which note goes lowest. For G/B, play G major, G, B and D, with B lowest. For F/A, play F major, F, A and C, with A lowest. For D/F#, play D major, D, F# and A, with F# lowest. For C/G, play C major, C, E and G, with G lowest. In each case the bass note is a chord tone, so the slash chord is simply an inversion written in a convenient way. The interesting cases are the ones where the bass note is not a chord tone. Am/G is A minor, A, C and E, with G in the bass, and G is the 7th above A, so the chord sounds like a minor 7th chord with the root missing from the top. C/B is C major with B in the bass, and B is the major 7th above C, so the chord leans toward the next chord. These non-chord bass notes are usually passing notes: the bass walks down by step, C, B, A, G, while the chords above change underneath it. The C/E piano chord shows the shape on piano, and the G/B guitar chord is the same idea on guitar. The chord inverter lists the inversions that slash chords describe.
Worked example — the descending bass line. Play C, G/B, Am, Am/G, F in C major. The chords are C major, G major in first inversion, A minor, A minor with G in the bass, and F major. The bass notes are C, B, A, G, F, a smooth stepwise descent, while the chords above provide the harmony. Without slash chords the bass would leap C, G, A, A, F, which sounds blocky by comparison. Try it on guitar using the C major guitar chord, the G major guitar chord and the A minor guitar chord, and listen for the bass line emerging from the chord shapes.
How to practise slash chords
Practise slash chords by playing the bass note first, then the chord above it, so your ear learns to hear the two layers separately.
- Play C/E, F/A and G/B on piano, saying the chord and the bass note aloud before you play each one.
- On guitar, play the C major guitar chord shape, then lift the low notes so only the E string rings as the bass for C/E.
- Play the descending bass line C, G/B, Am, Am/G, F slowly, keeping the bass notes even and the chords light.
- Play the I–V–vi–IV progression in C major with the V chord as G/B and listen for the smoother bass.
- Use the chord inverter to find the inversion that matches any slash chord you meet in a chart.
Common mistakes
- Playing the slash note as an extra chord tone — The note after the slash is the bass note, not an extra note to add on top. C/E means E is the lowest note, not that you add an E above the chord as well.
- Ignoring the bass note entirely — Playing an ordinary root-position chord when the chart says C/E loses the bass line the writer intended. The bass note is the point of the symbol, so play it, even if it means changing your fingering.
- Using a slash chord where the bass note clashes — A slash chord with a bass note a semitone above the root, such as C/Db, sounds very dissonant. It can work as a passing chord, but it should never be held for a whole bar unless that is the intended effect.
Quick reference
Slash chords are easiest to read when you split the symbol into its two halves, and this table does exactly that for six common examples. The middle column holds the chord before the slash, the right-hand column holds the bass note after the slash, and the first four rows are inversions, where the bass note is a chord tone, while the fifth row is a passing bass note.
| Slash chord | Chord notes | Bass note |
|---|---|---|
| C/E | C – E – G | E |
| G/B | G – B – D | B |
| F/A | F – A – C | A |
| D/F# | D – F# – A | F# |
| Am/G | A – C – E | G |
| C/G | C – E – G | G |
Practise the table by playing the bass note first, on its own, and then the chord above it, so your ear learns to hear the two layers separately. When the six rows feel easy, try writing a slash chord of your own for a bass note that walks down by step, and check that the chord above it still makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
What does C/E mean?
It means a C major chord with E in the bass. Play the notes C, E and G, with E as the lowest note. It is the first inversion of C major, written in a way that tells the player the bass note directly.
Is a slash chord the same as an inversion?
Often, yes. When the bass note is a chord tone, the slash chord is an inversion: C/E is first inversion, C/G is second inversion. When the bass note is not a chord tone, the slash chord is something else, usually a passing bass note.
Why use slash chords instead of inversion names?
Because slash chords are shorter and clearer on a chord chart, and because they can describe bass notes that are not chord tones, which inversion names cannot. A chart that says Am/G is easier to read than a paragraph explaining the bass line.
Can the bass note be any note?
In theory, yes, but in practice it is usually a chord tone or a stepwise passing note. A bass note a semitone away from the root sounds very tense, so it is used briefly, as a passing note, rather than held.
Do bass players read slash chords differently?
Bass players read the note after the slash as their note: for C/E the bass player plays E. The rest of the band plays the chord before the slash, so the symbol tells each player exactly what to do.