![]() In Functional Analysis (Roman Numeral Analysis), slashes are used to indicate a secondary dominant relationship. So, for example, given a G/B chord, if the bass player has the B, then the piano or guitar would play G and D (and possibly B), pitched higher than the bass's B. For more on that, see this question: Should the comping instrument ever double the bass player?) (This is a rule of thumb, but not a rule. But if you are playing with a bass player, or some other instrument responsible for the lowest part, then you probably want to avoid playing Y - at least not in the same octave as the bass part - so as not to conflict. If you're a soloist or otherwise responsible for the bass line/lowest pitch, then you make sure Y is the lowest note. In practice, this depends on the context you're playing in. In essence, you can play chord X however you want (that is, in any voicing), as long as Y is the lowest pitch. In literal terms, this is answered above: you play chord X, placing (or adding) Y as the lowest pitch. However, that's more complex to read than Cmaj9 Eb/C D/C Db/C, which mainly involves triads plus a bass note, and the /C chords make the pedal tone explicit. This would be literally correct as far as the notes involved, and an astute player, or one familiar with the tune, would recognize the possibility of the C pedal tone (see #3 above). For example, "On Green Dolphin Street" might have been notated Cmaj9 Cmin7 D7 Dbmaj7. Sometimes it's easier for the music reader if the chord notation uses slashes to clarify or simplify things. The C is kept in the bass through the entire first four bars while the principal chords change above it. Sometimes you want chord to change above a stationary bass pitch, known as a pedal tone The "On Green Dolphin Street" example in the OP demonstrates this. However, the chord notation is letting the bass player know that a descending step-wise pattern is wanted. If taken literally, the bass player would play only the chord roots: The basic chord sequence is Bb - C - F - Gm. Consider the "Can't Help Falling in Love" example in the OP. Sometimes you want the bass to move smoothly from one chord to the next. Similarly, Cm7/Bb is a third inversion Cm7 chord played Bb-C-Eb-G (or Bb-Eb-G-C, etc.) For example C/E is a first inversion C major chord, played E-G-C (or E-C-G). When chord X includes note Y, then you're looking at an inversion of X. This is address below in the "How does one play this?" section. Note that Bb is not part of a C major chord (which contains pitches C E G). Similarly, the second chord in "Can't Help Falling in Love", means play a C major chord, but make the lowest note a Bb. ![]() What does it mean? (includes subsections on literal interpretation and contextual meanings)Ĭhords of the form X/Y, read X over Y, and sometimes called "slash chords", meanįor example, the first of the "Queen chords", Bb7/D, means play a Bb7 chord, and make the lowest note a D.(With thanks to are three main parts to this answer that can be read independently of each other. For guitar/bass bands: guitarist plays the X chord and bassist plays the Y bass note. For pianists, play the X chord with the right hand and the Y bass note with the left hand. ![]()
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