Slash Chords on Guitar

What a slash chord is

A slash chord has two parts, written like a fraction: a chord, then a slash, then a note. C/E means a C chord with E as the lowest note. Say it as “C over E”.

The chord before the slash gives the notes. The note after the slash only changes the bass, the lowest sounding note. Everything above it stays the same. A normal C chord is C E G with C at the bottom. In C/E the same three notes sound, but E is the bass.

Inversion or a different bass note

There are two kinds of slash chord, and the difference is whether the bass note belongs to the chord.

• The bass is a chord note. G/B has B, the 3rd of G. D/F♯ has F♯, the 3rd of D. C/G has G, the 5th of C. These are inversions of the same chord: the notes are the same, only the order changes. The chord inversions guide explains the three positions of a triad.
• The bass is not a chord note. Am/G puts G under A C E. G is not in an A minor triad, so this is a new bass note under the chord, not an inversion. It is the ♭7 of A, so the result sounds like Am7.

Nearly all slash chords in songs use the first kind, and they have one job: they let the bass move by step.

Why slash chords are used

Chord progressions often have a bass that jumps: G to C moves from G up a 4th. A slash chord can fill the gap and make a smooth line. G, G/B, C has a bass line G, B, C, which moves mostly by step.

The slash chord keeps the same harmony and only changes what the bass does. That is why it is a shortcut for a walking bass: you write the line into the chords.

Slash chord shapes

The strings from low to high are E A D G B E. Below, x means do not play the string and the numbers are frets, written from the 6th string to the 1st.

• G/B (x 2 0 0 0 3): the B is the 5th-string note at fret 2. The open D, G and B strings fill out the G chord, and the top string is G at fret 3. Mute the 6th string.
• D/F♯ (2 x 0 2 3 2): the F♯ is the 6th string at fret 2. The 5th string is skipped. This is a D chord with the low F♯ added, so the 3rd moves to the bass.
• C/G (3 3 2 0 1 0): an open C with the 6th string added at fret 3. The G at the bottom is the 5th of C.
• C/E (0 3 2 0 1 0): an open C chord with the open 6th string. The E is the 3rd of C. Strum all six strings.
• Am/G (3 0 2 2 1 0): an open Am chord with the 6th string at fret 3. The bass is G.

All five shapes start from an open chord you know. You add or move one bass note, and mute the strings that do not belong.

Bass lines with slash chords

These are generic patterns that a slash chord makes possible. They are not tied to any song.

In G, G/B, C the bass walks G, B and then C. G/B is the same G chord as before, so the harmony does not change, only the bass moves. In C, G/B, Am the bass walks down C, B and A, and the middle chord is a G chord in disguise.

Try each row slowly: play the bass note first, then strum the chord on top. Hear how the bass line follows the written line.

Tips for playing and reading them

1. Find the bass note first. The note after the slash must be the lowest note you play. Mute any string below it.
2. Look at the chord for the rest. Use the shape of the chord before the slash and add or move the bass.
3. Mute what does not belong. An open string that is not a chord note, such as the open 6th string E in G/B, must not ring.
4. Check in a tool. Look up a chord such as G, C or Am in its own page first, then add the bass note. Learn the plain D on its chord page before D/F♯.
5. Not every slash chord is a guitar chord. Some are written for piano. If a shape is awkward, play the chord and let the bass player or a lower string cover the slash note.