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Slash Chords
(18 Nov 03)
Minor Sounds
Minor family slash chords: Unlike major and dominant harmony, there isn't any real groundbreaking things that done with slash chords in regards to minor harmony. There are basically three shapes that I tend to use.
Ex. 7: This example is the same one we looked at before, the plain old min7 chord. The only reason you may want to use this slash chord rather than a plain old min7th chord is only to tie harmonic motifs together. In a series of slash chords it may help to think of a Amin7 as a C/A chord to keep the triad voicings moving in a congruent manner.
Rule: a major triad superimposed a minor 3rd above the bass note will render a plain old min7 chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned earlier: E/C#, D/B, G/E, F/D, Eb/C.
This slash chord simply makes a min7 chord. It helps to notate it as a slash chord if you want to make sure the person playing the chords specifically voices it with a triad on top, by simply notating the chord as a min7 chord, the person chomping the changes my take the liberty of playing a min9, min11 or min13th chord. The min7 chord notated as a slash chord will make sure the harmonic motif stays uninterrupted.
Ex. 8: We've also looked at this one before in Ex.4. As I mentioned before, slash chord often don't have 3rds of 5ths present so they can be looked upon as either. This slash chord works well as both. Consider it either a 9sus or a min11 chord:
Rule: a major triad superimposed a major 2nd below the bass note will render a min11th sounding slash chord.
Try it yourself: Try putting together the following slash chords using the triad shapes we learned earlier: B/C#, A/B, E/F#, D/E, C/D.
This slash chord in its minor form works well for any genre but it gets used quite often in a rock setting. It tends to follow a min7th chord. It often gets used in the following manner:
Other Sounds
There are way to many slash chords to describe in detail. Take a look at the chart below and try each of the slash chords out. I simply superimposed each of the chromatic triads over a C bass note. The second column simply describes the extensions created, the third column gives some common progressions and the last column, some points to remember. Beware of enharmonic notes:
Try to experiment and have some fun. I've only described what can be done by superimposing major triads over bass notes. See what you can do with augmented and minor triads. Also see what happens when you superimpose 7th chords over various bass notes, Ex: Gmin7/C.
Analysis Answers
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Native New Yorker, long time studio musician and session guitarist Chris Juergensen is in constant demand as a sideman, front man and clinician. He currently divides his time between Tokyo and Los Angeles where he continues to write, record, play and teach at Musicians Institute. He has released three solo CDs to date plus two published instructional books. Visit his website
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