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Take a look at my video on Line Cliché:.
Slash chords are nothing to do with Guns 'N' Roses (although I make certain Slash has played some Slash chords eventually). Slash chords are when we are asked to play a regular chord, superimposed over a various note in the bass. This might be because the chord is an inversion, or slash chords can likewise be utilized as an easier way to notate upper chord extensions like 9ths, 11ths and 13ths.
The outro music to this video is my track "Mothers Day" which you can hear completely on Spotify:.
And, an additional unique thanks goes to Peter Keller, Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel's Patreon saints!.
0:00 Slash Chords.
1:00 Inversions.
5:14 Brief hand.
9:42 Polychords.
11:03 Outro.
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Slash plays D, C then G. Sometimes he does an A and Em. That’s for Sweet Child of Mine, I don’t know any other songs by him.
lol
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TBH, this was my first thought when I saw the title as well. Hell yeah, Slash!
I came here to say this, but in my heart I knew it had already been said.
Great videos David!
Can you please make a video about songs that their melodies are in the form of arpeggios? I just started to notice arpeggios melodies lately, and it feels that identifying it can really benefit to figure out melodies by ear. It would be great to see you talk about this subject
Oh boy..arpeggio melodys. Another made BS term to confuse beginners…YouTube is chock full of them.
A very well-presented synopsis of a useful topic for general music enthusiasts, as well as singer-songwriters and arrangers! You always provide excellent musical educational content, with great examples for each idea discussed. Thank you!
well said!
I never knew what slash chords were called until now! I always struggled with those in high school jazz band because I didn’t know what those were nor taught what those chords were 😢
Thank you for finally teaching them!
Once Upon A Long Ago by Paul McCartney starts with the chord progression F/Bb – C, and it sounds fantastic, one of my favourites.
As ever, a very erudite explanation of a non-simple concept in music theory. Thanks, David.
So I’ve been studying music at the University of YouTube for about 3 years now. Professor David is my favorite teacher. Just the time signature and chord progression videos are gold. And the 2 gems I’ve watched like 1000 times are the music theory iceberg video and the 101 music theory terms 🔥
Polychords were used extensively by jazz great Bill Evans, who was very familiar with early twentieth century music and other genres. Many other players likewise use them.
First chord of Feet First by Lyle Mays, one of Bill’s greatest admirers. This is David’s exact D-C polychord example illustrated.
As a gospel pianist/organist for about 20 years, slash chords have been common for my playing for years, but I just learned the terminology earlier this year. Thanks for this video!
me too !!
Thanks for this video. My favourite slash chord is definitely the “IV/V” chord, which intends to “delay” the Vth chord of a cadenza (in such case we have IV/V – V – I, e.g.), of give a tense or mysterious feeling on a Vth normal chord (an example is in the intro of “I’m not in love” (10cc), of in few French tunes).
Nice explanation. One particularly example I found interesting is “Against The Odds” wrote by Phil Collins, particularly at the first line of chorus (“So take a look at me now…”), uses root chords over 5th note of root instead of root bass itself.
The D/C Polychord at the end could also be labeled as a Cmaj13(#11) chord, but when played like 2 chords in different hands, a polychord label makes sense.
I’m currently learning Jim Croce Time in a Bottle and have had to transpose it for my voice – there are three main chord progressions and they’re best understood as slash chords.
But it sent me down a rabbithole to try to write out Chopin’s Prelude in C Minor using chord notation, and slash chords are absolutely your friend here. Definitely easier to read than reading each individual note separately, too!
Great video, thanks.
I remember being introduced to polychordalism about 25 years ago as an easier way to understand complex chord construction. At that time it was referred to as chord superimposition as one chord is superimposed on the other. I never really explored it as a concept and preferred the traditional chord construction method. I must revisit.
It’s something I’ve never noticed before – slash chords tend to be attention-grabbers. Not so much with line clichés (which I’ll admit I also like) but the unusual nature of them can bring a chord progression to life.
David you are my favourite YouTube Academy teacher!
I love your series on progressions!!
Have you ever thought about expanding the series in terms of where to go chord wise for a chorus, a B or C section?
Or have you already done that and i was simoply too stupid to find it?
Thank you for your constant effort to spoil us with such great content!
Best wishes and greetings from Mallorca!
Great video, thank you. Always love coming across anything with slash chords. Long and Winding Road has to be one of my favourites – Eb/Bb. Beatles used them quite a lot, as does Elton John and Billy Joel. I play guitar, but mostly piano. I wonder when these chords are considered during the composition, whether they were written on piano?
There are some slash chords that feel like they can take down the walls. For example the second chord (C/E) on the chorus of Green Days 21 Guns. I love those kinda chords. I guess one can also interpret is as E Aug
As a composer and arranger for choir and for brass band I love using slash chords, especially in gospel influenced music, which uses a lot of moving triads over a single bass note. My favourite is the Stevie Wonder chord ii7/V, or Dm7/G, for example. I love its floating, emotional quality. But in the appropriate context so many slash chords can be beautiful. Soulful alternating C and Dmb5/C; a majestic F/Bb; or a bluesy Ebm over C polychord.
I don’t know how I stumbled across your video but I’m glad I did. As a guitarist and occasional pianist, I love learning more about music theory. I knew about slash chords but not short hand ones. Thanks for sharing. You’ve earned a new sub. 😊