What are Slash Chords used for?

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Slash chords are nothing to do with Guns 'N' Roses (although I'm sure Slash has played some Slash chords at some point). Slash chords are when we are asked to play a regular chord, superimposed over a different note in the bass. This could be because the chord is an inversion, or slash chords can also be used as a simpler 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 in full on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0wKKJ... 🎶
And, an extra special 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 Short hand
9:42 Polychords
11:03 Outro
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[@UkeofCarl]

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.

[@sheaamalloy]

lol

[@JohnPaulBuce]

💀

[@pup64hcp]

🥁

[@illegal_space_alien]

TBH, this was my first thought when I saw the title as well. Hell yeah, Slash!

[@mikemorrisonmusic]

I came here to say this, but in my heart I knew it had already been said.

[@BenD_Bass]

So I've been studying music at the University of KZbin 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 🔥

[@BennettYancey]

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!

[@willfrancescofini]

me too !!

[@dmgextra1576]

David Bennett is the 🐐 with these videos. Thank you sir

[@rucker293]

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.

[@blisterfree]

First chord of Feet First by Lyle Mays, one of Bill’s greatest admirers. This is David’s exact D-C polychord example illustrated.

[@wyla5896]

I personally would LOVE a video explaining the music theory behind All I Want for Christmas is You

[@pup64hcp]

Agreed!

[@illegal_space_alien]

Calm down, Satan.

[@omersetty5155]

Agreed

[@pasteye1671]

As ever, a very erudite explanation of a non-simple concept in music theory. Thanks, David.

[@marshwetland3808]

Loved the Stravinsky. Thanks, David.

[@dyztopia7087]

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.

[@DonovanPresents]

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!

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

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!

[@gavinrode9153]

well said!

[@ric8248]

Once Upon A Long Ago by Paul McCartney starts with the chord progression F/Bb - C, and it sounds fantastic, one of my favourites.

[@lov3alongmusic]

These lessons are super easy to digest. Very well put together

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!!

[@cvproject3684]

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.

[@axlhyvonen461]

Once again a very intresting topic and the way You present that all is every time so great making it very easy to adopt that information😊

[@bennywise410]

love that reverb tail at 6:17

[@Emmanuel_Franquemagne]

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).

[@sixmillionaccountssilenced6721]

You can use the same idea to delay I chord like for example V - I/V - I.

[@Phobero]

Can't wait for the sequel - Axl Chords 😁

[@illegal_space_alien]

All chords in F!

[@warrenburroughs3025]

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.

[@girlhag]

thanks as always! honestly, this is one of your best videos yet!!! keep it up

[@el0blaino]

Very useful to present all this at once with clear examples, thanks!

[@tevinhenderson2412]

That Luther was a price of heaven when u played it. Watching to pay attention I playback speed on first notch slower and man I had to keep rewind. Beautiful wats possible

[@grahamashcroft5991]

Thankyou David Bennet, for the music education. It is enriching to know all aspects and given examples....❤

[@DavidBennettPiano]

thanks!!

[@troliskimosko]

That first example, C to C/E to F is also the Layla piano coda!

[@widely]

learned something i needed to know today. i knew what to play, but not the why / theory. bravo teacher.

[@ronami3176]

David you are my favourite KZbin 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!

[@hajoreuter6759]

I love the progression of slash chords in Sorry seems to be the hardest word

[@jeramym9506]

Your videos have taught me so much. Thank you.

[@XT-N]

great video as always

[@thedonbishop55]

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. 😊

[@quailstudios]

Good video David. Thanks!

[@lucyj8204]

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.

[@greubermeister2]

Wonderful video, thank you!!

[@pAWNproductionsDE]

I'm a big fan of this series. I have a pretty strong knowledge of music theory, so it's rare for me to come across new info these days but I still often learn little nuggets of info, like the horizontal bar in poly chords (I thought they just wrote things like CM/DM ). I'd love to see more advanced topics from this channel

[@1macirone]

Same here, I'm haunted by that example from Rite of Spring...

[@kierenmoore3236]

@@1macirone So is John Williams / Tatooine …

[@5400bowen]

“Advanced topics” i.e.: made up BS that does nothing but confuse issues in music theory. Slash chords…just like “sus” chords.. These people don’t know there rump from a hole in the ground.

[@IvoHantl]

Super and clear! Thanks

[@DreamsongsProductions]

Although I know many of the things you cover, I still always learn something new. I love your teaching style and presentation. Keep up the great work!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!

[@StoneChords]

Halfway through Derek and the Dominos (Clapton's) Layla, in that famous piano section, you get such an incredible instance of chord followed by first inversion (C, then C/E) -- when you started your example, I was SURE you were heading there! That section is used brilliantly in Scorsese's "Goodfellas."

[@atrus3823]

Was gonna say this! Love that outro. Used to great effect in Goodfellas.

[@rockmoussealt7764]

wonderful presentation. thanks for posting.

[@JonnyProsser]

Excellent video! Clearly explained and to the point!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you 😊

[@Faguoyo]

You solved what was a mystery for me, thanks !

[@josharothlisberger1081]

thanks as always for the video, first time i havent heard of the name/concept of a Music theory you explained!

[@omersetty5155]

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

[@5400bowen]

Oh boy..arpeggio melodys. Another made BS term to confuse beginners…KZbin is chock full of them.

[@pentachronic]

Thank you so much for this. I play slash chords without realising I’m doing it. Now I know what they are and how they work. Much appreciated.

[@snownguitars]

I love your vids They are so great Thank you

[@waluigi_enjoyer101]

I found one more example of the C to C/E that is in the piano outro of Layla by Derek and the Dominoes

[@d3w4yn3]

Now that you explain it (and probably because of how you explain it!) it seems so simple! This was always smoke and mirrors to me, thanks for helping me understand!!!

[@richardd9938]

I composed something just over a year ago, and have only just now thanks to your video realised I was using polychords :D :D and I use that method a lot for composing

[@guitarbrad]

Excellent video about slash chords!!! Well organized and presented, as always. Good examples too. Another might be A Whiter Shade Of Pale by Procol Harum. Bonus lesson about polychords! Good idea!

[@matcoffidis1135]

I never realized that about a chord like Bm7/A that thats an extra inversion. Great video again. I really dug you creating I Am the Walrus from scratch.

[@user-vm9em2jr1y]

thanks David!

[@dcstanda]

Interesting this video as someone who plays a piano but wants to really improve knowledge on playing properly and knowing what certain chords are and what they do. I do hope one day I can get back to practicing and playing better

[@QuiEstJohnGalt]

Nice topic, i will love to hear more about it

[@MartinvonBargen]

How about the piano outro to Layla? As soon as David mentioned that Kings Of Leon track, my mind was transported back to that Pink Cadillac(?) scene in Goodfellas.

[@seaoftranquility7228]

Never knew what to do when I encountered chords written that way. This is a bit of a game changer for me. Thank you.

[@joesgreatestates]

Great content 👍🏼

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!!

[@ConorMity]

The video on relative pitch is unique and useful, more such videos, music is listened to differently thanks to you, thank you!

[@luigiscazzari4724]

I recently started to learn music theory and this video finally explained what incersions are. Thank you 😊

[@sachachanyan]

Nice lesson. Really learnt something! 😅

[@GingerWaters]

I use, when writing slash chords, numbers for bass note. Example: C/G = C/5, and C/E = C/3. Line cliche in a-minor goes: am/8, am/7#, am/7, am/6 etc.

[@lopezb]

GREAT explanation! Always had been a mystery to me.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

😃

[@wgb01001]

Great video!

[@djspinosaurus6703]

Hey David, thanks for all your great videos! I was wondering if you could do one on transitions between verse/chorus? Like do some songs change the verse progression to lead into the chorus? How fo they bring the energy up/down? Is the chorus in a different key, if so why? Thanks again, and keep up the great work!

[@user-xd1ku4pf5f]

Thank you very much for this video

[@mcwulf25]

Those slash chords with just the bass note changing really highlights a bass melody in the bass. Such as Merry Christmas by Slade and Funny Little Frog by Belle and Sebastian.

[@joelcaron8291]

So happy you get to visit my country... Home you will get the chance to visit Quebec, wich is a nice place to hang out !! .. So many thanx for this theoric reminders. These videos are my best .. Welcome to Canada 🇨🇦

[@MrZimpoppel]

Self-taught musician, I very often used "special" chords that I didn't have any clues what their name was. I really loved Steely Dan and Todd Rundgren, both of which would use these kind of chords. Now I've seen videos on KZbin where people call these chords "Rundgren Chords", or "Compound Chords". People explain these chords, but I must admit I have trouble to fully grasp what they mean. You are a very good explainer, when it comes to explaining theory. That would help me if you'd take a look at these chords, (and I guess that would help my band mates also, as I always struggle when it comes to explain them what that "thing" is that I am playing).

[@parallax_review]

Under Pressure (Queen/Bowie) is an example I like.

[@blisterfree]

Very clearly explained, David. Thank you! It’s like Rick Beato but with better props, planning, and attention span.

[@MomLAU]

I enjoy both of those guys!

[@VaPHpk]

I loved the example of Never Too Much

[@idreamofgenie2599]

Wow! You taught me about a chord concept that I didn't understand before, and now I at least have a basic understanding of it. Not easy with my music-theory-challenged brain! Thanks!

[@cocunut200]

A lot of EDM is also built around slash chords. Especially in house and techno, the bassline will repeat itself while the chords on top change, creating really interesting harmonies while still giving the groove of the song a sense of home.

[@timbo0151]

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?

[@ikaray1775]

very informative!

[@sheldonw4233]

My (by far) favorite example of slash cords is the piano solo in Layla, Derek and the Dominos

[@kiankapil]

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

[@relativenormality]

Excellent video

[@123jkjk123]

One of my favorites Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced has 1st inversion slash chords in A, A/C#. G/B progression (or in A-flat with guitar tuned down a half step).

[@aldeayeah]

That I -> I6 -> IV bit in the Kings of Leon song is also the very start of the very famous Layla piano outro.

[@alexneill8338]

7:50 - that A minior line cliché sequence you played is the into to The Masterplan by Oasis, fantastic song!

[@fourtweven]

My church worship group recently started playing slash chords the way that we're supposed to be playing them. Long story short, we're all pretty much self-taught so we didn't know a lot of things lol. Recently, I've started studying our current songs to play them more similarly to the originals which is when I started learning how to play slash chords. I do have a question though. Sometimes, I play a slash chord but it sounds different when we all play. Currently, we have the following instruments: Piano Acoustic Guitar Electric Guitar Bass Drums I'm on piano and will play the slash chords but the guitarists and bassist play the notes normally. I asked our bassist to play the bottom note that I'm playing on the piano's lower notes and that sounds better. Although, I'm not sure as to what would sound best for the guitarists to play. For example, there's a song where we're playing: Am Am/F Am/C F G Am Would it be best for the guitarists to play the Am for those slash chords? I don't know that much about guitar so I'm not sure if there's an easy way for them to play the notes the way that I'm playing them. Any suggestions would be appreciated :)

[@hugotessier5138]

Another use of the Slash chords is either a pedal (the bass note stays but the chords vary) or to put a completely "unrelated" bass under the chord, for example D major over Eb (that creates a sort of Ebm/maj7(b5) that you can find in multiple Magma songs).

[@musicappreciate]

Layla’s outro also has a prominent C/E. And Boston in Foreplay, the opening organ follows a line cliché pattern reminiscent of yours.

[@tonycowin]

When he hit them I thought that's what he was going to play.

[@pilcaroo]

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.

[@uffevonlauterbach]

Nooo, Mr. Bennett! Not Mariah Carey! 😂 While I do know about this sort of thing already, I didn't realize that slash chords could be used to indicate inversions. I liked the polychords thing. That's something I never heard of. I didn't understand why they were called that, but I paused the video and saw that they were covering each note across, except one was higher and the other was lower.

[@jamesdignanmusic2765]

I think the only use of polychords I've seen in rock is with the intro of Billy Joel's "Rosalinda's Eyes". Another good example of that descending line cliche illustrated by "Ballad of a Thin Man" is the Beatles' song "Michelle".

[@yuriygordienko2990]

It took me half a video to got the idea of what kind of slash chords you are talking about. Only the short hands part pointed me that its another Slash is being discussed, since THAT Slash got his hands quite big😂

[@zuperdee]

7:50 - I just realized a potentially REALLY interesting use of a line cliche with a full orchestra, in the theme from the TV show from the 1970’s, “The Streets of San Francisco.”

[@tboyz1]

cool thanks for that 👍

[@jamespconnolly3890]

Hi David. I love your work and musical taste. Do you have a video that explains the Roman numeral system you use? I find this hard to understand for myself, but your explanations are always so illuminating. I couldn’t figure out the God Only Knows or A'int No Mountain High Enough ones.

[@VideoGraham]

This is interesting. I googled the chords for U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name", and first I found some quite simple ones, but then I found a version with more complex chords (maybe more akin to what U2 actually play?), which includes D sus4/C, featuring both in the intro and the verse. I remember seeing this before, many years ago, and I was never quite sure what that meant. Your video has enlightened me.

[@pdxfunkjunkie]

David you surprised me going to Bob Dylan as example after showing us the descending chromatic bass line (~7:59). I had "Michelle" firmly in mind and expected that! ("I will say the only words I know that you'll understand...")

[@davidsolomon3859]

Jazzman Thelonious Monk was fond of the odd polychord,.For example,check out the first two chords in the opening of Thelonious Monk's "Ruby My Dear".Left Hand E flat triad Right Hand D triad (E flat major 7 sharp 11 sharp 9) then Left Hand E triad Right Hand stays on the D triad (E9 add 11).

[@macklilley2242]

Great video! Just wanted to add that I don’t think it’s always accurate to to use slash chords with a triad built a whole step below the root as being shorthand for 11th chords (like what was demonstrated in the chart for “never too much”. For example, a C dominant 11th chord with no notes omitted would contain the root, major third, perfect fifth, minor seventh, major ninth, perfect eleventh C E G Bb D F but a Bb/C chord contains the root, minor seventh, major ninth and the perfect eleventh. C Bb D F The omission of the fifth (G) doesn’t change the quality or function of the chord all that much but the absence of the major third (E) is incredibly noticeable! Try playing the intro to “never too much” with the third voiced in the chords! You’ll see what I mean haha. Aimee Nolte does a great video about this topic and I’d recommend to anyone interested.

[@tabor503]

Thank God for this video I love you

[@DavidBennettPiano]

🥰

[@blisterfree]

First chord of Feet First by Lyle Mays is David’s exact D-C polychord example illustrated in a jazzy context.

[@ChrisOwenGuitar]

I love the sound of the G/A chord shape on guitar (Never too much etc). Once you play it and hear it, you seem to hear it everywhere. It’s a very subtle sound but makes a difference.

[@tonybates7870]

It's a kind of dense, misty sound, isn't it? It has also got an 'urban' quality to it but I may think that because it's been used over shots of cityscapes on TV a lot and my subconscious has latched onto that.

[@AlexDogwalker1234]

My favorite is the beginning of Malibu by Hole. Billy Corgan is amazing.

[@peterbaker7963]

I came across a great use of slash cords on a version of My guitar gently weeps Am, Am/G. Am/F#. Am/F, Am, G really nice

[@rholawz]

Valerie Simpson harmonies man...my QUEEN!

[@Noahbsng]

Hello Mr Bennett. Very informal video. Could you do a video on songs that use the Dominant sharp 9 chord (The Hendrix Chord)?