Where to Start With Music Theory, Episode 13: Slash Chords

There's always a bit of confusion about these.
What a slash chord is:
THIS chord with / THIS note on the bottom.
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Sound Tools Used in This Vid:
90s Fender CIJ Tele '52 Reissue
Custom Pickups tombrantleyrewi...
Fender '68 Vibro Champ sweetwater.sjv...
Beyer M160 Mic sweetwater.sjv...
Cloudlifter sweetwater.sjv...
ART Tube Preamp sweetwater.sjv...
Tascam Field Recorder sweetwater.sjv...
Valhalla Vintage Verb valhalladsp.com/
Thanks for watching!
#rhythmguitar #chords

[@safelander7811]

As someone who plays loads of different chords, but never understood what they were called, I really appreciate this series! Am absolutely in awe of that bigsby tele as well!

[@mattgilbert7347]

Came here to learn about how Slash plays chords, stayed for the Haugen vibe and gentle knowledge bombs. "Slash...misunderstood genius" - this is one of said bombs. EDIT: That Vibro Champ sounds aces with the Weber! Good call, Haugen :)

[@Yoga_SBM]

Entertaining. Definitely. Great wisdom, great delivery. The internet needs more people like you.

[@crimfan]

It gets into kind of advanced harmony, but Larry Carlton often played with triads over triads, like D over C, going C E G D F# A, which is a C13#11 chord with no seventh. Basically he dropps the B or Bb, depending on whether it would have been dominant or major. It's one of those ways he got those wicked lead lines. Lowell George loved slash chords, often holding a simple chord like a G and then walking the bass notes around on the low E and A strings. Chris Bell of Big Star was into them, too.

[@ThibaultKV]

Oh, that Levon Helm dedication is so cool! What a soul he had!

[@petergoddard1960]

I've been using these for years without knowing what they were. Way back when I learned 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' from the record (skip the needle back a scoshe, try again ... and repeat). Yet give me a chart and the slash would have me in a cold sweat. Doh! Eric to the rescue. Thanks man.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Hey Pete! Thanks so much for your donation!!

[@petergoddard1960]

@@EricHaugenGuitar Hey, Eric it was nothing compared to what you've given me man. I wish i could afford more! That's no proper recompense for these incredible insights. If I could i'd be banging on your door for lessons. The wonder of this modern day is that we all can learn from your generosity. The frustration is you can't teach us all individually. If it ever comes to pass that you visit the UK I'd so love to hook up!

[@nickangelo3283]

Eric, one of the reasons why I love your videos is that even when I’m already familiar with the topic, I learn something new and cool. Whether it’s a different voicing for an E/G# or an idea to use slash chords to make lines that counter the direction of the changes (ascending root notes in a descending progression), I always come away with something cool I’d never thought of before. Thanks.

[@philipbrister]

I recently bought a black guard Nash T-63 with a bigsby. I love it. Gotta get my hands on a Mastery for it though. Great video Eric. I love your stuff.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Oooooh congrats! Them Nash gtrs don't mess around :-)

[@Terribleguitarist89]

The T-52 with a bigsby is one of my dream guitars.

[@MrSh8ky]

Thank you man...years I’ve been wondering what those slash chords were all about. What a revelation and relief. Thanks for your contributions. Excellent work. Keep it up. Cheers Marty from Melbourne 🇦🇺

[@JoobaSchoolofMusic]

It's so rare to see a guitar teacher that's also such an excellent player! You have such good groove man

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Thanks my brother! You know as well as I do - rhythm guitar: THIS IS THE WAY.

[@chadward]

Nice! At some point you’ll have to hit the Traveling Wilburys’ Handle With Care. That opening walk down is classic slash chords with the added benefit of George Harrison and the cool syncopated hitch in bar 2

[@hearpalhere]

The second homework exercise was super cool. I haven't thought of making the descending bassline turn into an ascending one. Love your Tele too.

[@stephenhensley5631]

Love that Tele.

[@michaeldematteis9944]

The Beatles have the best chord progressions.lots of slash chords and sec dominants

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

I swear - George Martin must've sat in the control room with a music theory book and made sure in every song some concept was represented!

[@hierarchyofthecavemutants]

Kind of made me think about how the root can be relative to the progression and contrasting at the same time. I knew the slash chords were sort of a walking interval but they are still relative to the rest of the progression. He's a good teacher because he actually plays the stuff right in front of you. You could just play those chords and you're good to go but I like how there is a why you play the chords and where they lead to based on identifiable progressions, which in some way shape or form were borrowed from somewhere else.

[@hearpalhere]

That's cool Eric, I've never thought of the slash chords as inversions before! Great lesson, I've never spent much time learning slash chords per se and they do always make me pause when seeing them in a chart. I have to think about them for a while. This was really helpful, thank you.

[@markmiles3447]

Thank you that was useful and I’ll probably watch a few more times. Slash chords have been my kryptonite as I’ve been looking at them as inversions. Your approach to build them off certain chords makes sense and gives a harmonic way of looking at them and great way to add colour to a progression. Be excellent!

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

That's what I love to hear!

[@russellzauner]

all the walkdown and walkup notes I know the bass note isn't always the root, but it seems that melody/contra really is supported and maybe even pulled/drawn back or forward - I can't believe I'm this old and every time I've had this explained to me it's been mostly someone showing me and saying "see" and me going "sure, okay" but never understanding. If they had just said "most of the time it's the bottom cord with the top note in the root" Nice, you just said stuff about walkdowns and piano - yep. I'm only 5 min in but now I have like a thousand songs to review that I'm going to play completely differently and much better now. I can make them sound right but now I will *feel* them and that always produces a more satisfying result. Thanks for this. Maybe it was just finally my time to understand but it was your video. :-)

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Yes! This is my favorite thing to read! I love knowing that these rambles help provide those "aha" moments! That's my life's work!

[@jrpipik]

Thinking like a theorist, I have three uses for slash chords. One, is smooth progressions, as you point out. Two, as substitute dominant chords -- e.g., in the key of E using A/B instead of B as a V chord (very jazzy). And three, to add color and/or tension, i.e. to sound fancy. All are cool.

[@Someone-lc6dc]

Is it useful? Heck, Eric... don't you ever stop making videos about music theory... We need them till the end of the world and one day longer...

[@noodlemans]

I recently found your channel and have subbed. I’m learning a lot. I’m in Greensboro btw, just down the road from carborro.

[@donyoung7874]

"What would Levon do?" Love it!

[@tmaestro]

Never stop, Eric the Haugen. I love your stuff.

[@thegreatdestroyer6506]

Hey Eric. Really great stuff! "It's a shame about Ray" from the Lemonheads is also a good slash chord song. A-E-D and A- E/G# -G- D/F#. Keep it up and stay smooth.

[@liampezzano]

19:43 "That's unique! But it's also ugly. It's an ugly surprise. I like subtlety." I snorted. Eric's coming for your gaudy chord changes.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

I had a great professor, Scott McCormick, at Berklee say that. Whether it's books, movies, or music - good writing is all about setting up expectations and then confounding said expectations. That "surprise" can be ugly or it can be subtle - that's where the taste of the writer comes in!

[@alejandrohualdez5550]

A/G# always makes me think of the main riff of one of my favourite Blur songs: Chemical World. Radiohead's Karma Police uses a lot of slash chords in it's piano style guitar chords. Great content as always Eric. Cheers from the UK.

[@Riddle99-v7q]

Modern Life is Rubbish is soo underrated. Easily the best Blur album imo.

[@jandar001]

Jeff Buckley played a lot of slash chords. Lover You Should've Come Over springs to mind. His performance of this song in Chicago 1995 is a master class in slash chord progressions. Btw, Eric, thanks for sharing the tip about using an attenuator with the Vibro Champ Reverb to reduce the volume of mains hum. Since I got an attenuator the hum is much quieter. Much appreciated.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

I gotta do some Buckley lessons!

[@WayneMemphisMojo]

A very good video for beginning to intermediate guitarist. Heck even us experienced players sometimes need a review of these things. Thanks for posting these and sharing your knowledge man.

[@peteballoch]

Excellent lesson

[@BrianPremo]

Love your hat! The rest of the video is great too, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@briandoherty3364]

Always a joy to see a new theory video up from you. Interesting to see you characterise what I call 'Stones chords' in that way. I'd always thought of them as sort of emphasised sus4 chords. Anyway- great stuff as always :)

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Yeah I could see thinking of them that way too!

[@172turtla]

This is a great video, very informational and entertaining. Thank you!

[@jonathanorleyi6600]

Love this series so far and especially this episode!

[@travisraab]

YES eric! Great work again.

[@sesa1076]

Got to the part where you said “especially Jim Croce and Cat Stevens” and I determined we must be exactly the same age. A little bit of nostalgia for a time before our parents met us.

[@sesa1076]

And those are my EXACT two favorites of the genre.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

I'm 42!

[@sesa1076]

Ahh, you’ve got me by a year. How was the seventies? Lol

[@JasonClute]

There are things in the world that are equally helpful as hurtful. Like, the Internet. When learned guitar in the 90’s I had to steal, I mean buy guitar magazines. (Damn Karma) Now it’s all on the webs. I too love The Band and Levon-RIP. Recently I wanted to learn The Weight. Your video showing that E/G# is the only thing out there that is right! Everything else I tried didn’t sound right and I couldn’t figure it out by ear. Thx man!

[@smelltheglove2038]

Videos always leave me lost all on subjects I already know. I couldn’t imagine trying to actually learn from them. I need to be able to ask questions.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

I actually agree 100% - especially when it comes to theory! That's where a good guitar teacher who understands you're frame of reference is valuable!

[@smelltheglove2038]

@@EricHaugenGuitar I actually like your videos. I actually did learn something from this. The note over chord thing, I never got it until I watched this video. Thanks for that. Little bits of information like that are extremely valuable. The issues I have with videos is the lack of feedback and the frustration around that situation. Hope you didn’t think I was directing my post to you.

[@deanjohnston104]

Hi. “Should get it tattooed on my hand…” Funny. Actually, I have a small sticker I’m going to stick on the top of the upper bout of my Tele, where only I can see it. It says “Movement’” and will be my reminder to try not to plod along. Anyway, nice lesson, thanks. Peace & all that/ Dean

[@mikefromusa6902]

Man you’re making me want to put a bigsby on one of my teles

[@stipeur]

dude you are amazing thx

[@larmoran4885]

I subscribed after 4 seconds of this video

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Yay! Welcome to Uncle Eric's Ramble Station!

[@lordbuddybear]

Fortunately I'm not tired of Landslide yet, although I know what you mean. Hallelujah was butchered too many times and sold as cheesy Christmas song, it's hard to still enjoy it

[@karlfarren]

"Is this what Levon would do?" Words to live by, indeed.

[@karlfarren]

Although, - I also ask myself, not infrequently, "what would Keef play?"

[@josefk5659]

God, how do you keep that tele so clean and shiny?

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

I don't clean my guitars except for the strings. Everyday I use a gtr I run my index under the strings to remove any crud/build up, and then I put on a little bit of Fast Fret - my strings stay shiny and new for like 6 months!

[@josefk5659]

@@EricHaugenGuitar my tele looks like it needs a tetanus shot. I’ll try your method

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

For real! It's one of Eric's "life hacks"

[@josefk5659]

@@EricHaugenGuitar I bought a can of Fast Fret. It’s the truth.

[@kenstrohan5089]

Money...shmoney...love the truth of no ads!

[@iniziodelrumore]

Man, stop using the little champ, you make me too much confuse in the battle Princeton Vs vibrochamp ahahahah Love your lesson videos!

[@babagadoush1]

I’ve “played” for years but completely clueless and “scared” to “learn”. I feel like it’s finally time and this is a much appreciated lesson. Thank you.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

I get it! There's so much information to sort through! Chords, Grooves, and the Pentatonics that work with them - that's the first main thing!

[@davidwalker41]

The "D/C#" made me wonder if it is convention to not fully name the chord before the slash if the note after the slash implies it by default. In this case, would it be correct/wrong/odd peculiar to call "D/C#", "Dmaj7/C#" instead, or is it at the composer's discretion? I'm guessing the latter as I think you called a couple of other 7th chords 7th chords (e.g., Am7/G).

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Yeah, it's the convention to not name the full chord "Dma7/C#." But, in the case of Am7/G, if you notice the upper 4 strings truly are hitting the Am7 chord so I left that in. *Slightly* different than a pure Am/G.

[@vltjd]

Nice lesson. You would have a kind of young Cat Stevens look if the hair was a little longer. Love your collection of low wattage amps.

[@franksmildyears7323]

Not sure but that whiter shade of pale pattern is the same as that of I hope that i don't fall in love with you by Tom Waits

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Ya know I love that album!

[@franksmildyears7323]

@@EricHaugenGuitar You listen to it, then you listen to The Heart of the Saturday night, then Small Change, then Rain Dogs, you like them all even though they are completely different than the other, almost four different genres.. Now this is Art.

[@aaronkessman7832]

The pedal point stuff around 15:10 sounds very Zeppelin by way of STP purple album :)

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Jimmy Page is underrated as as brilliant weirdo chordsmith! Everyone is distracted by the flashy blues soloing, but his ear for CHORDS is very unique!

[@DaveBroTube]

@@EricHaugenGuitar and PARTS! I actually don't always care for his soloing per se, but his ability to come up with tasty, creative parts is unmatched.

[@scottbookman]

excellent hat !

[@nozzle28]

Great vieo. Thanks for posting.

[@sesa1076]

Kinda just wanted to hear you finish while my guitar gently weeps. Somehow, as opposed to landslide, NOT sick of that.

[@sesa1076]

Side note: Lookedup several Fleetwood Mac Rumours tracks ranked best to worst lists recently and nearly every one put go your own way at #1. I was like really!? Everyone else isn’t sick of that yet.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

(cues up "The Ledge" from Tusk) ahhhhh so perfect and weird

[@icecubatron]

i hereby positively engage with this video

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Yay! It all helps!

[@coastercook]

Thanks, Eric. I was just studying slash chords yesterday. If you are playing with a band, could you let the bass play the root and the guitar would play the upper notes?

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Yeah in a band situation, you'd either have the bass player do the root motion or double it with them. One thing you'd avoid for sure would be some kind of low-end messiness where you're doing one kind of slash chord and they're doing another - it would destabilize the entire song!

[@jrpipik]

A great example is Billy Gibbons with ZZ Top, who often played two or three note chords (fattened nicely with various pedals and such) and let Dusty Hill cover the bottom of the tonal spectrum. Really freed him up. I play bass in a church group and the guitarists are always stretching all over the place to play slash chords. I try to tell them to relax and just play the basic chord and let the bass and piano cover the low stuff, but they like to play like they're the only ones there.

[@jltrem]

There's his website, his Patreon, his Instagram, his Spotify artist page...and there's that hat.

[@station2station544]

70's singer songwriter stuff. Totally. Harry Chapin and Leonard Cohen. All that stuff. (embarrassing to admit because I'm an ambient synth guy who also likes Television and Kraftwerk..and then David Sylvian and Bauhaus, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the Cramps...and Johnny Marr. What?)

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Makes sense to me! Good music is good music!

[@imannonymous7707]

Tele and a champ...thats all ya need...and damn if it dont sound wiked

[@carloscarlito73]

Slash yeah!!!!!!

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Every solo is so well-phrased and memorable!

[@sesa1076]

Cranberries were my favorite band in high school.

[@richardlynch5632]

Fun ain't it😎👍 😎👍❤🖖 Love brother

[@Yelbomsirhc1]

"Is this Levon?"

[@shanebrbich5698]

...outro!? Is this a little taste Doc? 👍🇦🇺

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Yeah! I've been sneaking in rough mixes at the end of my recent vids to foreshadow the eventual release :-)

[@shanebrbich5698]

@@EricHaugenGuitar Sounds really good so far mate! I’m in! 👍🇦🇺

[@john84896]

Yer outta yer mind but that’s why I luv the shit out of u dude

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Never known how to be any other way!

[@venturaguitar6724]

Thank you Eric, eat pizza you too. ;) love your teaching flow.

[@nealpike6611]

Learning losing my religion atm they pop up all the time in this

[@roncallahan40]

Just button your shirt 😂

[@vikinglord7252]

Guess the reverb pre-delay time and get a lesson slot?

[@tim.casey.11]

Nobody: Eric: Freebird! 🔥 😁

[@kennyp232]

basically inversions but for guitar

[@DaveBroTube]

Except when they're not inversions, but rather scale-wise movement. It's both.

[@mr.mckinnon5680]

Slash chords are cool... but Izzy chords, hold that shit down!

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

WHERE'S IZZY

[@mr.mckinnon5680]

@@EricHaugenGuitar ... I'm guessing, he's enjoying his life right now. As he should. But, I have one of those t-shirts, from back in the day.

[@MuppetStyle]

Buttons: What’re they for?

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

(Eric hears Insane Clown Posse "Miracles" playing in his head)

[@karllongbottomguitars9192]

Slash or Izzy

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Izzy is the unsung hero of that band!

[@karllongbottomguitars9192]

@@EricHaugenGuitar YEAH, Izzy is as cool as they come

[@417altavista]

You’re like the Bib Ross of guitar theory. I hope I’m the first to say this, but surely I’m not, right?

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Oh yeah folks have said that before and I love it!

[@saddestchord7622]

Cool people watch until the end.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Thanks buddy!

[@liamplunkett5100]

I was thinking the guitarist slash but then I realized he doesn't play chords

[@smelltheglove2038]

Hate Fleetwood Mac, like landslide

[@moebloggs7219]

I'm thinking maybe you know too much....

[@kellinash6392]

could you maybe put the mic closer to your mouth? sometimes hard to hear your voice

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

You have no idea how much I obsess about this. The mic is designed to sit on your chest so you don't get too many plosive sounds. However, if I turn my head it gets quieter. I spend hours editing these vids, manually adjusting the volume of that mic up and down to match the gtr. Please know that I'm always working on it :-)

[@DaveBroTube]

@@EricHaugenGuitar TBF, I thought the sound was fine, listening on my laptop (which, as we know, has the *best* audio quality).

[@scottallen9556]

Scared the shit out of me. Not even a Josh Homme video could pull me back if you started giving Slash lessons. That’s the played out tired shit I came here to get away from. Thanks for your humor and not another “joke”

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

In defence of Slash - those melodies! So memorable! His ability to play to changes is right up there with Brian May. Take away the top hat, leather pants, and marshall stack and he's actually a very tasteful improviser.

[@davidhollander829]

@@EricHaugenGuitar I actually LOVE his playing. The way he builds melodies around the chord is Gilmour-like (I know that's sacrilege, but hey, I'm feeling dangerous). Didn't Johnny Marr say that the mark of a good guitar solo was that you could sing it? Thanks for another great video!

[@scottallen9556]

@@EricHaugenGuitar the Prius is also a good car but c’mon now.🤷‍♂️

[@mweb47729]

Just button the shirt?