Slash Chords on Piano

Slash chords on Piano are a simple and common type of chord used in all musical genres – they’re everywhere! Elton John uses them a lot, and they have a very Musical Theatre feel to them. They’re also known as ‘split chords’.

Simply put, a slash chord is a chord where there is a different root note in the bass / forming the lowest note of the chord.

For example; C major is C E G, where C is the root note of the chord. The chord symbol for C major is ‘C’. If there is a different bass note other than the root note, it’s then written with the use of the slash, let’s say, with an E as the bass note, ‘C/E’.

We say this as ‘C over E’ (C major chord over an E bass note), which is why we see the chord part written on the left side, and the bass note on the right (though visually, it would make more sense for them to be the other way round!).

Any chord can be split, even more complex chords! eg; Bbdim7/F

Because slash chords are about specifying bass notes, using them to strengthen direction (ascending or descending) can really make a chord progression stronger and more effective.

eg; G – D/F# – C/E – Bm/D – D

Here is a free video lesson on slash chords, to hear and see them in action! Happy playing!