Slash Chords Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (04:46) Introduction to Slash Chords

Review
- Warm-up the hands.
- Stretch the wrists.
- Play the major and minor open chords.
- Warm up your strumming muscles by relaxing the wrists and letting the pick flow over the strings.
- Play the E major chord in the "new" way and play the type 1 barre chords.
- Play the A major chord in the "new" way and play the type 2 barre chords.
- Practice the "slanting A" technique.
- Practice the type 1 minor barre chords.
- Practice the type 2 minor barre chords.
- Play all of the type 1 mini-barre chords.
- Play all of the type 2 mini-barre chords.
- Review and practice quantitative and qualitative techniques.
- Review last week's exercises.
-Enjoy!

Ready?

So how are you doing so far? How are you feeling about the guitar? Are you getting more familiar with the chords or still struggling with some of them? Well, I have news for you! Welcome to the club! I'm still learning new chords that make my fingers hurt (especially on the twelve-string) and make my wrists cramp up. This is normal and an integral part of the process. Learning an instrument is a lifetime process and a project which requires many hours of dedicated playtime but you already know this by now, don’t you?

*Note - Fatigue in the fingers and hands is a normal, but if pain becomes severe and occurs when you haven’t been playing the guitar, you should see your doctor immediately.

You may have noticed that I added one new element to the review section. Some of you may be prone to be extremely hard on yourself when learning and acquiring new skills, whether they be musical or not. I understand this, because I fall into this unfortunate category as well. Keep in mind that what is fun is often easier to learn because the practice end of it is enjoyable and relaxing. Sometimes we all need a reminder that playing should be an enjoyable thing, not a burdensome task. That having been said, let's play!

Chapter 2: (05:34) Slash Chords Slash Chords

Slash chords can be defined as "a chord whose bass note or inversion is indicated by the addition of a slash and the letter of the bass after the root note letter (Rooksby 2004, p. 20)." In other words, a slash chord is a chord that has a bass note that is different from the tonic note. An example of a slash chord that we've discussed before is the D/F#add9 chord that looks like this:

Dadd9/F#
E_0_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_x_
E_2_

Okay, so the Dadd9/F# chord is a Dadd9 chord with an F# note for its bass. Why would you do this? The bass note of a chord is often changed to enhance the overall bass line within a chord progression.

Alright, so we'll use the D chord as our primary chord for the formation of slash chords, since it is one of the most common. Now you may recollect some similarities between today's lesson and some of the lessons in the past. Some of the fingering techniques should be familiar from previous exercises, so hopefully this information won't be totally new to you. Also as a reminder, if you are focusing on changing bass notes from one chord to the next, it is prudent for you to position your strum hand at or near the string that is being changed from chord to chord.

Play the D chord using the strum or "down, down-up, down-up":

D
E_2_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_x_
E_x_

Play this chord in the "traditional" way by placing your first finger on the G-string second fret, your middle finger on the high E-string second fret, and your ring finger on the B-string third fret. Get a good feel for the rhythm and the easy form of this chord as we're going to get a little adventuresome from here. Now, take your middle finger off of the high E string and place it on the A-string third fret. The chord should look like this:

C6/9 or Dsus2/C
E_0_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_3_
E_x_

Again, don't get bogged down with the names of the chords as that can be rather confusing, for me as well. Just focus on the fact that we are changing the bass note from chord to chord and changing the sound and feel of what we're playing. From here, we're going to switch the first and second finger's positions and slide down a fret. The new chord should look like this:

Bm11 or Dsus2/B
E_0_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_2_
E_x_

The best way to get to this chord is by placing your middle finger (which was on the A-string third fret, right) and putting it where your first finger was, on the G-string second fret. Then, move your first finger up to the A-string on the second fret. Got it? Watch me in the video for more on this as well if you're struggling with it. Now from here, we're simply going to slide the first finger currently positioned on the A-string second fret, down to the first fret. Our new chord should look like this:

Bbmaj7(#11) or Dsus2/Bb
E_0_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_1_
E_x_

How's everybody doing so far? Good I hope! Once you have mastered the process of switching fingers to accommodate changes in the bass note, the applications are virtually infinite all over the neck. Now, here comes the final position change. Simply remove your first finger from the A-string but still strike the A note! This is an important distinction, because when you strike the open A-string, you are in essence creating a slash chord, D/A. This facet of music brings in the concept of chord construction and the complexities of naming each chord. This is why we will only touch upon chord names as needed in our series. Alright, so the Dsus2/A chord should simply look like this:

Dsus2/A
E_0_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_0_
E_x_

Confused? Just keep in mind that there is some flexibility as to how to certain chords are named. Yes, this final chord in our progression is a Dsus2/A chord, if the A string is strummed.

Exercise 1
Play all five of the chords that we just covered: D, Dsus2/C, Dsus2/B, Dsus2/Bb and Dsus2/A using the strum that I indicated earlier, or "down, down-up, down-up." If you need to, break your changes into manageable components and practice the changes individually. The change from D/C to D/B may be the most difficult and of need of the most attention, but that's for you to decide. Also, the change from the D/A back to your initial D requires you to reconfigure your fingers with your first finger back on the G-string and your middle finger back on the high E-string. Chapter 3: (04:22) Exercises Exercise 2
Play through all five chords again. Continue back around to the first chord in the series. Play the five chords as you would a song. Focus on making smooth transitions and make good contact with the fretboard. Don't forget to relax your wrist and allow the pick to flow gently over the strings. Play the chords over and over. What, if any emotion do you feel as you change the bass note in this progression? What is the effect of simply changing the bass note?

Exercise 3
Now try this progression with your eyes closed! Get a good feel for the chords and don't forget to use the concept of finger glue to get a clear mental and physical picture of what each chord should look and feel like. Take your time and go through each chord peeking only slightly if you can.

Member Comments about this Lesson

Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.