From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: Harmony

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Slash chords or upper structures

Slash chords or upper structures

From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: Harmony

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Slash chords or upper structures

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- We commonly refer to chords that have triads on top of bass notes other than the root as slash chords, or upper structures. Here is an example of one. A slash chord is written with the chord on the left side of the slash, and the note that designates which note we play in the bass on the right side of the slash. The upper structure is in reference to the triad that's formed above the bass note. Let's take a look at that chord again. Here we have what's called a C/D. The C appears on the left side of the slash, the D appears on the right side of the slash, and you'll see we have a C major triad on top of a D bass note. A slash chord is used anytime a note is to be played in the bass other than the root of the chord. Slash chords can be used to represent when the third or the fifth is to be played in the bass, as in C/E or C/G. Here's C/E, right? We've got a C major triad, and we've got the third in the bass. And here's C/G. Here's our C major triad, and we have the fifth in the bass,…

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