Continuing my discussion of Slash Chords from Part 1, today I am demonstrating MINOR TRIAD INVERSIONS, also known as MINOR SLASH CHORDS. As we have discussed, when you see a SLASH CHORD such as Dm/F, or F#m/A#, the letter to the LEFT of the slash names the chord you are playing, and the letter to the RIGHT of the slash tells you the key you will be playing at the bottom (left) of the chord. So for Dm/F, you play a D minor triad with a F at the bottom, and for F#m/A you are playing an F# minor triad with an A at the bottom. Please watch my video for demonstrations of minor slash chords:
Also in the video above I discuss why we use slash chords. It's usually for 1 of 2 reasons - either for ease in navigating on the keyboard between chords, or because the composer or songwriter wants that particular sound that inversions bring to their music.
In the video above I show that it's kind of choppy and difficult to jump from a C chord to an F, back to a C, then to a G, then back to a C:
C - F - C - G - C
Your hand has to keep making jumps to get from one chord to the next. And if your right hand is playing a complicated melody, then making those left hand jumps makes it difficult to stay in time while playing.
We can instead use inversions for those chords:
C - F/C - C - G/B - C
When you use inversions for this chord progression your hand hardly has to move at all. C stays under your 5-finger (pinkie) as you play C - F/C - C. And G stays under your 1-finger (thumb) when you play C - G/B - C. These two sets of 3 chords each share a "common tone" as I demonstrate in the video, so that your hand stays "anchored" to a key each time.
The second reason we use slash chords is because they sound a little different from chords played in their root position (i.e. playing a C chord with C on the bottom). Slash chords or inversions don't sound as stable, or strong as a chord in root position. They give a more vulnerable sound. You often hear slash chords in music genres such as gospel and patriotic music, as I demonstrate in the video above. You also find inverted chords in classical music, jazz, rock, R & B, and many genres of music around the world.
Whether it's for ease of playing chord progressions close together on the keyboard, or for the distinctive sound and emotion they bring to a piece or song, slash chords are worth getting to know and understand. I hope my two videos are helping you to navigate your way through slash chords / inversions.
My next post (after September's free sheet music!) will focus on 6th chords and 7th chords, which Upper Hands Piano students learn in BOOKS 3-4.
Until then, have a happy Labor Day weekend (if you are American!) and an enjoyable rest of your summer.
With love and music, Gaili
Author, Upper Hands Piano: A Method for Adults 50+ to Spark the Mind, Heart and Soul (a 4-book series!) and
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