1 Topic by pb12mm (edited by pb12mm 2008-10-12 22:40:09)

  • pb12mm
  • Junior Member
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  • Registered: 2008-10-12
  • Posts: 1

Topic: Newbie chord question?

I am learning a few new songs and I have a question about how to read certain chords.  Here are some examples.

Gmaj7/E
Bm/D
G/F#

I do know that the G/F# works as a step down from G to Em, but is it that why everytime it is on all songs?

Are all of these step down or up notes?

Is the Gmaj7 the chord but played from the E string?

Is the Bm/D the same, a Bm chord, played from the D string?

Any help would be appreciated.  I am just starting on guitar and Iam haveing some good success with music that just has the chords listed, then I came across these.

Thanks in advance.

Pete

2 Reply by Russell_Harding (edited by Russell_Harding 2008-10-13 00:25:40)

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Newbie chord question?

All chords that have a / such as the Gmaj7/E or G/F# simply mean that the note to the right of the slash is the root of the chord in the chords you give they would it seems be passing chords or step down a more common slash chord is D/F# smile

pb12mm wrote:

I am learning a few new songs and I have a question about how to read certain chords.  Here are some examples.

Gmaj7/E
Bm/D
G/F#

I do know that the G/F# works as a step down from G to Em, but is it that why everytime it is on all songs?

Are all of these step down or up notes?

Is the Gmaj7 the chord but played from the E string?

Is the Bm/D the same, a Bm chord, played from the D string?

Any help would be appreciated.  I am just starting on guitar and Iam haveing some good success with music that just has the chords listed, then I came across these.

Thanks in advance.

Pete

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: Almancil, Algarve, Portugal
  • Registered: 2006-09-02
  • Posts: 6,204

Re: Newbie chord question?

Hi pb12mm and welcome to Chordie,

I was told (and I am working here from memory of a long time ago) that the note after the slash was was the bass note for the chord and would be played by the bass player, if there was one, or plucked as the bass note when finger picking but when strumming it is ignored. This is the way I play and if strumming I would play GMaj7, Bm and G in this song.

After Russ's reply I have searched for the fingering of these chords I can find G/F# as 220003 which makes sense as the bass G is dropped a fret to F# but I could not locate the others. Logic tells me that Gmaj7/E would be 0x5432 and Bm/D would be xx0432 but my chord finder says not so I am at a loss.

I now wait to be shot down and told I am wrong.

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Roger Guppy's Website

  • From: Cardiff, Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2008-08-25
  • Posts: 182

Re: Newbie chord question?

I agree Roger. Normally, the letter after the slash is the bass note of the chord. It's there in these cases because the note is not the usual bottom or "root" or the chord. Like the F# in the G major.
If you are in a band or have a bass guitarist, that (F#) is the note he will (should!) play.
Whether or not you play it depends a lot on what you are trying to do and what the main chord is. It's a bit complicated. F# is not part of a G chord but is part of a Gmaj7 chord.
I tend to see this a lot as simply a way to indicate what the bass is doing. The classic example is when you go from, say, C to Am. It is common for the bass to move down by steps - C - B - A.
So here the "chord" you often see written when the bass is on the B (between the C and Am) is C/B. The sequence is C, C/B, Am. Really, all that's happening is a change from C to Am. Personally I would play C, C, Am in this case, but it would depend a lot on the song and what was needed there and what sounded right.

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Newbie chord question?

I referred to the note to the right of the slash as the "root" this is only my way of saying it is the lowest note played in the chord sorry if i misled you, in the key of G, F# is the seventh tone of the G major scale. G Major is a triad of G B D but you can place the notes in any order, so you could express it as G/D or G/B its still a G chord because the note to the left of the slash is the root or tonic.or the 1st smile

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: Cardiff, Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2008-08-25
  • Posts: 182

Re: Newbie chord question?

No confusion. That's how I interpreted what you said. smile
Regarding the Gmaj7/E chord in the original posting. I would interpret it as a straight Gmaj7th with the low E string open. The problem is, harmony is not an exact science! sad Without seeing the chord progression for the song in question, there is no way of knowing why the E is there in the bass. (It is the 6th of the scale and not part of the major chord triad). Interestingly. the chord could also be interpreted as Emin7add9 (E,G,B,D,F#) if you think of the E as the actual root. It depends on whether the bass "/E" is meant to be part of the harmony (giving an Emin feel) or is indicating a movement in the bass line over a Gmaj feel. When you start adding notes to a chord, as in this example, there can be a number of ways of expressing it in terms of standard chord notation. Tell you what. It makes my brain hurt. smile

  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: Newbie chord question?

Mine too lol

Stonebridge wrote:

Tell you what. It makes my brain hurt. smile

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • From: Almancil, Algarve, Portugal
  • Registered: 2006-09-02
  • Posts: 6,204

Re: Newbie chord question?

Russell_Harding wrote:

Mine too lol

Stonebridge wrote:

Tell you what. It makes my brain hurt. smile

With me that makes three.

Roger

"Do, or do not; there is no try"

Roger Guppy's Website

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 2,662

Re: Newbie chord question?

pb12mm wrote:

I am learning a few new songs and I have a question about how to read certain chords.  Here are some examples.

Gmaj7/E
Bm/D
G/F#

Thanks in advance.

Pete

Hi Pete,
         I'll attempt to break this down in its' simplest form.

This is an intermediate level post on "SPLIT CHORDS".

ex.; Gmaj7/E  the Gmaj7 would be played by the right hand on a piano,           the E would be played by the left hand. Transposing this to guitar would be played as such; 0X4430 or 054430

ex.; Bm/D the Bm would be played by the right hand on a piano, and the D would be played the left hand. Transposing this to guitar would be played as such; XX0432 or 750707

ex.;G/F# same premise as previous two split chords

Give everything but up.
  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 162

Re: Newbie chord question?

Aren't discussion fora great? pb12mm's original question  is one I've often thought about never thought to ask!