Playing Slash Chords and Chord Formulae

Playing Slash Chords on the Piano Hi! Welcome! On this page you will learn about slash chords or compound chords. By now you should know how to construct and play basic chords such as major and minor triads. It is very important that you know as much as possible about basic triads before you attempt to use other chords, especially the ones that are more advanced. If you are not confident that you are ready to move on to other chords that are more advanced than basic triads, then click the topic which suites you best below. If you are in the process of starting your first lesson on piano chords. What is a Slash or Compound Chords? A slash chord is formed when you play a common chord such as a major or minor triad with an additional bass note that is different from the root. For example – C is the root of the C major chord and is normally played in the left hand to accompany the C chord (CEG) in the right hand. However, if you should play the C major chord along with E in the bass (left hand), then a slash chord is formed. Slash or compound chords are used mostly in popular music such as jazz, blues, gospel, souls and so on. These chords however, have a unique sound and are used to complement certain chord movements within the music. These types of chord also create a sound like that of a 1st inversion of a major triad. Slash or compound chords in its written form looks like this C/E (same as I/III or 1/3). This can be interpreted as C major chord over an E bass note. The letter that comes first represents the chord you will play with your right hand and the letter that comes after the slash represents the note that you will play in your left hand. Three Compound Chords Beginners Should Know. There are three slash piano chords that are used by most musicians especially in popular music. However, before you attempt to play these chords, it is very important that you know how they are constructed and how to apply them to each major scale. These three slash piano chords are as follows; Root Chord/ 3 Bass - (‘3’ means the third note in the scale.) Major 4 Chord/ 6 Bass – (‘6’ means the sixth note in the scale.) Major 5 Chord/ 7 Bass – (‘7’ means the seventh note in the scale.) So if we should apply these three slash chords in the key of C major on the piano, then the results would be as follows;

Here is a chart illustrating the twelve major slash piano chords that can be played on the

piano.

Learn Piano Chords Fast by Using Chord Formulas Many piano players would like to learn piano chords fast enough so that they can start playing in a band or doing their own solo performances. Sometimes the information required for them to learn to be a great piano player may seem to be a lot and may not work out because of limited time. On this page you will be learning how to use specific formulas to construct piano chords. The construction is done based on some formulas that have been developed and used for centuries. I personally do not like the idea of starting out with chords as musician because this short cut method will cause you to be limited in theory. However, a number of musicians have been stimulated to learn music just by learning to use chords to play songs. The formulas displayed on this page are easy to understand and use, and they apply to all keys on the keyboard. The chords outlined on this page are divided into three categories; basic triads, 7th chords and ninth chords. Take a look at the formula used to construct each chord below. Each chord is constructed using the major scale as the base. CHORD FORMULA CHART – (Designed to help you learn piano chords fast.) Basic Triads Major triad - 1st, 3rd, 5th Minor triad - 1st, flat 3rd, 5th Diminished triad - 1st, flat 3rd, flat 5th Augmented triad - 1st, 3rd, #5th Major chord with added 2nd - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th Minor chord with added 2nd - 1st, 2nd, flat 3rd, 5th (NB – Some musicians also refers to the added 2nd as the added 9th.) 7th Chord Section Major 7th chord - 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th Dominant 7th chord - 1st, 3rd, 5th, flat 7th. Minor 7th chord - 1st, flat 3rd, 5th, flat 7th Minor 7th flat 5 - 1st, flat 3rd, flat 5th, flat 7th Diminished 7th - 1st, 3rd, flat 5th, 6th

Dominant 7th with raised 5th - 1st, 3rd, #5th flat 7th Dominant 7th with lowered 5th - 1st, 3rd, flat 5th, flat 7th Dominant 7th suspended - 1st, 4th, 5th, flat 4th Major 7th raised 5th - 1st, 3rd, #5th, 7th Ninth Chord Section Dominant 9th - 1st, 3rd, 5th, flat 7th, 9th Major 9th - 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th Minor 9th - 1st, flat 3rd, 5th, flat 7th, 9th These are not all the chords that exist in music. However, players at the beginner and intermediate level will find them to be useful. When you are able to apply the formula provided in all twelve keys, you can focus on learning more advance chords.

Chord Progression Lesson for Piano Players A chord progression can be described as a series of chord changes that are played throughout a piece of music. When you listen to music of different genres you will notice that there are several changes that occur. These changes normally flow with the melody of the piece. The changes that you hear taking place in music are musical progressions. Whether you play the guitar, organ or piano in a band you will have to make some form of relative movements that falls within the structure of the song. Important Notice - Before you approach the concept of chord progression, it is very important that you learn to play all the basic chords on your piano or keyboard. Some of the basic chords you need to know are major, minor, augmented and diminished. All other chords will fall into place as you learn more about the piano. The main idea behind progressions Progressions are built based on the position of notes in a scale. Each note within a major scale is used to form a specific chord. The notes in a scale are represented by numbers called intervals. Here is an example below:

Roman numerals are traditionally used in music to represent note positions, but contemporary musicians have used the universal numeral system. Here is an example below:

Each position of a note within a major scale is used to form a chord. Below is an illustration that will explain more.

In the illustration above the 1st or tonic note forms the tonic or main chord which is a major. You should notice that the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the scale are all major chords while the 2nd, 3rd and 6th notes are minor chords. The 7th note forms a diminished chord which will be discussed in another lesson. This method applies to all major scales. Chord progressions are normally represented by numbers. For example – 1,4,5 or I-IV-V. This type of progression is called the one-four-five progression. If this type of movement is done in the C major scale then you would play C major chord, F major chord and G major chord. Types of progressions There are different types of chord progression in music. Here is a list of some popular progressions that are played on the piano, organ or synthesizer. 1-4-5 (I-IV-V) 1-3-4-5 (I-III-IV-V) 1-2-5-1 (I-II-V-I) 1-4-2-5-1 (I-IV-II-V-I) 1-6-2-5-1 (I-VI-II-V-I) 1-3-6-2-5-1 (I-III-VI-II-V-I)

Take a look at how these progressions are apply in the key of C major.

There are some songs that use the 1-4-5 or 1-5-4 progressions throughout the entire music. However, most popular musical styles such as rhythm and blues, funk, rock, gospel and jazz use two or more different progressions. It is very important that you know how to play all the progressions listed above in every key, so you will need to practice. However, it is very important that you take them one step at a time. Below is a table showing all the chords for the 1-4-5 progression in all 12 keys on the piano.