The course › Unit 12: Accompanying like a pro
Lesson 68 of 72 · Slash chords, and lines that walk down, climb up and slide
You met the slash in lesson 46 (G/B): C/E reads “C over E.” Your right hand plays a C chord, and your left hand plays an E in the bass instead of the C.
Why? Because the bass is a second melody. With slash chords, it moves note by note instead of jumping from one root to the next. Listen to C – G – Am: the bass jumps (C, G, A). With G/B, it steps down smoothly: C, B, A.
C/E: the C chord in the right hand, the E in the bass.
Did you know?: C – G/B – Am – F is the chorus progression of No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley), which you’ll play in the pieces (lesson 32).
The note after the slash must be the lowest: play it with your left hand, then the chord with your right. With the mouse, click the bass first.
Chain several slash chords together, and the bass can walk down the whole scale: C, B, A, G, F, E, D… then G, and back to C. It’s one of the best-loved lines in all of music.
The right hand barely moves; the bass steps down note by note.
Am/G: an A minor chord over a G. G isn’t in A – C – E… but it’s the chord’s seventh (Am7), so it walks the bass down without breaking anything.
Why this way: Sing the bass alone before you play it: C, B, A, G… It’s “sound before symbol,” applied to harmony. Once you can hear the line, the chords settle onto it almost by themselves.
At your own pace, both hands. Left hand: the fingering of the descending scale (lesson 50): 1-2-3, the thumb passes under 3 for the G, then 2-3-4, and the thumb lands on G again. Right hand: the positions around middle C.
The bass can also climb. Under C – Dm – C/E – F – G, it goes up C, D, E, F, G: the C position, left hand, from 5 to 1! It builds momentum, like a staircase leading up to the chorus.
Finally, a trick from gospel and country pianists: the chromatic passing note. You know the passing note (lesson 63); here, it’s a half step away from the next bass note. From F to G, the bass passes through F♯; from G to A, through G♯. You play it on the last beat, often alone: the right hand rests, and the bass “walks” into the new chord.
Tip: A chromatic note never stops: it leads somewhere. Play it lightly, and land firmly on the bass note that follows.
C – Dm – C/E – F – G – C. Left hand in C position: each finger plays its own note, from 5 to 1, then 5 comes back to C. Right hand: the chords around the C above middle C, dipping down and back up just a little.
All the bass lines of this lesson in a single piece: Pachelbel’s descent, the cadence, then the chromatic climb to A minor. Your left hand tells the story. Left hand alone; the computer plays the chords. Measures 1 to 4: the bass walks down the scale (the thumb passes under 3 for the G). Measures 6 and 7: your hand settles on F (5) and climbs by half steps, F, F♯, G, G♯, up to A (1). On the passing notes, the right hand rests: the bass is alone.
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