What does a slash chord like G/B mean?

The letter before the slash is the chord and the letter after it is the bass note, the lowest note you play. G/B is G major, G B D, with B at the bottom instead of G. Nothing new is added: the B was already in the chord, it has just moved underneath. That is why G/B sounds like G, only lighter and leaning forward, and why it is so often used to walk a bass line from C down to A minor. On this chart G/B is x20003, which sounds B D G B G, and the lowest note, B on the fifth string, is the one after the slash.

How do you play G/B on guitar?

Leave the sixth string out and press the fifth string at the second fret with the index finger, then let the fourth, third and second strings ring open and press the first string at the third fret with the ring finger. That is x20003, and it sounds B D G B G. The G major shape on this chart already has the index and ring fingers in exactly those places, so moving from G to G/B is lifting the middle finger off the sixth string and leaving that string out, which is why it is such a common passing chord.

How do you play A/B, D/B and E/B?

Each one is a familiar open shape with B added or moved into the bass. A/B is x22220: the index lies across the fifth to second strings at the second fret, with its tip stopping short of the first string so that string rings open, and it sounds B E A C# E. D/B is x20232: the D triangle on the top three strings with the fifth string at the second fret underneath it, sounding B D A D F#. E/B is x22100: E major with the sixth string left out, so its lowest note is the B at the second fret of the fifth string, and it sounds B E G# B E.

Is D/B the same as Bm7?

They hold the same four notes, B, D, F# and A, so they sound like the same chord. The name says what the chord is doing: D/B is written when a bass line walks down under a D chord, and Bm7 when the harmony is B minor with a seventh. On this chart D/B is x20232 and Bm7 is x20202, and the only difference is the second string, D at the third fret in D/B and open B in Bm7, which the note names under each diagram show.

A B major chord with E in the bass. The shape here is 024442: the B barre at the second fret with the open sixth string let ring underneath it, sounding E B F# B D# F#. The E is not part of a B major chord, so B/E is a little tense, the kind of chord that sits over a held E in the bass and resolves when the chord above it moves. The index has to lie across the fifth to first strings at the second fret while staying clear of the open sixth, which takes a slightly more upright hand than the plain B barre.

Guitar Slash Chords: G/B, A/B, D/B, E/B

A slash chord names a chord and then, after the slash, the note it puts in the bass: G/B is a G major chord with B as its lowest note. This page opens on G/B, x20003, and the B and B♭ set beside it holds four more: A/B at x22220, D/B at x20232, E/B at x22100, and B/E at 024442, which turns the idea around and lets the open low E ring under a B chord. Each diagram names the notes it sounds, worked out from the open strings, so you can check that the lowest note really is the one after the slash. They exist because a bass line wants to move step by step: G/B sits between C and A minor, so the bass steps down C, B, A. The B and B♭ set also holds B major, B minor and B flat, so the chords a slash chord walks between are on the same chart.

G/B · x20003
notes B D G B G
lowest note B on string 5
open shape, frets 2 to 3, 5 strings sounding, 1 muted

Chord

G/B

Fingering

x20003

Notes

B D G B G

Tuning

Show

G major with B in the bass: lift the middle finger off the sixth string and leave that string out. It walks a bass line from C down to A minor.

G/BG major with B in the bass, no barre
x20003
D/BD major over B, the same notes as Bm7
x20232
B/Ethe B barre over the open low E
024442

Key. Strings run sixth to first, left to right (mirrored for Left handed); heavy top line: nut. Dot number: finger (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little). Bar: one finger flat across those strings. o: open. x: not played. Bottom letters: open strings. Notes use sharps, so B♭ shows as A#.

B and B flat chords: 19 shapes

EADGBE tuning. x is a string you do not play, o is an open string, a number is the finger that presses. Notes are computed from the open strings shown under each diagram.

B majorx24442
B F# B D# F#

B major, no full barrex2444x
B F# B D#

B7x21202
B D# A B F#

B minorx24432
B F# B D F#

B minor, no full barrexx4432
F# B D F#

Bm7x20202
B D A B F#

Bmaj7x24342
B F# A# D# F#

Bsus4x24452
B F# B E F#

B diminishedx2343x
B F B D

B♭ majorx13331
A# F A# D F

B♭ major, no full barrexx3331
F A# D F

B♭7x13131
A# F G# D F

B♭ minorx13321
A# F A# C# F

B♭maj7x13231
A# F A D F

G/Bx20003
B D G B G

A/Bx22220
B E A C# E

D/Bx20232
B D A D F#

E/Bx22100
B E G# B E

B/E024442
E B F# B D# F#

Common questions

What does a slash chord like G/B mean?: The letter before the slash is the chord and the letter after it is the bass note, the lowest note you play. G/B is G major, G B D, with B at the bottom instead of G. Nothing new is added: the B was already in the chord, it has just moved underneath. That is why G/B sounds like G, only lighter and leaning forward, and why it is so often used to walk a bass line from C down to A minor. On this chart G/B is x20003, which sounds B D G B G, and the lowest note, B on the fifth string, is the one after the slash.
How do you play G/B on guitar?: Leave the sixth string out and press the fifth string at the second fret with the index finger, then let the fourth, third and second strings ring open and press the first string at the third fret with the ring finger. That is x20003, and it sounds B D G B G. The G major shape on this chart already has the index and ring fingers in exactly those places, so moving from G to G/B is lifting the middle finger off the sixth string and leaving that string out, which is why it is such a common passing chord.
How do you play A/B, D/B and E/B?: Each one is a familiar open shape with B added or moved into the bass. A/B is x22220: the index lies across the fifth to second strings at the second fret, with its tip stopping short of the first string so that string rings open, and it sounds B E A C# E. D/B is x20232: the D triangle on the top three strings with the fifth string at the second fret underneath it, sounding B D A D F#. E/B is x22100: E major with the sixth string left out, so its lowest note is the B at the second fret of the fifth string, and it sounds B E G# B E.
Is D/B the same as Bm7?: They hold the same four notes, B, D, F# and A, so they sound like the same chord. The name says what the chord is doing: D/B is written when a bass line walks down under a D chord, and Bm7 when the harmony is B minor with a seventh. On this chart D/B is x20232 and Bm7 is x20202, and the only difference is the second string, D at the third fret in D/B and open B in Bm7, which the note names under each diagram show.
What is B/E?: A B major chord with E in the bass. The shape here is 024442: the B barre at the second fret with the open sixth string let ring underneath it, sounding E B F# B D# F#. The E is not part of a B major chord, so B/E is a little tense, the kind of chord that sits over a held E in the bass and resolves when the chord above it moves. The index has to lie across the fifth to first strings at the second fret while staying clear of the open sixth, which takes a slightly more upright hand than the plain B barre.

Every diagram is a named fingering with its own frets, fingers and muted strings, and the note names under it are computed from standard tuning. It cannot know your tuning or the reach of your hand, and a chord has more than one shape: these are the common ones, not the only ones.