In this first volume of Slash Chord Studies, you'll work through a series of 4-chord progressions that utilize slash chords in various capacities throughout multiple keys for different fingerings all over the neck. You'll also learn to utilize slash chords in some popular pop and rock progressions as well as a latin sounding progression with an array of distinctive inversions.
About the Chord Studies Series
If Forest Gump’s shrimp-loving Bubba played guitar, his take on chords might go something like this, ”You can strum ‘em, fingerpick ‘em, arpeggiate ‘em, mute ‘em, alternate tune ‘em, voice lead ‘em. Dey’s uh, barre chords, altered chords, extended chords, moveable chords, cluster chords, slash chords, inversions, triads, diads. There’s jazz chords, power chords, blues chords, cowboy chords, block chords, open chords…”
Bubba would be right — there’s a wide and wonderful world of chords for we guitarists to explore. But what’s the best way to do that? Chord dictionaries might be handy references but there’s no context (and really, when’s the last time you looked at one of those?).
Theory and harmony instructionals are filled with chord construction strategies and applications and we highly recommend digging as deep into the science of chords as your left brain will allow you.
However, learning new chords, progressions, applications and right-hand techniques in a musical context (songs, etudes, jamming with other players, etc.) is the most popular approach and that is the educational premise behind Brad’s Carlton’s Chord Studies course seres.
Each edition of Chord Studies features 15 play-along and jammable chord studies, which are focused on a particular chord type, chord progression or chord application. While Brad does touch on rhythmic qualities, this is not a rhythm guitar course — these studies are specifically designed to significantly expand your chord know-how and vocabulary.
Brad covers a range of styles, levels , chord types and progressions across 10 editions: CAGED Chords, Jazz Blues Progressions, Open String Chords, Rock and Pop Progressions, Slow Blues Progressions, Evolving Blues, Evolving Triads, Slash Chords, Power Chords and Beginner Chords.
Each of the 15 Studies within an edition includes an overview from Brad followed by a performance and play-along of the chord study over a rhythm track. Chord grid charts and a chord lead sheet accompanies each study. Plus, you’ll get all of the practice rhythm tracks to work with on your own.
Reference the chord charts to become familiar with the voicings and their fingerings, and then use the lead sheet to play-along with Brad’s video performance. Try different rhythmic patterns over the supplied rhythm tracks and then take it all to your own playlist of songs and jam tracks.
What you'll learn
Play triads on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings
Use minimal finger movement between chord changes
Use half bar/guide bar technique for smooth position changes
Integrate bass notes with triad voicings
Visualize full CAGED forms while playing partial voicings
Hi this Brad Carlton welcome to this guitar lab edition focused on slash chord applications. Each individual edition in this guitar lab series features 15 studies focused on a particular application of chords I designed this series to provide you with unlimited creative options for crafting interesting and compelling rhythm guitar parts. Across the series we will explore essential and exotic chord voicing's all purpose substitutions, creative approaches and performance techniques. In this group of slash chord progressions you are going to have a lot of different approaches. We will start off by taking one four chord four measure progression that utilizes a slash chord and we will run it though some different keys. I will break down and demonstrate the chord studies over rhythm tracks in a variety of styles using chord progressions commonly encountered in that style. You will also get chord diagrams that will clearly give you the left hand fingerings and you will get the jam tracks for you to work with on your own. So get your guitar and lets make some music.
2Slash Chords Vol. 1
In this group of slash chord progressions you are going to have a lot of different approaches. We will start off by taking one four chord four measure progression that utilizes a slash chord and we will run it though some different keys. 5 different keys which will give you different fingerings and help you understand how to lay things out on the fingerboard then we will take a couple of other progressions that are very typical in pop and rock music and play them in a couple different keys with different inversions and finally we will even take for fun a phrygian progression a phrygian dominant latin spanish flamenco sound which involves two different triads all over one bass note. We will move along the string axis utilizing inversions on the first, second, and third strings and the second, third, and fourth strings.
3Melo-G
This is a I-V/I-VII-V progression in the key of C. Our slash chord here is the V/I chord, G/C. Our first chord is a standard C chord with the high G note tacked on top. Release fingers one and two and you'll have the G/C chord. We move to an Am7 chord and you'll notice we are keeping that G note on top throughout. This continues as move to the V chord of the key, G.
4Melo-G
This is a I-V/I-VII-V progression in the key of C. Our slash chord here is the V/I chord, G/C. Our first chord is a standard C chord with the high G note tacked on top. Release fingers one and two and you'll have the G/C chord. We move to an Am7 chord and you'll notice we are keeping that G note on top throughout. This continues as move to the V chord of the key, G.
5Permanent Pivot
This progression is a I-V/I-vi-V progression in the key of G. Like in our first example the slash chord will be the V/I. Starting off with the G5, to get to the D/G you simply lift your little finger and barre the first three strings with finger one. Your third finger will act as a pivot throughout all four chords.
6Permanent Pivot
This progression is a I-V/I-vi-V progression in the key of G. Like in our first example the slash chord will be the V/I. Starting off with the G5, to get to the D/G you simply lift your little finger and barre the first three strings with finger one. Your third finger will act as a pivot throughout all four chords.
7Second Finger Guide
This progression is a I-V/I-vi-V progression in the key of D. We start off with you're typical cowboy D chord, and to get our slash chord we lift our third finger and put down the second finger. That second finger will act as a guide when you move to the Bm7 as well as when you move back to the A7 chord. Feel free to experiment with different fingerings here.
This is one in a series of chord study courses that Brad Carlton has produced with TrueFire.
Like the other courses, this one follows the blueprint of presenting 15 chord progressions using different voicings (slash chords, in this instance) that the student can watch and play along with.
This is a really good and enjoyable way of embedding some new chord voicings into your playing (as well as seriously strengthening your rhythm playing) and Brad also provides some useful insights about each example.
W
wpodbury
Verified buyer
06/20/22
Great study material...well worth the money
R
Resojoe
11/16/19
Fun With Slash Chords
I bought this course and started working with it and it’s great! I have lot’s of Brad’s courses and he is one of my favorite teachers because he really explains and shows things in detail. This course and also vol.2 are great to add some modern sounds to your playing.
