D/B Chord

If I remember correctly

e 2
B 3
G 2
D 0
A 2
E x

thanks Nils - I'll give that a try

Thought it was a good idea to verify my memory and I remembered this site. Check it out

Chord Generator

Another great chord reference is: Howard's Big Chord List.

Yeah, when you see a chord that is shown like that, D/B or something/something...the rule of thumb is the first letter is the chord your playing and the second letter is the first note your going to hit, meaning from top to bottom...therefore the first note your hitting on that chord is the B on the second fret of the A string...

A D chord with a B bass note is usually called Bminor7

Does someone want to clarify slash chords to me (and the rest of the viewers)?

A 'slash' chord is a way of noting a chord with a specific bass note.

If the note after the slash is already contained in the chord (A/C#, D7/C, B/F# etc) it's technically called an 'inversion' of the chord.

If the note after the slash isn't in the chord you're adding that note to the chord. That means you could be writing the chord a different way - as garytalley notes, D/B = D-F#-A plus B in the bass; Bm = B-D-F#-A. (you could also call this D6... D-F#-A-B, depending on the context; with B in the bass that would be the third inversion - a chord seen by itself can often have several names, but in a chord progression there's usually only one correct name)

Slash chords have been used for a long time, usually to indicate a walking bass line. If you don't have a walking bass line, they're often just confusing (and sometimes harmonically incorrect as chord names) - you'd be better off figuring out the proper name for the chord in context.

For example, the progression

Am -> Am/G# -> G -> D/F# -> Em

would be a legitimate use of slash chords - you can see the descending bass line, and it adds to your understanding of what the songwriter wants.

On the other hand, if you see something like:

Csus6/E -> F/D -> Bº/G -> Am7/D

you've come across someone who is confusing chord fingerings with chord names. In this example, there's a sus6 (one of my personal pet peeves is the abundant use of sus2, sus6, etc chords on the internet - they're virtually always harmonically incorrect!), there's a bass line with no logical progression, and the chord progression itself isn't clear. It'd be a heck of a lot easier to write:

Cmaj7 -> Dm7 -> G7 -> C6/9

you'd have the exact same chords, you wouldn't waste time figuring things out in two parts (chord/bass), and you can see the I-ii-V-I progression at a glance.

Unless you have a special purpose, like a walking bass line, I'd avoid slash chords entirely and leave the inversions to the performer's discretion.

One more thing - the same convention is used for 'polychords' in some jazz charts, where the composer intends one instrument to play one chord, and another instrument to play a second chord, creating a third chord for the listener. For example, Bbmaj7/Fmaj7 might be used to create a Bbmaj11 sound (Bb-D-F + F-A-C-E = Bb-D-F-A-C-E), or Bbm/C7 to create C11b9 (Bb-Db-F + C-E-G-Bb = C-E-G-Bb-Db-F). NEVER mix the two conventions!

A chord written as Eb/C in the context of a 'slash' chord chart will result in Cm7 (C-Eb-G-Bb) - in the context of a 'polychord' chart you'll get C7#9 (Eb-G-Bb + C-E-G = C-E-G-Bb-D#), and a much more dissonant result.

There you have it folks!

Thanks NoteBoat, absolutely superb - I now have a much better understanding...

Funny you should mention this because I was going to ask how others would play this. The D/B (and A#) is easy enough it's the D/C that drives me nuts. It's the main piece to "Dear Prundence" by the Beatles. I have to use my pinky for the "B" string and use my ring finger to reach all the way over to A string and I try to keep it that way but it messes me up when I have to go C and G then come back and continue this way (pinky on B ring finger on A or just waiting around). When I play it on electric it's sounds OK, I can't do it on acoustic!

D x x 0 2 3 2
D/C x 3 x 2 3 2
D/B x 2 x x 3 2
D/A# x 1 x x 3 2

Bob Jessie

You could barre the first three strings for the first two chords:

xx0232 = xx0131 fingering
x3x232 = x2x131

then switch fingering:

x2xx32 = x1xx32
x1xx32 = x1xx32

Even though they're two different finger shapes, with a bit of a wrist rotation, you'd keep your ring finger planted throughout.

xx0232 = xx0131 fingering
x3x232 = x2x131

Thanks! I'll give that a try. This will leave my middle finger available ( I use that finger allot for driving signals also) for the A string and to make that strecth - right?

BJ