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Hello, I am new to the forums and am learning from fakebooks...my question is when you see two chords above a note, like C/F, do you play the C or the F chord? It normally just shows one chord but sometimes seems to give two options and not sure if its up to me to choose or there is a meaning in there that I don't know about that tells me which to play? Listening does not help much because often I don't know the music to be able to tell what the song should sound like.

So sorry if this does not make sense!! Thanks so much in advance!!

I think the C/F marking means "C over F" - that is, you play the inversion of a C chord that has F on the bottom (so it's F-G-C instead of C-F-G).

Oh my goodness, thank you so much!! I never would have known this, I really appreciate it:)

It means you play a C major triad (C-E-G) with an F in the bass.

Just to be clear: This is correct, and the earlier response about playing "the inversion of the C chord that has F on the bottom" is not. A C major triad doesn't have an F in it, for one thing.

-Jason

But a C7 does which makes it a 3rd inversion.

?? A C7 chord has an F in it? Am I missing something?

C7 is C E G Bb. No F

Ron

Oops. Pardon my dsylexia! I'm thinking C's dominant 7th!

C7 third inversion should be B-flat - C-E-G. We need to start a PW theory group. But I once had an examiner ask me to play an f# minor arpeggio starting on the third inversion. I sat there blankly until the other examiner reminded him that it doesn't exist.

C's dominant 7th is G-B-D-F, no C in there. Seems more like an F9 chord if you omit the E.

I knew that was what you were thinking.

Ron

You did? But that's not it either, at least not to my knowledge (see above post). Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Oops, oops, oops. Frozenicicles you are quite right. Maybe KBK was thinking Fs dominant 7th which doesn't have an F either, but perhaps that is where the F came from. He has certainly got some of us confused.

Ron

Haha, no worries. The chord as written (F-C-E-G) is quite dissonant without flattening the E. I'm wondering whether the OP didn't mean F/C instead.

Hi Limeade,

If you are confused even more, by now, I wouldn't blame you

This was the correct answer to your question.



These chords are commonly known as 'slash chords' (for obvious reasons)
The letter after the slash, is always the bass note.

No, the F came from C's dominant 7th- G B D F. It takes an understanding of dyslexia to work out wat I did. RonO's got it (the 3rd inversion of G7 is F in the bass - I started from that fact, leaving rather a lot of other stuff out).

Jeez, you shoulda seen my arithmetic in grade 6!

I love how this thread turned out.

Bonus theory: C-F-G is a legitimate triad, Csus.

Agreed (both counts).

Whoops! I think I'm the one who's dysexic! That was my original answer that started all this confusion. But my teacher writes inversions that way when I've been working from a lead sheet printed with chords & she advises me to use a particular inversion of a printed chord - she puts a diagonal slash under the chord, with the bottom note written under that. So when I answered, I didn't even think about what notes were actually in the chord! (Key words there: didn't even think?)

Not to worry

I get the odd dialsexy moment, myself