Last article was about Slash chords, this article will deal again with the subject of Slash Chords.
Slash Chords are great for playing first inversions of your chords.

What are inversions? an inversion of a chord is where the notes have been grouped in a different order compared to the Rootpostion of the chord. Each three chord note does have two inversions.
Here is a example of C major and its two inversions:   

Roootposition; C        First Inversion: E    Second Inversion:     G
                        E                                  G                                      C
                        G                                  C                                      E

If you play these chords in a linear way you will discover that the Rootposition of the chord appears again after you have played the Second Inversion. 

Here an example of Aminor (relative minor for C major) and its two inversions:

Rootposition:   A       First Inversion:   C          Second Inversion:    E
                        C                                   E                                           A
                        E                                   A                                           C

Okay let us now create a first inversion on the fretboard of D major.
The notes in D major are     D
                                         F#
                                         A

To create a Slash chord which uses first inversion of D we need to use the F# in the bass.
Here is one way to finger this chord:

          D/F#

     E——2——

     B——3——

    G ——2—–

    D——-0—-

    A————-

    E——-2—-

F# is on the low E, the open A is not used, Root is on the D, but not longer the lowest note. Rest of the chord is similar to how most of you will play an open D chord. Using the low open A string whilst not playing the F# on the low E string will give you a Second inversion.

Here the same Fist Inversion of D as Slash Chord but fingered higher on the fretboard:

                        
              
                         D/F#

  E—————————————–

  B—————-7————————

  G—————-7———————–

  D —————7———————–

  A —————9———————–

  E —————————————

This fingering of the D chord uses the A-shape and does have the F# in the bass on the low A string, another F# can be found on the fret 7 on the B string. The Root of the chord can be found in the middle: fret 7 on the G string. The fifth of the chord, the A, is on the 7th fret of the D string.

For all your own experimentation, it does help if youi know the notes of basic triad (Root, Third and Fifth) chords such as C, G, D, A, E and F because these chords will appear often in your own playing.

Try creating some Slash chords for yourself to get different sounds from your chords, try them along the whole fretboard instead of only sticking to first postion chords. Most of the first inversions can be fingered in a fairly easy way.

Good luck,
Eddie