4

This chart has a listing for a chord V/1 and I'm having trouble interpreting this chord, specifically the "/1" part. I think the "/1" part might have one of the following meanings...

  • "the base note of the chord (in this case, the fifth note in the scale) as the lowest note"
  • "the first note of the scale as the lowest note"
  • "the first inversion of the chord"

What is the proper way to interpret V/1?

Richard
  • 84,447
  • 18
  • 194
  • 369
marcAKAmarc
  • 43
  • 6

1 Answers1

3

Check out this page where the image is given. Here you can select a key and click a chord in order to show the actual pitches of that chord.

For instance, "I/5" in C major is listed as G C E G. Since G is both scale-degree 5 and the chordal fifth, it's still unclear what 5 means. But when we see that "V/2" is listed as D G B D, we realize that these integers refer to scale degrees.

As a friendly PSA, beware of some of the pitches on this chart; their algorithm privileges flats over sharps, so chords are sometimes spelled a little strangely (e.g., they list E major as E A♭ B).

Richard
  • 84,447
  • 18
  • 194
  • 369
  • Have to say, the minute I see inaccuracies like Ab quoted in Emaj., I tend to dismiss the rest of the site as written by inexperts. – Tim Jan 22 '18 at 10:32