Music Theory - Inversions

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Music Theory Nerds get all the Chicks

It's important to build new knowledge on top of previously learned knowledge. As we dive into Chord inversions we need to draw from the previously learned knowledge of Triad Chord Building and working knowledge of The Staff.

There are 3 Inversion types we will discuss today.
Root Position, 1st Inversion, and 2nd Inversion

Let's start with Root Position. The Root is the note or pitch upon which the chord is built.

C Root Position

For example:
C major triad is spelled C E G.  The root is C. Root position = C E G
F minor triad is spelled F Ab C. The root is F. Root position = F Ab C

The Root is sometimes referred to as the Fundamental or Bass Fundamental. When the Bass note is the root of the chord it is said to be in Root Position.  An Inversion happens when the root is not the lowest pitch played in a chord.

1st Inversion happens when the 3rd (Not the Root) becomes the lowest not played.

C 1st inversion

For example:
C major triad in 1st inversion = E G C
Notice that the Root (C) is not the lowest note being played. It is replaced by the 3rd (E).

F minor triad in 1st inversion = Ab C F
Again, the root (F) is not the lowest note here, but rather Ab, which is the 3rd.


2nd Inversion happens when the 5th becomes the lowest note played.

C 2nd inversion

For example:
C major triad in 2nd inversion = G C E
Notice the 5th (G) is the lowest note.

F minor triad in 2nd inversion = C F Ab
The 5th (C) is the lowest note here.

You have seen inversions in simple chord charts all the time! 

Perhaps you haven't realized it...

In simple chord charts they will simply call for an alternate bass rather than playing the Root.

Have you ever seen C/E in a chord chart? C/E is basically C 1st inversion

How about D/A? D/A is another way to view D 2nd inversion.

A simple way to think about inversions is view them 

as an alternate bass.

1 more thing to share!  
How to recognize these inversions on the staff and be able to write them yourself!!

The root position has 3 notes tightly grouped together. The 3 notes are all equal distance from eachother.

With 1st inversion you'll notice the top note has a greater distance from the bottom 2 notes.

With 2nd inversion you'll notice that the bottom note has a greater distance from the top 2 notes.

Learn to recognize these inversions on sight.

A tough THINK MUSIC Challenge is just around the bend!  Think you can handle it?

Related articles

• Triad Chord Building! (360wlo.com)
• "Why should I learn to play Scales?" Here's 5 reasons. (+ 1) (360wlo.com)
• The Staff (360wlo.com)