Chord Inversions

Chord Inversion

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Basic Chords in music, that is Major and Minor chords, are built around the musical Triad.

The major triad consists of
1 The root
2 The third
3 The fifth

The minor triad consists of
1 The root
2 The minor third
3 The fifth

With the triad consisting of only 3 notes, there are three combinations, or inversions available.
The lowest note in a triad or chord is always called the bass note.
For this page the highest note played will be the top note, and the note in between the bass note and the top note we will call the middle.

The first triad worth looking at is the uninverted, or triad in root position.
This always has the root in the bass, the third in the middle, and the fifth in the top.
e.g.

**Root Triad Examples**
C major triad G E C	C minor triad G Eb C	A major triad E C# A	B major triad F# D# B

In the first inversion, the third is in the bass, the fifth in the middle and the bass in the top.
The next table is the triads used in the table above, but in first inversion positions.

**First Inversion Triad Examples**
C major triad C G E	C minor triad C G Eb	A major triad A E C#	B major triad B F# D#

In the second inversion, the fifth is in the bass, the root is in the middle, and the third on top.

**Second Inversion Triad Examples**
C major triad E C G	C minor triad Eb C G	A major triad C# A E	B major triad D# B F#

Don't read this next section if the last didn't make complete sense to you.

The Third inversion
Chords can have more than three notes of course, and when we have four, like in the seventh chord, then we can put the seventh in the bass and we have the third inversion.

**Third Inversions**
C major 7th G E C Bb	B minor major 7th F# D B A#

In a practical situation, the bass note in a third inversion ought to be an octave below the next in pitch if the chord is a major seventh. Otherwise you would have a discordant sounding minor second interval, instead of a rich sounding major seventh.