What Are Inversions and Why Do We Use Them?

So far all of the chords we have developed have been in root position, meaning that the root of the chord has been on the bottom—this is the simplest way to spell the chord. However, this is not necessarily the easiest way to play chords, nor does it always sound the best. As we develop musically, we need to start using chord inversions. This means having a note other than the root on the bottom. So instead of playing a triad “root-3rd-5th” (from bottom to top), we might instead use “3rd-5th-root” or “5th-root-3rd.” So why would we want to do this? Well actually, there are a few good reasons to use chord inversions:

• Inverting chords can promote less moving around of the hands when going from chord to chord.
• Less moving around helps us to voice lead, or allow for a more smoothly connected sound between chords.
• Inverted chords can be placed below a melody as a way to harmonize (or “flesh out”) your arrangement.

Let’s start with our good friend the C major triad, and see what happens when we invert it. The notes of the C major chord are C, E, and G, so no matter what order or position we place these three notes in, as long as we have these three, it will always be a C major triad.

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We’ll define the different inversions of the C major triad as follows:

• the first triad is in root position (with the root on the bottom)
• the second triad is in first inversion (with the third on the bottom)
• the third triad is in second inversion (with the fifth on the bottom)
• the last triad is in root position, an octave higher than the first.

Back in Chapter 10 we showed the (root position) major triads in all keys. Now it’s time to introduce the inversions of all these, starting with the first inversions:

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Play through each of these first-inversion triads on the piano, starting with the C triad, hands separately. As there is now a larger interval on top, use a 1-2-5 fingering for each right-hand chord, but still use fingers 5, 3, and 1 for the left hand. Notice the different combinations of black and white keys as you play through all the first inversions.

And now… for the second inversions of the major triads:

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Play through each of these second inversions, again starting with the C triad. The larger interval is now on the bottom, so either a 1-3-5 or 1-2-4 fingering will work fine in the right hand. Use a 5-2-1 fingering for the left hand. Again be aware of the different black and white key combinations as you play.

Now we’ll go through the same process for minor triads, starting with the C minor triad:

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Similar to the major triad inversions at the beginning of the chapter, here we have minor triads in root position, first inversion, second inversion, and finally root position again, from left to right.

Remember how to change a major triad into a minor triad? In case you forgot, just lower the third a half step. Now take all the minor triads and try inverting each one; we won’t spell them all out for you.

Get a sheet of staff paper and write out the minor triads in first inversion and second inversion, in both hands. Use the previous examples of major triads to help you. Writing music yourself is a great way to learn.