Chord inversions 101: How to create smooth movement in your music

Understanding chords and their applications is a fundamental part of music theory. If you want to infuse colorful variety into your compositions, beats, and productions, getting your head around chord inversions is essential. Chord inversions provide a foundational tool for adding depth and interest to your harmonic progressions, no matter the genre. Whether you’re composing for films or video games, making beats, or writing pop songs, chord inversions will enhance your music’s complexity and emotional impact. This comprehensive guide to chord inversions will help you unlock new harmonic possibilities.

Jump to these sections:

• What are chord inversions?
• When should you invert chords?
• How to use chord inversions
• Start adding movement to your music

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What are chord inversions?

If you want to understand chord inversions, you—of course—need to know what a chord is. If you’re not quite there yet don’t worry, just check out this guide on music theory.

Even if you know about chord construction, it makes sense to refresh your knowledge.

Chords are made up of alternating notes in scales—like a major or minor scale. Let’s take a look at how the notes of a scale help in creating chords.

The C major scale consists of these notes:

C, D, E, F, G, A, B, (C).

To form chords, we take certain notes from this scale and play them at the same time. The simplest kinds of chords (called “triads”) are made up of three notes. To create a C major triad, start with the first note of the scale (C), skip the next (D), include the following note (E), skip the next, and include the final one (G). That leaves us with C-E-G which is a C major triad.

But what happens if we play those notes (C-E-G) in a different order? Is it still a C major triad?

Chord inversions are variations of chords where we rearrange the order of the notes played within the chord, resulting in a different note other than the root in the bass position.

Here is a C major triad in root position (not inverted):

Let’s listen to what happens if we invert this chord:

Can you hear how the character of the chord has changed, even though the notes are the same?

A famous example of guitar chord inversions is the lead guitar line in “No Surprises” by Radiohead which uses a second inversion:

There are various kinds of inversions, depending on how you reorder the notes. Each inversion changes the chord’s texture and sound. Let’s break down some basic triad inversions, as well as 7th chord inversions.

Triad inversions

1. Root position: The chord is in its original form with the root note as the lowest note. A C major chord (C-E-G) has C in the bass. It sounds like this:

2. First inversion: The third of the chord is in the bass. For C major, the first inversion would be E-G-C. It sounds like this:

3. Second inversion: The fifth of the chord is in the bass. For C major, the second inversion would be G-C-E. It sounds like this:

7th chord inversions

Seventh chords have four notes, so they have three inversions. The concept is the same, but because of the extension, the results are quite different. Some of these inversions, despite being major chords have a slightly darker or more ‘minor’ feel to them. This shows how much inversions can influence the sonic character of a chord:

1. Root position: The chord is in its basic form, in this case, it is a C major 7th (C-E-G-B) with C in the bass. It sounds like this:

2. First inversion: The third is in the bass. For C major 7th, the first inversion would be E-G-B-C. It sounds like this:

3. Second inversion: The fifth is in the bass. For C major 7th, the second inversion would be G-B-C-E. It sounds like this:

4. Third inversion: The seventh is in the bass. For C major 7th, the third inversion would be B-C-E-G. It sounds like this:

When should you invert chords?

Now that you understand how to notate chord inversions, you probably want to know how they’re used practically.

Chord inversions, if you listen out for them, can be heard everywhere. They are used to create smooth voice leading or interesting bass line movement and to add interesting harmonic moments in music. Here are some instances where you would want to know how to write chord inversions in your own compositions:

1. For smooth voice leading

Inversions help to minimize the movement between chords, creating smoother transitions. Bach used inversions all over his music. A particularly famous example is his masterpiece “Cello Suite No. 1 in G”. Here, Bach uses the G note to anchor the first four chords of his progression, creating what we call a “pedal” in the bass. Listen to Mischa Maisky’s rendition of the piece and see how Bach uses this technique to enrich the harmony:

2. For bassline movement

By changing the bass note of a chord, you can create a more melodic and interesting bass line. Paul McCartney is a fantastic example of a bass player who uses inversions to create catchy, smart bass lines in his music. Listen how in “Something”, McCartney’s bass line doesn’t just play root notes, but finds inversions to the chords which make his bass line melodic and “singable”:

3. For harmonic interest

Using inversions can make a progression sound more complex and engaging. Bill Evans uses inversions to create harmonic tension in the beautiful “Peace Piece” by placing certain notes close to others. These chords have lots of extensions and use different modes, so there are many possibilities for deep inversion practice. Take a listen:

How to use chord inversions

At the end of the day, using chord inversions in your music requires experimentation and practice. Through playing around with ideas, you’ll gain a good understanding of their harmonic function. For now, here are three tips to get you started:

Tip 1: Use inversions for better voice leading

Voice leading is the smooth movement of notes or “voices” from one chord to the next in the context of a chord progression. Inversions help achieve this by minimizing the distance each voice travels when the chords change. For example, in a I-V-vi-IV (C-G-Am-F) progression, using the first inversion of G (B-D-G) leads smoothly from C (C-E-G) as the top voice (the G) remains in the same place, and the other voices move in stepwise motion.

Tip 2: Experiment with bass lines

Creating interesting bass lines is one of the most common reasons to use chord inversions. Experiment with different inversions to find bass notes that add movement and direction to your music. For example, in a chord progression like C-F-G, using the second inversion of C (G bass) followed by the root position of F (F bass) and the second inversion of G (D bass) creates a descending bass line. Without inversions, the bass note would naturally ascend before returning to the root position.

Tip 3: Enhance melodic interest

Chord inversions can be used to support and enhance your melodies. By choosing inversions that align with the melody notes, you can create harmonies that complement and emphasize the melodic line. For example, if your melody note is E in an A minor chord, using the second inversion (E-A-C) can highlight that note and provide strong harmonic support. This technique ensures that the melody stands out while maintaining the same harmonic foundation.

Start adding movement to your music

Understanding chord inversions can improve your writing for voice leading, bass lines, and harmony. If you want to add engaging and dynamic chord parts to your music, inversions are essential. Dive in and start practicing inversion writing today with Komplete Start.

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People always ask

What are the inversions of a chord?

Chord inversions are chords that retain the same notes of a root position chord while changing the order of these notes. In the case of basic triads, you can reorder them into 1st inversions—where the third of the chord would be in the bass voice—and 2nd inversions—where the fifth of the chord would be in the bass voice.

When should you invert chords?

There are lots of cases where you would want to invert the chords in your compositions. Some of the reasons you would invert chords would be to create better voice leading, to write different kinds of basslines, and to enhance melodic possibilities.