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Chord inversions

A chord inversion is the same chord with a note other than its root at the bottom. C major, C E G, is in first inversion as E G C, written C/E, and in second inversion as G C E, written C/G. Pick any chord to see and hear each one.

C

Root position: C E G, C at the bottom

CEG

What an inversion is

Only the lowest note decides. With the root at the bottom a chord is in root position; with its third at the bottom, first inversion; with its fifth, second inversion; and a seventh chord with its seventh at the bottom is in third inversion. The notes above the lowest can come in any order.

A chord has one fewer inversions than it has notes: two for a three-note chord, three for a seventh chord. Every inversion keeps the chord’s name, so it plays the same part in a song.

Major chord inversions

Every major chord with its notes lowest first, and how a chart writes each one. Tap a chord for its own page.

Every major chord in root position, 1st and 2nd inversion
ChordRoot position1st inversion2nd inversion
CC E GCE G CC/EG C EC/G
D♭D♭ F A♭D♭F A♭ D♭D♭/FA♭ D♭ FD♭/A♭
DD F♯ ADF♯ A DD/F♯A D F♯D/A
E♭E♭ G B♭E♭G B♭ E♭E♭/GB♭ E♭ GE♭/B♭
EE G♯ BEG♯ B EE/G♯B E G♯E/B
FF A CFA C FF/AC F AF/C
F♯F♯ A♯ C♯F♯A♯ C♯ F♯F♯/A♯C♯ F♯ A♯F♯/C♯
GG B DGB D GG/BD G BG/D
A♭A♭ C E♭A♭C E♭ A♭A♭/CE♭ A♭ CA♭/E♭
AA C♯ EAC♯ E AA/C♯E A C♯A/E
B♭B♭ D FB♭D F B♭B♭/DF B♭ DB♭/F
BB D♯ F♯BD♯ F♯ BB/D♯F♯ B D♯B/F♯

Minor chord inversions

Every minor chord in root position, 1st and 2nd inversion
ChordRoot position1st inversion2nd inversion
CmC E♭ GCmE♭ G CCm/E♭G C E♭Cm/G
C♯mC♯ E G♯C♯mE G♯ C♯C♯m/EG♯ C♯ EC♯m/G♯
DmD F ADmF A DDm/FA D FDm/A
E♭mE♭ G♭ B♭E♭mG♭ B♭ E♭E♭m/G♭B♭ E♭ G♭E♭m/B♭
EmE G BEmG B EEm/GB E GEm/B
FmF A♭ CFmA♭ C FFm/A♭C F A♭Fm/C
F♯mF♯ A C♯F♯mA C♯ F♯F♯m/AC♯ F♯ AF♯m/C♯
GmG B♭ DGmB♭ D GGm/B♭D G B♭Gm/D
G♯mG♯ B D♯G♯mB D♯ G♯G♯m/BD♯ G♯ BG♯m/D♯
AmA C EAmC E AAm/CE A CAm/E
B♭mB♭ D♭ FB♭mD♭ F B♭B♭m/D♭F B♭ D♭B♭m/F
BmB D F♯BmD F♯ BBm/DF♯ B DBm/F♯

Seventh chord inversions

A seventh chord has four notes, so it has three inversions. The third puts the seventh itself at the bottom, as in C7/B♭.

Common seventh chords in root position and three inversions
ChordRoot position1st inversion2nd inversion3rd inversion
C7C E G B♭C7E G B♭ CC7/EG B♭ C EC7/GB♭ C E GC7/B♭
G7G B D FG7B D F GG7/BD F G BG7/DF G B DG7/F
Cmaj7C E G BCmaj7E G B CCmaj7/EG B C ECmaj7/GB C E GCmaj7/B
Fmaj7F A C EFmaj7A C E FFmaj7/AC E F AFmaj7/CE F A CFmaj7/E
Am7A C E GAm7C E G AAm7/CE G A CAm7/EG A C EAm7/G
Dm7D F A CDm7F A C DDm7/FA C D FDm7/AC D F ADm7/C

Slash chords

A slash chord is a chord over a bass note, written chord/bass. When the bass note is in the chord, the slash chord is an inversion; when it is not, it is the chord over an added bass note, a sound pop and gospel use often.

Slash chords: what each means and whether it is an inversion
ChordMeansInversion
C/EC major with E at the bottom1st inversion of C
C/GC major with G at the bottom2nd inversion of C
G/BG major with B at the bottom1st inversion of G
D/F♯D major with F♯ at the bottom1st inversion of D
F/CF major with C at the bottom2nd inversion of F
Am/EA minor with E at the bottom2nd inversion of Am
C/DC major with D at the bottomNot an inversion: D is not in C
F/GF major with G at the bottomNot an inversion: G is not in F

How inversions are written in classical harmony

Classical harmony marks an inversion with figured bass, the intervals above the bass note written under it. A root position triad’s 5/3 is usually left off.

Figured bass for each position of a triad and a seventh chord
PositionLowest noteTriadSeventh chord
Root positionRoot5/37
1st inversion3rd66/5
2nd inversion5th6/44/3
3rd inversion7th–4/2

Why players use inversions

Inversions keep the hand in one place between chords and let the bass step instead of leap. Here are the same four chords both ways: the sound barely changes, and the fingers move less than a third as far.

Root position

C · F · G · C

The fingers move 42 half steps in all.

With inversions

C · F/C · G/B · C

The fingers move 12 half steps in all.

Try them on the songs you know with the common chord progressions.

Questions about chord inversions

What is a chord inversion?

The same chord with a note other than its root at the bottom. C major is C E G; with E at the bottom, E G C, it is in first inversion, and with G at the bottom, G C E, in second.

How many inversions does a chord have?

One fewer than its notes. A three-note chord has two inversions, a seventh chord three and a ninth chord four. Root position, with the root at the bottom, is not an inversion.

How do you tell which inversion a chord is in?

Look only at the lowest note. The root at the bottom is root position, the third first inversion, the fifth second inversion and the seventh third inversion. The notes above it can come in any order.

What is a slash chord?

A chord written over a bass note: C/E is a C chord with E at the bottom. When the bass note is in the chord, as E is in C, the slash chord is an inversion. When it is not, as in C/D, it is a chord over an added bass note.

Why use chord inversions?

They keep the hand in one place between chords and let the bass move by step instead of leaping. Played in root position, C, F, G and C move the fingers 42 half steps; with F/C and G/B, they move 12.

What do 6 and 6/4 mean under a chord?

They are figured bass, the shorthand classical harmony writes under the bass note: 6 for a first inversion and 6/4 for a second. A seventh chord’s inversions are 6/5, 4/3 and 4/2.

Does an inversion change how a chord sounds?

A little. The notes are the same, so it is still the same chord, but the bottom note colours it: a first inversion sounds lighter than root position, and a second inversion less settled, which is why it often passes between two other chords.

Put inversions in a beat

Open the free editor with a beat playing and try chords on its keyboard, in any inversion. No account needed to start.

Start a beatPiano chords

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