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They are simple, easy to understand and sound awesome when you use them while improvising. But, there is a lot of info that makes them really confusing… lets simplify things and learn the chord inversions!
Chord: It’s the sound of two or more notes (usually three) played simultaneously.
Inversion: The position of a chord when the root note is not the lowest note.
Now that we have the theory, lets make this work with our instrument.
I will use the A Major chord for this lesson. Here are the notes for the A Major scale:
A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G# - A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The numbers below the notes indicate the relationship with the root note. We are using “A” as the root. This means that the 3rd note of A is “C#”. The fifth note of A is “E” ect..
he A major chord is made up of three specific notes:
A - The root - 1
E - The fifth note of A - 5
C# - The third note of A - 3#
The first chord diagram shows A Major with the three notes mentioned above.
The “A Major first inversion” happens when the lowest note played is the fifth note of the chord. In this case the fifth note of the chord A Major is E, followed by the root of the chord which is A and ending the chord with the 3rd note which is C#. 3# - 1 - 5
The “A Major second inversion” is when the third note of a chord is the lowest note. In A Major that would be C#. The order would be 5 - 3# - 1
That's it! The order of the notes is always the same and you can make really cool progressions with the inversions. These chord positions are movable all over the neck, so be sure to try them out with all the keys. The important part is to remember the 1-5-3 pattern and know what notes you're working with.
For example, let's say that you wanted to find the notes for the C minor scale so that you can build the inversions at a later time...
Here are the notes:
C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C
1 2 3b 4 5 6b 7b 8
Your C minor chord is made these three notes: C, Eb and G. = 1, 5, b3
Your first inversion on C minor would be: Eb, C, G = b3, 1, 5
Your second inversion on C minor would be: G, Eb, C = 5, b3, 1
The best way to get these into your playing is if your practice them, try to make riffs or songs with them. The more you apply them into your playing the easier they will become.
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