Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

Playing the piano

P

laying chords, no matter what kind,

would be pretty boring if all you could

do was play them the same way all the

time. No matter how you changed the

way you used them rhythmically, the notes would

always sound the same. Luckily, you can use handy

inversions to play the chords you think sound best

but in different ways.

Rather than just playing C (the root), the E (the

third) above it, and the G (the fifth) above that to

play C major, you can start on E, then play the G

above it, and then the C above the G (so you’re

playing the C that’s an octave higher than the

one play in the first chord). This is what’s known as

the first inversion of C major. It’s still C major as it

contains the three notes that make up the chord,

they’re just played in a different order. To play a

second inversion on C major, the bass note must be

G, the second note C (the same one that’s played

in the first inversion), and the third note the E after

that. Although the chords are technically the same

in name, the different sound you get can help add

interest to a piece.

Inversions aren’t just handy for varying sounds,

though – they also help transition between chords.

Let’s imagine that you want to play C major then

A minor. Rather than moving your whole hand

down the keyboard to play both chords in the root

position, you just need to move your little finger

from the G to the A. Thanks to inversions, you can

play completely different chords with the minimum

of effort.

Using inversions

Achieve a different take on many basic chords

by employing inversions

Putting it into practice Inversions in music

Root chord

Even with all these inversions, there’s

still no reason not to put in a chord

in root position, like this C major

F major

Middle C is the bass note here, but it’s

not C major – this is the second inversion

of F major, as it features C, A, and F

“Inversions aren’t just handy for varying sounds,

they also help transition between chords”

Audio file

Listen to the audio files

and follow along on your

own keyboard

Give it a try

C major

We start off with C major, but perhaps not

as you know it. As E is the bass note, this is

what’s known as the first inversion

Both hands

Not an inversion as such, but you can spread

chords over both hands. We’ve used G as a

bass note, with D and B on the right hand