Piano for Beginners 6th ED - 2016 UK

Inversion examples

See how inversions affect a chord’s structure

First inversion

We’ve used the same chords – C, G, D, and F major – but now their respective

major thirds are the bass note rather than the root. The root note is still played,

but it is an octave higher than in Step 1.

Root chords

All four of these major triads are in root position – the root of the chord (the note

which shares its name with the chord) is the bass note. To play this progression,

you have to move your right hand a lot.

Mix them up

The previous examples have all required a bit of jumping up and down the

keyboard, but by using the second inversions of G and F, it’s a lot easier to

navigate our progression. Try it for yourself!

Second inversion

Now we’re using the fifth as the bass note of our familiar four chords. Note that

even though the G and F now have bass notes lower than the original root

chord, they are still considered second inversions.

C G D F C G D F

C G D F C G D F