Document

Page 110

First inversion chord shapes

Second inversions
In the second inversion, the fifth of the chord becomes the bass note: C E G becomes G C E. Rarer than first
inversions, they have something of the fluid nature of the first inversion but are more diffuse. Jimi Hendrix's 'The
Wind Cries Mary' is introduced by an Eb-E-F progression, played first as second inversions and then as first
inversions. There is a striking second inversion in the chorus of The Band's 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie
Down', where the chords move between iiI and IV, and a descending link to the last choruses which also depends on
inversions.
The number of possible inversions is always one less than the number of different notes in the chord. If a chord has
more than three notes in it – C7, for example – then a third inversion is possible, with the additional note in the bass.