Improve your chord knowledge with Inversions

Hi There,

Thank you for reading my blogs so far.

This blog will provide you with insight into learning the basic essentials of chord inversions. With it you’ll be able to

1. Add lots more variety to your playing by introducing more inverted chords

2. Understand when you see something like D/F# in tab as to what it means!

3. Integrate your musical theory in more practical ways

So let’s keep it simple by just referring to Major triads/ chords

Major chords are built up of a Root note, Major 3rd (2 tones in size) + a perfect 5th (3 1/2 tones in size)

So for example D major would be D, F# and A (D – E – F# is 2 tones) ( D – E – F# – G – A is 3 1/2 tones)

A First Inversion is one where the 3rd note is played as the root note. So for example (F#, D and A would be a first inversion of D major, or C#, E and A a first inversion of A major)

Here are examples of these chords:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are really nice chords to play and can often be used as substitutes for your standard A and D chords. AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’ uses the D/F# chord.

A Second Inversion is where the Perfect 5th is played as the root note.

So for example (B, E, G#) for E major or (G, C and E) for C major.

Here are some examples of these chords:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So have a play around with your triads and see what you come up with! It’s always worth seeking out new ideas and ways of playing to add to your guitar skills.

Many thanks for reading.

You can find other great free tips via my Twitter account @jsmusicschool.

James