An inversion is when a chord tone other than the root is played in the bass. For example, the notes that make a C major chord are: Root: C rd: E th: G A typical C chord on the guitar looks like this: If we also played the g on the 6th string, we d have a chord that looked like this: There are types of inversions: 1st Inversion// ::the rd of the chord is the bass note. nd Inversion// ::the th of the chord is the bass note. rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note. This is an inversion. Inversions are also called slash chords. First Inversion // ::the rd of the chord is the bass note 6th String Bass; Major A Few Good Shapes: Common Moveable First Inversions 6th String Bass; Minor 6th String Bass; Dom7 (7) th String Bass; Major 6th String Bass; Add th String Bass; Minor Specific Chords 1
First Inversion Major Open Position Moveable Variations First Inversion Minor Open Position Moveable C/E Am/C G/B Em/G D/F# Bm/D A/C# F#m/A E/G# C#m/E B/D# Gm/Bb F/A You ll notice only a couple variations of the moveable shapes. For each type of inversion, it s good to find both a 6th string bass voicing and th string bass. This will allow you to play in different areas of the neck as needed. Dm/F First Inversion // ::the rd of the chord is the bass note Second Inversion
There are types of inversions: 1st Inversion// ::the rd of the chord is the bass note. nd Inversion// ::the th of the chord is the bass note. rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note. Second Inversion // ::the th of the chord is the bass note 6th String Bass; Major A Few Good Shapes: Common Moveable Second Inversions 6th String Bass; Minor 6th String Bass; Dom7 (7) th String Bass; Major 6th String Bass; Add th String Bass; Minor Specific Chords
Second Inversion Major Open Position Moveable Variations Second Inversion Minor Open Position Moveable C/G Am/E G/D Em/B D/A Bm/F# A/E E/B F#m/C# C#m/G# In many cases, there just aren t good open voicings for many inversions. B/F# Gm/D F/C Knowledge of the notes on the neck is helpful to knowing inversions. To learn the notes on the fretboard, see the training: Note Location Drills Dm/A Second Inversion // ::the th of the chord is the bass note 4 Third Inversion version
There are types of inversions: 1st Inversion// ::the rd of the chord is the bass note. nd Inversion// ::the th of the chord is the bass note. rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note. Third Inversion // ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note A Few Good Shapes: Common Moveable Third Inversions 6th String Bass; Major 7 th String Bass; Major 7 6th String Bass; Dom 7 th String Bass; Dom7 (7) 6th String Bass; Minor 7 th String Bass; Minor 7 Minor 7 A better alternative Specific Chords
Third Inversion Major 7 & Dom7 Open Position Moveable Open Position Moveable Common Open Chords in Third Inversion Minor Open Position Moveable C/B C/Bb Am/G G/F# G/F Em/D D/C# D/C Bm/A A/G# A/G F#m/E E/D# E/D C#m/B B/A# B/A Gm/F F/E F/Eb Dm/C Again, you ll notice most of these inversion shapes are repeated over and over. And over. Part of including all these chords is to show that you can get by with knowing a few good shapes. Third Inversion // 6 ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note Examples
Examples These are just a few examples of songs that have inversions in them. Now that you re aware of them, you ll start to see them all over the place. Good Reasons to Use an Inversion Voicing: 1. When you are the only accompaniment.. When the song arrangement doesn t sound right without it.. When it s a shape/fingering that you can play well. 4. When the root note will muddy up the inversion bass note. (E.g. low E of an open E chord can get in the way of an E/G#. If the inversion voicing is too difficult, simply lay off your bottom two strings and play the part of the chord on strings 4-1. Good Reasons NOT to Use an Inversion Voicing: 1. When there is a piano and bass guitar already pounding out that bass note. Concentrate instead on creating a chord that gets out of the mid range.. It moves by too fast. In Christ Alone is a good example of this.. The shape is difficult, and attempting to play it will throw you off. 7 One more type of slash chord
Hybrid Chords (Another "Slash Chord") Hybrid Chords are another kind of "slash" chord. However, they are not inversions. They are a simpler way to spell complex chords. D/E, which is a D chord over an E bass note, is easier to communicate than E9sus4. Below are a two types of hybrids. V9sus Hybrid The following hybrid chords form some variation of the V9sus chord. This is the most common hybrid chord. For example, C/D = D9sus4--the C triad: c-e-g creates a b7, 9, & sus4, respectively, over the D. The Am7/D simply adds the th of D (a). These chords usually resolve to the V7 or directly to the I. C/D 8fr C/D These two are movable chords that can be used in any key. Am7/D fr fr 1 98 1 C/D G/A D/E Bm7/E These chords are examples of open V9sus hybrids 1 4 A/B Dm7/G 1 1 The minor 7 (m7) chord (R, b,, b7) can also be seen as a major chord triad with its relative minor in the bass. E.g.: C/A (c,e,g,a). Other variations of the major chord create different minor chord tensions. Below are a few examples. The (m7) spellings are written over the tab. C/A C/A Cm/A D/B A/F# 6 m7, m7(4), m11, m7b Hybrid Am7 fr fr *movable chords Am11 4fr Am7b 4 Bm7(4) *open chords F#m7(4)