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A chord's inversion describes the relationship of its lowest notes to the other notes in the chord. For instance, a C major triad contains the tones C, E and G; its inversion is determined by which of these tones is the lowest note (or bass note) in the chord. The term inversion often categorically refers to the different possibilities, though ...
The second inversion of a chord is the voicing of a triad, seventh chord, or ninth chord in which the fifth of the chord is the bass note. In this inversion, the bass note and the root of the chord are a fourth apart which traditionally qualifies as a dissonance. There is therefore a tendency for movement and resolution. In notation form, it ...
The third inversion of a seventh chord is the voicing in which the seventh of the chord is the bass note and the root a major second above it. In the third inversion of a G-dominant seventh chord, the bass is F — the seventh of the chord — with the root, third, and fifth stacked above it (the root now shifted an octave higher), forming the intervals of a second, a fourth, and a sixth above ...
However, if the lowest note (i.e. the bass note) is not the root of the chord, then the chord is said to be an inversion: it is in root position if the lowest note is the root of the chord, it is in first inversion if the lowest note is its third, and it is in second inversion if the lowest note is its fifth. These inversions of a C major triad ...
The fourth inversion of a ninth chord is the voicing in which the ninth of the chord is the bass note and the root a minor seventh above it. In the fourth inversion of a G-dominant ninth, the bass is A — the ninth of the chord — with the third, fifth, seventh, and root stacked above it, forming the intervals of a second, a fourth, a sixth, and a seventh above the inverted bass of A ...
For example, G sus2 (G–A–D) is the first inversion of D sus4 (D–G–A) which is the second inversion of G sus2 (G–A–D). The sus2 and sus4 chords both have inversions that create quartal and quintal chords (A–D–G, G–D–A) with two stacked perfect fourths or perfect fifths. Sevenths on suspended chords are "virtually always minor ...
Likewise the notation C/G bass indicates that a C major chord with a G in the bass (second inversion). See figured bass for alternate method of notating specific notes in the bass. Upper structures are notated in a similar manner to inversions , except that the bass note is not necessarily a chord tone .
Other chord qualities such as major sevenths, suspended chords, and dominant sevenths use familiar symbols: 4 Δ 7 5 sus 5 7 1 would stand for F Δ 7 G sus G 7 C in the key of C, or E ♭ Δ 7 F sus F 7 B ♭ in the key of B ♭. A 2 means "add 2" or "add 9". Chord inversions and chords with other altered bass notes are notated analogously to ...