What Are Inversions and Why Do We Use Them?

So far all of the chords we have developed have been in root position, meaning that the root of the chord has been on the bottom—this is the simplest way to spell the chord. However, this is not necessarily the easiest way to play chords, nor does it always sound the best. As we develop musically, we need to start using chord inversions. This means having a note other than the root on the bottom. So instead of playing a triad “root-3rd-5th” (from bottom to top), we might instead use “3rd-5th-root” or “5th-root-3rd.” So why would we want to do this? Well actually, there are a few good reasons to use chord inversions:

• Inverting chords can promote less moving around of the hands when going from chord to chord.
• Less moving around helps us to voice lead, or allow for a more smoothly connected sound between chords.
• Inverted chords can be placed below a melody as a way to harmonize (or “flesh out”) your arrangement.