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Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions

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
3rd: E
5th: G
A typical C chord on the guitar looks like this:
If we also played the g on the 6th string,
wed have a chord that looked like this:

There are 3 types of inversions:


1st Inversion// ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note.
2nd Inversion// ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note.
3rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note.

This is an inversion.
Inversions are also called slash chords.

First Inversion // ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note


6th String Bass; Major

6th String Bass; Minor

6th String Bass; Dom7 (7)

A
F
Co ew
mm Go
o
Fir on d S
st
Inv Mov hap
ers ea es:
ion ble
s
5th String Bass; Major

6th String Bass; Add2

5th String Bass; Minor

Specific
Chords
1

Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions


Common Chords in
First Inversion Major
Open Position

Moveable

Common Chords in
First Inversion Minor
Open Position

Variations

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

Moveable

F/A
Youll notice only a couple
variations of the moveable
shapes. For each type of
inversion, its good to find
both a 6th string bass voicing
and 5th string bass. This will
allow you to play in different
areas of the neck as needed.

Dm/F

First Inversion // ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note


2

Second Inversion

Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions


There are 3 types of inversions:
1st Inversion// ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note.
2nd Inversion// ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note.
3rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note.

Second Inversion // ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note


A
F
Co ew
mm Go
od
Se
o
co n
nd Mo Shap
Inv ve
es
a
ers bl :
ion e
s

6th String Bass; Major

6th String Bass; Minor

6th String Bass; Dom7 (7)

5th String Bass; Major

6th String Bass; Add2

5th String Bass; Minor

Specific
Chords
3

Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions


Common Chords in
Second Inversion Major
Open Position

Moveable

Common Chords in
Second Inversion Minor
Open Position

Variations

C/G

Am/E

G/D

Em/B

D/A

Bm/F#

A/E

F#m/C#

E/B

C#m/G#

B/F#

Gm/D

Moveable

In many
cases, there
just arent
good open
voicings for
many inversions.

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 5th of the chord is the bass note


4

Third Inversion
version

Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions


There are 3 types of inversions:
1st Inversion// ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note.
2nd Inversion// ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note.
3rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note.

Third Inversion //

::the 7th of the chord is the bass note

6th String Bass; Major 7

5th String Bass; Major 7

A
Fe
Co w
mm Go
Th
on od S
ird
M h
Inv ov ape
ers ea
s:
b
ion le
s

6th String Bass; Dom 7

5th String Bass; Dom7 (7)

6th String Bass; Minor 7

5th String Bass; Minor 7

A better alternative
5

Minor 7

Specific
Chords

Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions


Common Chords in
Third Inversion Major 7 & Dom7
Open Position

Moveable

Open Position

C/B
C/Bb

Common Open Chords in


Third Inversion Minor
Moveable

Open Position

Moveable

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, youll 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

Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions

Examples
These are just a few examples of songs that
have inversions in them. Now that youre aware of them,
youll start to see them all over the place.

Good Reasons to Use an Inversion Voicing:


1. When you are the only accompaniment.
2. When the song arrangement doesnt sound right without it.
3. When its 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.
2. It moves by too fast. In Christ Alone is a good example of this.
3. The shape is difficult, and attempting to play it will throw you off.

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 5th of D (a).
These chords usually resolve to the V7 or directly to the I.

C/D

C/D
8fr

Am7/D

These two are movable


chords that can be used
in any key.

G/A

D/E

Bm7/E

A/B

Dm7/G

5fr

These chords are examples of open V9sus hybrids


3
3
0
0
0

0
1
0
0

5
5
5
5
5

5
5
5
5

8
9
10

C/D

5fr

10

1
1
2
0

0
2
2
2
2

2
3
2
4
2
0

2
3
2
0

m7, m7(4), m11, m7b5 Hybrid


The minor 7 (m7) chord (R, b3, 5, 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

Cm/A

C2/A
5fr

*movable chords

D2/B

4fr

3fr

A2/F#

*open chords

Am7

Am11

Am7b5

Bm7(4)

F#m7(4)

5
5
5

3
5
5

4
5
5

0
3
2
0
2

0
0
2
2

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