Chord Inversions, Slash Chords and Voice Leading

A C major chord is always C, E and G - but those three notes can be stacked in different orders. Which note is in the bass (the lowest note) changes the sound and the function of the chord. These different arrangements are called inversions. Understanding them helps you read chord symbols like C/E, make chord changes smoother, and create walking bass lines.

You should know how triads and seventh chords are built.

Root position and inversions of a triad

What counts is the lowest note. The order of the notes above it does not change the inversion.

Play them one after another and listen to the bass note changing:

Root position

First inversion

Second inversion

What the figured-bass names mean

The names "6" and "6/4" come from figured bass, a Baroque shorthand that is still used in classical theory. The numbers are intervals above the bass note:

• Root position (5/3): above C you find a 3rd (E) and a 5th (G).
• First inversion (6/3, shortened to 6): above E you find a 3rd (G) and a 6th (C).
• Second inversion (6/4): above G you find a 4th (C) and a 6th (E).

In Roman-numeral analysis these figures are attached to the numeral: I6 means the tonic chord in first inversion, V6/4 means the dominant in second inversion. Some books write superscripts; online you will often see I6, I64 or I6/4.

How each inversion sounds

• Root position is the most stable and grounded. Pieces usually end on a root-position tonic.
• First inversion is lighter and less final, ideal in the middle of a phrase. It makes the bass line smoother.
• Second inversion is the least stable. In classical music it appears in specific patterns - most famously the cadential 6/4, where I6/4 moves to V before the final I.

Inversions of seventh chords

A seventh chord has four notes, so it has three inversions. Using G7 (G B D F):

The third inversion puts the 7th in the bass. Because the 7th normally resolves down a step, V4/2 is almost always followed by I6: G7/F to C/E.

Slash chords

A slash chord is written as chord / bass note. The left side is the chord, the right side is the note the bass plays.

There are two kinds:

1. Inversions - the bass note belongs to the chord: C/E, C/G, G/B, D/F#, Am/G.
2. Chords over a foreign bass - the bass note is not in the chord: D/C, F/G, Bb/C. These create new sounds. F/G (F A C over G), for example, works like a soft dominant: a G11 or G9sus4 chord without the 3rd.

Voice leading basics

Voice leading is the art of moving each note of one chord to the nearest note of the next chord. Good voice leading makes progressions sound smooth and connected, and on keyboard it makes them much easier to play. Inversions are the main tool.

Three simple rules:

1. Keep common tones. If two chords share a note, keep it in the same voice.
2. Move the other voices by step (a half step or whole step) wherever possible.
3. Avoid big jumps in the upper voices; let the bass do the leaping.

Compare I - IV - V - I in C played in root position everywhere (the right hand jumps around) with this voice-led version:

C stays as a common tone between C and F, E moves up a half step to F, and G moves up a whole step to A. From F to G, the outer voices move down by step (C to B, A to G) and the middle voice moves from F to D. Back to C, B rises to C, D rises to E and G stays put. The right hand barely moves.

Smooth bass lines with slash chords

Inversions also let the bass move by step. A classic descending line:

C - G/B - Am - Am/G - F

The bass walks down C, B, A, G, F while the upper chords barely change. Many pop and folk progressions are built on lines like this.

Inversions on the guitar

On guitar, inversions are easiest to see as triad shapes on three adjacent strings. On the top three strings (G, B, high E), the three positions of C major are:

• Root position: C E G
• 1st inversion: E G C
• 2nd inversion: G C E

Open chords also contain inversions: playing an open C with the low E string (E in the bass) gives C/E, and adding G on the 6th string, 3rd fret, gives C/G.

Here is the descending bass line from above in open position:

Inversions on the piano

On piano, practise every triad through all its inversions, going up and down:

• Right hand: C E G, then E G C, then G C E, then C E G an octave higher.
• Use fingers 1-3-5 for root position and 1-2-5 or 1-3-5 for the inversions as a starting point.
• Left hand: play just the bass note (the slash note) while the right hand plays the chord.

Once you can do this in C, F and G, try the I - IV - V - I voice-led pattern in other keys.

Practice

1. Write and play C, F, G, D and Am in root position, first inversion and second inversion.
2. Name these chords with slash symbols: B D G, A C F, F# A D, C E A. (Answers: G/B, F/A, D/F#, Am/C.)
3. Play I - IV - V - I with the voice leading shown above in C, then in G (G B D - G C E - F# A D - G B D).
4. Play the descending bass line C - G/B - Am - Am/G - F on guitar or piano, then invent your own with stepwise bass.
5. Spell G7 in all four positions and label each with its figured-bass number.

Further study and tools:

• See any chord and its notes in the chord builder; identify slash chords with the chord identifier.
• Practise smooth changes with the progression player.
• Guitarists: guitar arpeggios. Bassists: bass arpeggios.
• Write your own voicings on grand staff paper or staff and tab paper.
• Related lessons: triads, seventh chords, diatonic harmony, cadences, CAGED system.