How to Invert a Chord

If you're a musician and want to create a little more excitement in your composition, you can use some of the methods of the masters. Chord inversion is one method to bring a composition to life and give it a more interesting quality.

Instructions

1. Find the major notes that are in a chord. In the C chord, for example, the major notes are C, E and G. They're usually referred to as being in root position and are numbered as 1, 3 and 5. You can find any major chord if you know the scale of the key.

2. Change the first note of the chord. If you're working in the C cord, begin the chord with the third position note, or E. Include the fifth position note as the middle note and use the upper register C or first note in the next octave as the final note in the chord. You're basically moving the first note up one octave when you invert a chord.

3. Use the information on the original chord to start a second inversion. Instead of just moving the first position up one octave, move both the first and the third position up. Then, begin the chord on the only remaining note of the octave, which is the fifth position note. For the C chord, the chord would be G, upper register C and upper register E or 5, 1 and 3.

4. Invert a chord only twice, since a third inversion is simply the chord one octave higher and back to normal position.

5. Rearrange or invert any chord to create a change of tonality and mood. The simplicity of inverting a chord makes it a great tool to create compositions or interpret works of others.