1

Triad inversions

When the root of a triad is the lowest pitch, the chord is said to be in root position. If any other tone of the triad is the lowest, the chord is in an inversion. Chords in inversion sound less stable than those in root position. Inversions are used to create interesting bass lines or simply to provide harmonic variety in the music. Following are several triads that are written and spaced in various ways. Which of them are in root position, and which are in inversion? It is helpful to rewrite each chord in close root position (all three notes on adjacent lines or adjacent spaces) in order to determine which note of the chord is its root.

We refer to a triad's position as follows:

Root position The root is the lowest pitch. 1st inversion The 3rd is the lowest pitch. 2nd inversion The 5th is the lowest pitch.

Notice that there is no specific arrangement of the pitches above the lowest-sounding note. It is only the lowest-sounding pitch that determines the position of the chord. Also, the first chord of each example is considered in close position (all three notes lie within an octave); the second chord of each example is in open position (the three notes are spread more than one octave).