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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.
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1st
inversion
The 3rd is the
lowest pitch.
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2nd
inversion
The 5th is the
lowest pitch.
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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).
  
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