Chord Inversions Trainer
Learn what a chord inversion is and the different types of inversion, how to build an inversion for every chord type this app has taught so far — including the augmented 7th (7♯5) chord, the major 7th♭5 (maj7♭5) chord, the 5-note major 7th♯11 (maj7♯11) chord, the add9 chord, the sus2 and sus4 chords, the dominant 7sus4 chord, the 5-note 6/9 chord, and the ten Dominant Extensions & Alterations chords — dominant 9th, 11th, and 13th, and the altered dominants 7♭9, 7♯9, 7♭5, 7♯11, 7♭13, 9♯11, and the "alt" dominant, up to the 7-note dominant 13th chord — and put it all to work with two chord-progression exercises — 5 jazz progressions and 5 gospel progressions — where you choose the inversion and play it in any key or all 12 keys.
What is an inversion?
Every chord you've met so far in this app has been played in root position — root on the bottom, then the rest of the chord tones stacked on top in order (3rd, 5th, and for 7th chords, the 7th). An inversion keeps the exact same notes — the same pitch classes, the same chord — but reorders them so a different chord tone sits at the bottom, in the bass. Nothing about which notes belong to the chord changes; only which one is lowest changes.
You build an inversion by taking the note (or notes) currently at the bottom of the chord and moving them up an octave, one at a time, until the tone you want in the bass is the lowest-sounding note. Because the pitch classes are unchanged, an inverted chord is still named after — and still functions as — the very same chord. A C major triad played as E‑G‑C is still a C major chord; it's just wearing a different "shoe" on the bottom.
The types of inversion
A chord has as many inversions as it has notes minus one. Every triad (3 notes: major, minor, augmented, diminished) has a root position plus 2 inversions. Every 4-note chord (6th, minor 6th, dominant 7th, diminished 7th, minor 7th, major 7th, half-diminished 7th, augmented 7th, major 7th♭5) has a root position plus 3 inversions. Several chord types have 5 notes — root, 3rd, 5th, 7th (or 6th), and one extension — so they have a root position plus 4 inversions: the major 7th♯11 chord, the 6/9 chord, the dominant 9th chord, and the altered dominants 7♭9, 7♯9, 7♯11, 7♭13, and "alt". Two chord types go further still — the dominant 11th chord and the dominant 9♯11 chord have 6 notes (a root position plus 5 inversions), and the dominant 13th chord has all 7 stock chord tones (root through the 13th), giving it a root position plus 6 inversions — the most of any chord in this app. The "All Chord Types" reference tab below lists every one of them, including the highest inversion each chord type has:
| Inversion | What's in the bass | Triad example (C‑E‑G) | 7th‑chord example (C‑E‑G‑B♭) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | The root | C – E – G | C – E – G – B♭ |
| 1st inversion | The 3rd | E – G – C | E – G – B♭ – C |
| 2nd inversion | The 5th | G – C – E | G – B♭ – C – E |
| 3rd inversion | The 7th (7th chords only — a triad has no 7th to invert to) | — | B♭ – C – E – G |
In written music, an inverted chord is often shown as a slash chord — the chord name, a slash, then the bass note. C/E means "a C major chord with E in the bass" (1st inversion); C/G means "a C major chord with G in the bass" (2nd inversion); Cmaj7/B means "a C major 7th chord with B — its 7th — in the bass" (3rd inversion).
Try it: pick a chord type, root, and inversion
| Chord tone | Note (bottom → top) | MIDI # |
|---|
This quick picker tops out at the 3rd inversion. The major 7th♯11 chord has one more (a 4th) — see every inversion of every chord type, including that one, in Exercise 1 below.
Building inversions for every chord type explored so far
Because every chord in this app is built from the same idea — a stack of intervals counted in semitones from a root — the exact same 3-step recipe builds an inversion for any of them: (1) start from root position, (2) move the bottom note (or notes) up an octave, (3) the note that's now lowest names the inversion. Here's how that recipe applies to every chord type taught so far:
| Chord type | Semitone pattern | Root position (from C) | 1st inversion | 2nd inversion | 3rd inversion |
|---|
This is a quick-reference and ear-training exercise: pick any root note, then click ▶ on any row to hear and see that exact chord type and inversion, for every chord type this app teaches.
Every chord type, every inversion
| Chord type | Inversion | Notes (bottom → top) |
|---|
Five jazz chord progressions, built from the chord types this app teaches. Pick a progression, pick which inversion to play every chord in, and play it in one key or cycle through all 12. Chords that don't have that many inversions (a triad asked for a 3rd inversion, for example) automatically use their highest available inversion instead.
Progression in C
| Degree | Chord | Inversion | Notes |
|---|
Five gospel chord progressions, built the same way. Pick a progression, pick which inversion to play every chord in, and play it in one key or cycle through all 12.
Progression in C
| Degree | Chord | Inversion | Notes |
|---|