Last issue we investigated triads. Hopefully you played through all the examples and learned to recognize the 4 basic triad types -- major, minor, diminished, and augmented -- both with your eyes and with your ears.

      All these triads were in root position. That is, the name of the chord was the bottom note, and they were stacked up in 3rds. If you need to review triads in root position, this would be an excellent time to do so. Go to

            http://www.keyboardchords.com/ChordsTheBuildingBlocksOfMusic.htm

      Chords upside down are called "inversions". And that's what we are going to do this issue -- get used to seeing chords upside down and recognizing them. Lots of people recognize the C chord when it is in root position (C on the bottom, E in the middle, and G on top), but when it is turned upside down with E or G on the bottom, they get confused, and aren't sure whether it is a C chord or an E chord or a G chord.

     Let's suppose that your name is Mary. If I pick you up and stand you on your head, will you suddenly become Sue? Of course not. You're still Mary -- "Mary Upside-Down".

     And it's exactly the same way with chords. When you turn a C chord upside down, it is still a C chord no matter which note is on the bottom -- C, G, or E.

When the root is on the bottom of a triad, it is in root position.

When the 3rd is on the bottom of a triad, it is in first inversion.

When the 5th is on the bottom of a triad, it is in second inversion.

     Now on the following Finale Music Viewer, play the examples of chords in root position, first inversion, and second inversion:

If you can't see the score, click here to get the Finale Viewer Plug-In. Produced using Finale.

     Did you notice that when a triad is in root position, the name of the chord is on the bottom? So when you see a stack of 3rds, you automaticly know what chord it is by looking at the bottom note.

     When a triad is in first inversion, the stack is no longer all 3rds, is it? No. We have a 3rd on the bottom and a 4th on the top. Whenever you see a triad with a 3rd on the bottom and a 4th on top, it is a first inversion chord. The name of the chord is always on top. So if you see a triad with a 3rd on the bottom and a 4th on top, how do you know what chord it is?

      Correct. By looking at the top note. The top note is the root -- the name of the chord.

     When a triad is in second inversion, the stack has a 4th on the bottom and a 3rd on top. The root -- the name of the chord -- is always in the middle. So you know what the chord is by looking at the middle note.