Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions
An inversion is when a chord tone other than the root is
played in the bass. For example, the notes that make a
C major chord are:
Root: C
3rd: E
5th: G
A typical C chord on the guitar looks like this:
If we also played the “g” on the 6th string,
we’d have a chord that looked like this:
There are 3 types of inversions:
1st Inversion// ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note.
2nd Inversion// ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note.
3rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note.
This is an inversion.
Inversions are also called “slash” chords.
First Inversion // ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note
6th String Bass; Major
6th String Bass; Minor
6th String Bass; Dom7 (7)
A
F
Co ew
mm Go
o
Fir on d S
st
Inv Mov hap
ers ea es:
ion ble
s
5th String Bass; Major
6th String Bass; Add2
5th String Bass; Minor
Specific
Chords
1
Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions
Common Chords in
First Inversion– Major
Open Position
Moveable
Common Chords in
First Inversion– Minor
Open Position
Variations
C/E
Am/C
G/B
Em/G
D/F#
Bm/D
A/C#
F#m/A
E/G#
C#m/E
B/D#
Gm/Bb
Moveable
F/A
You’ll notice only a couple
variations of the moveable
shapes. For each type of
inversion, it’s good to find
both a 6th string bass voicing
and 5th string bass. This will
allow you to play in different
areas of the neck as needed.
Dm/F
First Inversion // ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note
2
Second Inversion
Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions
There are 3 types of inversions:
1st Inversion// ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note.
2nd Inversion// ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note.
3rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note.
Second Inversion // ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note
A
F
Co ew
mm Go
od
Se
o
co n
nd Mo Shap
Inv ve
es
a
ers bl :
ion e
s
6th String Bass; Major
6th String Bass; Minor
6th String Bass; Dom7 (7)
5th String Bass; Major
6th String Bass; Add2
5th String Bass; Minor
Specific
Chords
3
Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions
Common Chords in
Second Inversion– Major
Open Position
Moveable
Common Chords in
Second Inversion– Minor
Open Position
Variations
C/G
Am/E
G/D
Em/B
D/A
Bm/F#
A/E
F#m/C#
E/B
C#m/G#
B/F#
Gm/D
Moveable
In many
cases, there
just aren’t
good open
voicings for
many inversions.
F/C
Knowledge of the notes
on the neck is helpful to
knowing inversions. To
learn the notes on the
fretboard, see the training:
“Note Location Drills”
Dm/A
Second Inversion // ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note
4
Third Inversion
version
Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions
There are 3 types of inversions:
1st Inversion// ::the 3rd of the chord is the bass note.
2nd Inversion// ::the 5th of the chord is the bass note.
3rd Inversion// ::the 7th of the chord is the bass note.
Third Inversion //
::the 7th of the chord is the bass note
6th String Bass; Major 7
5th String Bass; Major 7
A
Fe
Co w
mm Go
Th
on od S
ird
M h
Inv ov ape
ers ea
s:
b
ion le
s
6th String Bass; Dom 7
5th String Bass; Dom7 (7)
6th String Bass; Minor 7
5th String Bass; Minor 7
A better alternative
5
Minor 7
Specific
Chords
Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions
Common Chords in
Third Inversion– Major 7 & Dom7
Open Position
Moveable
Open Position
C/B
C/Bb
Common Open Chords in
Third Inversion– Minor
Moveable
Open Position
Moveable
Am/G
G/F#
G/F
Em/D
D/C#
D/C
Bm/A
A/G#
A/G
F#m/E
E/D#
E/D
C#m/B
B/A#
B/A
Gm/F
F/E
F/Eb
Dm/C
Again, you’ll notice most of these inversion shapes
are repeated over and over. And over. Part of including all these chords is to show that you can get by
with knowing a few good shapes.
Third Inversion //
6
::the 7th of the chord is the bass note
Examples
Beyond Mel Bay Chords :: Inversions
Examples
These are just a few examples of songs that
have inversions in them. Now that you’re aware of them,
you’ll start to see them all over the place.
Good Reasons to Use an Inversion Voicing:
1. When you are the only accompaniment.
2. When the song arrangement doesn’t sound right without it.
3. When it’s a shape/fingering that you can play well.
4. When the root note will muddy up the inversion bass note. (E.g. low E of an
open E chord can get in the way of an E/G#. If the inversion voicing is too
difficult, simply lay off your bottom two strings and play the part of the
chord on strings 4-1.
Good Reasons NOT to Use an Inversion Voicing:
1. When there is a piano and bass guitar already pounding out that bass
note. Concentrate instead on creating a chord that gets out of the mid
range.
2. It moves by too fast. “In Christ Alone” is a good example of this.
3. The shape is difficult, and attempting to play it will throw you off.
7
One more type
of “slash” chord
Hybrid Chords
(Another "Slash Chord")
Hybrid Chords are another kind of "slash" chord. However, they are not inversions. They are a simpler way to spell
complex chords. D/E, which is a D chord over an E bass note, is easier to communicate than E9sus4.
Below are a two types of hybrids.
V9sus Hybrid
The following hybrid chords form some variation of the V9sus chord. This is the most common hybrid chord. For example,
C/D = D9sus4--the C triad: c-e-g creates a b7, 9, & sus4, respectively, over the D. The Am7/D simply adds the 5th of D (a).
These chords usually resolve to the V7 or directly to the I.
C/D
 




C/D
8fr
Am7/D
These two are movable
chords that can be used
in any key.

G/A
D/E
Bm7/E
A/B
Dm7/G
           










5fr
 

These chords are examples of open V9sus hybrids
3
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
8
9
10
C/D

  

5fr
0
10
1
1
2
0
0
2
2
2
2
2
3
2
4
2
0
2
3
2
0
3
m7, m7(4), m11, m7b5 Hybrid
The minor 7 (m7) chord (R, b3, 5, b7) can also be seen as a major chord triad with its relative minor in the bass. E.g.: C/A (c,e,g,a).
Other variations of the major chord create different minor chord tensions. Below are a few examples. The (m7) spellings are written
over the tab.
C/A
 
 

6

Cm/A
C2/A
5fr



*movable chords
D2/B
4fr
3fr








A2/F#




*open chords
Am7
Am11
Am7b5
Bm7(4)
F#m7(4)
5
5
5
3
5
5
4
5
5
0
3
2
0
2
0
0
2
2
5
5
5
2
