Chord Theory: An Introduction

Description

Another powerful concept starts with the idea that you don't always have to play a chord with the root note on the bottom, as the lowest note or voice. When you first learn to play you are limited by only knowing how to play a chord in certain specific locations on the fretboard. By applying the concept of chord inversions you can learn every possible place to play any given chord all over the fretboard. The specific way you play any chord, which specific notes pitchwise low to high is referred to as how a chord is voiced. Each individual note of the chord is a single voice, and the total grouping of them is the chord voicing.

There are an enormous number of ways to voice any given chord. On the guitar it's only limited by the number of strings, the practical limitations of fingerings and your creativity. But there are 3 fundamental units of chord voicings to learn: root position, first inversion, second inversion. The important distinction here is the lowest note of the voicing.

If we play a chord with the root note (scale degree 1) as the lowest note, then we are playing a root position voicing. We'll start by playing root position voicings as simple 3 note triad shapes we can move around. But any combination of 1-3-5 chord tones is still a root position chord as long as the root is the lowest note of the group.

If we play a chord with the major 3rd as the lowest note, then we are playing a 1st inversion voicing. Again I'm only showing you the simple 3 note triad shape of a 1st inversion that can be moved around. But any combination of 3-5-1 chord tones is still a 1st inversion chord as long as the 3rd is the lowest note of the group.

If we play a chord with the 5th as the lowest note, then we are playing a 2nd inversion voicing. Again I'm only showing you the simple 3 note triad shape of a 1st inversion that can be moved around. But any combination of 5-1-3 chord tones is still a 2nd inversion chord as long as the 5th is the lowest note of the group.

If we keep cycling around the pattern we wind up back a root position chord voicing again, except now the entire chord is an octave higher than the original voicing. Once you get a handle on how these small triad units work you can cover the fretboard with C major chord voicings!

A chord inversion is a chord in which the lowest note is not the root note. 1st inversion chords have the 3rd of the chord as the lowest note, 2nd inversion chords have the 5th as the lowest note. There is even a 3rd inversion chord voicings in which the 7th of the chord (which of course must be a seventh chord of some kind) is the lowest note.