Info Catalog music-glossary: interval music-glossary: Musical terms A-Z music-glossary: inverted interval

music-glossary: inversion

 
 1.160 inversion
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 ES: inversión, I: rivolto, F: renversement, D: Umkehrung, NL: ?, DK: ?,
 S: ?, FI: käännös.
 
    When a chord sounds with a bass note that differs from the root of
 the chord, it is said to be _inverted_.  The number of inversions that a
 chord can have is one fewer than the number of constituent notes.  For
 example, triads (which have three constituent notes) can have three
 positions, two of which are inversions:
 
 “Root position”
      The root note is in the bass, and above that are the third and the
      fifth.  A triad built on the first scale degree, for example, is
      marked I.
 
 “First inversion”
      The third is in the bass, and above it are the fifth and the root.
      This creates an interval of a sixth and a third above the bass
      note, and so is marked in figured Roman notation as 6/3.  This is
      commonly abbreviated to I6 (or Ib) since the sixth is the
      characteristic interval of the inversion, and so always implies
      6/3.
 
 “Second inversion”
      The fifth is in the bass, and above it are the root and the third.
      This creates an interval of a sixth and a fourth above the bass
      note, and so is marked as I6/4 or Ic.  Second inversion is the most
      unstable chord position.
 
 
 See also
 ........
 
    No cross-references.
 

Info Catalog music-glossary: interval music-glossary: Musical terms A-Z music-glossary: inverted interval