Root position

F major chord

Root position (F) Play

First inversion (A⁶) Play

Second inversion (C⁶
₄) Play

Third inversion of F7 chord (E^♭⁴
₂) Play

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The root position of a chord is the voicing of a triad, seventh chord, or ninth chord in which the root of the chord is the bass note and the other chord factors are above it. In the root position, uninverted, of a C-major triad, the bass is C — the root of the triad — with the third and the fifth stacked above it, forming the intervals of a third and a fifth above the root of C, respectively.

${ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/4) \time 4/4 \relative c' { \once \override NoteHead.color = #blue <c e g>1^\markup { \column { "Root" "position" } } <e g c>1^\markup { \column { "First" "inversion" } } <g c e>1^\markup { \column { "Second" "inversion" } } } }$

In the root position of G-dominant seventh chord, the bass note is G, the root of the seventh chord.

${ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/4) \time 4/4 \relative c' { \once \override NoteHead.color = #blue <g b d f>1^\markup { \column { "Root" "position" } } <b d f g>1^\markup { \column { "First" "inversion" } } <d f g b>1^\markup { \column { "Second" "inversion" } } <f g b d>1^\markup { \column { "Third" "inversion" } } } }$

In figured bass, a root-position triad has no symbol, while a root-position seventh chord is notated with a "7".

According to The American History and Encyclopedia of Music:

Inversions are not restricted to the same number of tones as the original chord, nor to any fixed order of tones except with regard to the interval between the root, or its octave, and the bass note, hence, great variety results.^[1]

Note that any voicing above the bass is allowed. A root position, or uninverted, chord must have the root chord factor in the bass, but it may have any arrangement of the third and fifth above that, including doubled notes, compound intervals, and omission (E-G-C, E-G-C-G', E-C'-G'', etc.)

References

^ Hubbard, William Lines (1908). The American History and Encyclopedia of Music, Vol. 10: Musical Dictionary, p.103. Irving Squire: London. [ISBN unspecified]. Also at the HathiTrust Digital Library

Chords

By form

Triad	Major Minor Augmented Diminished Suspended
Seventh	Leading-tone Major Minor Dominant Dominant seventh flat five Diminished Half-diminished Diminished major Minor-major Augmented major Augmented minor Altered seventh Nondominant Harmonic seventh
Extended	Ninth Eleventh Thirteenth Upper structure Dominant 7♯9 Polychord Tone cluster
Added / omitted	Sixth Augmented sixth Lydian Seven six
Specific	Alpha Bridge Complexe sonore Dream Elektra Farben Grandmother Magic Mystic Northern lights Petrushka Psalms So What Tristan Viennese trichord
General	Mixed interval Secundal Tertian Quartal Synthetic chord Tetrad

By function

Diatonic	Tonic Supertonic Mediant Subdominant Dominant Submediant Leading-tone / Subtonic
Altered	Approach Borrowed Chromatic mediant Neapolitan Passing
Secondary	Secondary dominant Secondary leading-tone Secondary supertonic
Other	Common Contrast Primary triad Subsidiary Substitute

Techniques

Other

v t e Voicing in music
Blind octave Block chord Close and open harmony Common tone Doubling Root position and Inversion (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and higher inversions) Octave Voice Voice leading

This page was last edited on 26 February 2022, at 02:22

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See also

References