Inversion (music)

0:03 / 0:03

An example of melodic inversion from the fugue in D

minor from J.S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier,
Book 1.[1] Though they start on different pitches (A
and E), the second highlighted melody is the upside-
down version of the first highlighted melody. That is,
when the first goes up, the second goes down the
same number of diatonic steps (with some chromatic
alteration); and when the first goes down, the second
goes up the same number of steps.
In music theory, the word inversion has
distinct, but related, meanings when
applied to intervals, chords, voices (in
counterpoint), and melodies. The concept
of inversion also plays an important role in
musical set theory.

Intervals
An interval is inverted by raising or
lowering either of the notes by one or more
octaves so that the positions of the notes
reverse (i.e. the higher note becomes the
lower note and vice versa). For example,
the inversion of an interval consisting of a
C with an E above it (the third measure
below) is an E with a C above it – to work
this out, the C may be moved up, the E may
be lowered, or both may be moved.

Interval number
under inversion

Unison ↔ Octave

Second ↔ Seventh

Third ↔ Sixth

Fourth ↔ Fifth

Interval quality
under inversion

Perfect ↔ Perfect

Major ↔ Minor

Augmented ↔ Diminished
The tables to the right show the changes
in interval quality and interval number
under inversion. Thus, perfect intervals
remain perfect, major intervals become
minor and vice versa, and augmented
intervals become diminished and vice
versa. (Double diminished intervals
become double augmented intervals, and
vice versa.).

Traditional interval numbers add up to

nine: seconds become sevenths and vice
versa, thirds become sixths and vice versa,
and so on. Thus, a perfect fourth becomes
a perfect fifth, an augmented fourth
becomes a diminished fifth, and a simple
interval (that is, one that is narrower than
an octave) and its inversion, when added
together, equal an octave. See also
complement (music).

Chords

The closing phrase of the hymn-setting Rustington by

the English composer Hubert Parry,[2] showing all
three positions of the C-major chord.[3] See figured
bass below for a description of the numerical
symbols.
A chord's inversion describes the
relationship of its lowest notes to the other
notes in the chord. For instance, a C-major
triad contains the tones C, E and G; its
inversion is determined by which of these
tones is the lowest note (or bass note) in
the chord.

The term inversion often categorically

refers to the different possibilities, though
it may also be restricted to only those
chords where the lowest note is not also
the root of the chord. Texts that follow this
restriction may use the term position
instead, to refer to all of the possibilities
as a category.

Root position and inverted

chords

A chord is in root position if its root is the

lowest note. This is sometimes known as
the parent chord of its inversions. For
example, the root of a C-major triad is C,
so a C-major triad will be in root position if
C is the lowest note and its third and fifth
(E and G, respectively) are above it – or, on
occasion, don't sound at all.
The following C-major triads are both in
root position, since the lowest note is the
root. The rearrangement of the notes
above the bass into different octaves
(here, the note E) and the doubling of
notes (here, G), is known as voicing – the
first voicing is close voicing, while the
second is open.

In an inverted chord, the root is not the

lowest note. The inversions are numbered
in the order their lowest notes appear in a
close root-position chord (from bottom to
top).
As shown above, a C-major triad (or any
chord with three notes) has two
inversions:

1. In the first inversion, the lowest note is E

– the third of the triad – with the fifth and
the root stacked above it (the root now
shifted an octave higher), forming the
intervals of a minor third and a minor sixth
above the inverted bass of E, respectively.
2. In the second inversion, the lowest note
is G – the fifth of the triad – with the root
and the third above it (both again shifted
an octave higher), forming a fourth and a
sixth above the (inverted) bass of G,
respectively.

Chords with four notes (such as seventh

chords) work in a similar way, except that
they have three inversions, instead of just
two. The three inversions of a G dominant
seventh chord are:

Notating root position and

inversions

Figured bass
Common Conventional Symbols for Figured Bass
Triads

Intervals
Inversion Symbol Example
above bass
5
Root position 3
None

6 6
1st inversion 3

6 6
2nd inversion 4 4

Seventh chords

Intervals
Inversion Symbol Example
above bass
7
Root position 5 7
3 
6
6
1st inversion 5
3  5
6
4
2nd inversion 4
3  3
6
4
3rd inversion 4
2  2 or 2

Figured bass is a notation in which chord

inversions are indicated by Arabic
numerals (the figures) either above or
below the bass notes, indicating a
harmonic progression. Each numeral
expresses the interval that results from the
voices above it (usually assuming octave
equivalence). For example, in root-position
triad C–E–G, the intervals above bass note
5
C are a third and a fifth, giving the figures 3
. If this triad were in first inversion (e.g., E–
6
G–C), the figure would apply, due to the
3
intervals of a third and a sixth appearing
above the bass note E.

Certain conventional abbreviations exist in

the use of figured bass. For instance, root-
position triads appear without symbols
5
(the is understood), and first-inversion
3
triads are customarily abbreviated as just
6, 6
rather than 3. The table to the right
displays these conventions.
Figured-bass numerals express distinct
intervals in a chord only as they relate to
the bass note. They make no reference to
the key of the progression (unlike Roman-
numeral harmonic analysis), they do not
express intervals between pairs of upper
voices themselves – for example, in a C–
E–G triad, the figured bass does not
signify the interval relationship between
E–G, they do not express notes in upper
voices that double, or are unison with, the
bass note.

However, the figures are often used on

their own (without the bass) in music
theory simply to specify a chord's
inversion. This is the basis for the terms
6
given above such as "4 chord" for a second
inversion triad. Similarly, in harmonic
analysis the term I6 refers to a tonic triad
in first inversion.

Popular-music notation

A notation for chord inversion often used

in popular music is to write the name of a
chord followed by a forward slash and
then the name of the bass note.[4] This is
called a slash chord. For example, a C-
major chord in first inversion (i.e., with E in
the bass) would be notated as "C/E". This
notation works even when a note not
present in a triad is the bass; for example,
F/G is a way of notating a particular
approach to voicing a Fsus9 chord (G–F–
A–C). This is quite different from
analytical notations of function; e.g., the
notation "IV/V" represents the
subdominant of the dominant.

Lower-case letters

Lower-case letters may be placed after a

chord symbol to indicate root position or
inversion.[5] Hence, in the key of C major, a
C-major chord in first inversion may be
notated as Ib, indicating chord I, first
inversion. (Less commonly, the root of the
chord is named, followed by a lower-case
letter: Cb). If no letter is added, the chord
is assumed in root inversion, as though a
had been inserted.

History

In Jean-Philippe Rameau's theory, chords

in different inversions are considered
functionally equivalent. However, theorists
before Rameau spoke of different intervals
in different ways, such as the regola delle
terze e seste ("rule of sixths and thirds"),
which requires the resolution of imperfect
consonances to perfect ones and would
 6 5
not propose a similarity between and 4 3
sonorities, for instance.

Counterpoint

An example of contrapuntal inversion in one measure

of J.S. Bach's Invention No. 13 in A minor, BWV 784.

In contrapuntal inversion, two melodies,

having previously accompanied each other
once, accompany each other again but
with the melody that had been in the high
voice now in the low, and vice versa. The
action of changing the voices is called
textural inversion. This is called double
counterpoint when two voices are involved
and triple counterpoint when three are
involved. The inversion in two-part
invertible counterpoint is also known as
rivolgimento.[6]

Invertible counterpoint

Themes that can be developed in this way

without violating the rules of counterpoint
are said to be in invertible counterpoint.
Invertible counterpoint can occur at
various intervals, usually the octave, less
often at the tenth or twelfth. To calculate
the interval of inversion, add the intervals
by which each voice has moved and
subtract one. For example: If motive A in
the high voice moves down a sixth, and
motive B in the low voice moves up a fifth,
in such a way as to result in A and B
having exchanged registers, then the two
are in double counterpoint at the tenth
(6 + 5 – 1 = 10).

In J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue, the first

canon is at the octave, the second canon
at the tenth, the third canon at the twelfth,
and the fourth canon in augmentation and
contrary motion. Other exemplars can be
found in the fugues in G minor and B♭
major [external Shockwave movies] from
J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier,
Book 2, both of which contain invertible
counterpoint at the octave, tenth, and
twelfth.

Examples

For example, in the keyboard prelude in A♭

major from J.S. Bach’s The Well-Tempered
Clavier, Book 1, the following passage,
from bars 9–18, involves two lines, one in
each hand:
Bach's prelude in A♭ from WTC1 bars 9–18

Bach's Prelude in A♭ from WTC1 bars 9–18

When this passage returns in bars 26–35

these lines are exchanged:
Bach's Prelude in A♭ from WTC1 bars 25–36

Bach's Prelude in A♭ from WTC1 bars 25–35

J.S. Bach’s Three-Part Invention in F minor,

BWV 795 involves exploring the
combination of three themes. Two of
these are announced in the opening two
bars. A third idea joins them in bars 2–4.
When this passage is repeated a few bars
later in bars 7–9, the three parts are
interchanged:

Bach's three-part Invention (Sinfonia) in F minor

BWV 795, bars 1–9
Bach's three-part Invention (Sinfonia) BWV 795, bars
1–9

The piece goes on to explore four of the

six possible permutations of how these
three lines can be combined in
counterpoint.

One of the most spectacular examples of

invertible counterpoint occurs in the finale
of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. Here, no
less than five themes are heard together:

Mozart Symphony No. 41 Finale, bars 389–396

Mozart Symphony No. 41 Finale, bars 389–396

The whole passage brings the symphony

to a conclusion in a blaze of brilliant
orchestral writing. According to Tom
Service:
Mozart’s composition of the
finale of the Jupiter Symphony is
a palimpsest on music history as
well as his own. As a musical
achievement, its most obvious
predecessor is really the fugal
finale of his G major String
Quartet K. 387, but this
symphonic finale trumps even
that piece in its scale and
ambition. If the story of that
operatic tune first movement is
to turn instinctive emotion into
contrapuntal experience, the
 finale does exactly the reverse,
transmuting the most complex
arts of compositional craft into
pure, exhilarating feeling. Its
models in Michael and Joseph
Haydn are unquestionable, but
Mozart simultaneously pays
homage to them – and
transcends them. Now that’s
what I call real originality.[7]

Melodies
Two lines from the fugue in G major from J.S. Bach's
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. The lowest voice
in mm. 28–30 is an inversion of the opening melody in
mm. 1–3:

A melody is inverted by flipping it "upside-

down", reversing the melody's contour. For
instance, if the original melody has a rising
major third, then the inverted melody has a
falling major third (or, especially in tonal
music, perhaps a falling minor third).
According to The Harvard Dictionary of
Music, "The intervals between successive
pitches may remain exact or, more often in
total music, they may be the equivalents in
the diatonic scale. Hence c'–d–e' may
become c'–b–a (where the first descent is
by a semitone rather than by a whole tone)
instead of c'–b♭–a♭."[8] Moreover, the
inversion may start on the same pitch as
the original melody, but it doesn't have to,
as illustrated by the example to the right.

Twelve-tone music

In twelve-tone technique, the inversion of a

tone row is one of its four traditional
permutations (the others being the prime
form, the retrograde, and the retrograde
inversion). These four permutations
(labeled Prime, Retrograde, Inversion, and
Retrograde Inversion) for the tone row
used in Arnold Schoenberg's Variations for
Orchestra, Op. 31 are shown below.

In set theory, the inverse operation is

sometimes designated as , where
means "invert" and means "transpose
by some interval " measured in number
of semitones. Thus, inversion is a
combination of an inversion followed by a
transposition. To apply the inversion
operation , you subtract the pitch class, in
integer notation, from 12 (by convention,
inversion is around pitch class 0). Then we
apply the transposition operation by
adding . For example, to calculate
, first subtract 3 from 12 (giving 9)
and then add 5 (giving 14, which is
equivalent to 2). Thus, .[9] To
invert a set of pitches, simply invert each
pitch in the set in turn.[10]

Inversional equivalency and

symmetry
Set theory
In set theory, inversional equivalency is the
concept that intervals, chords, and other
sets of pitches are the same when
inverted. It is similar to enharmonic
equivalency, octave equivalency and even
transpositional equivalency. Inversional
equivalency is used little in tonal theory,
though it is assumed that sets that can be
inverted into each other are remotely in
common. However, they are only assumed
identical or nearly identical in musical set
theory.

Sets are said to be inversionally

symmetrical if they map onto themselves
under inversion. The pitch that the sets
must be inverted around is said to be the
axis of symmetry (or center). An axis may
either be at a specific pitch or halfway
between two pitches (assuming that
microtones are not used). For example, the
set C–E♭–E–F♯–G–B♭ has an axis at F, and
an axis, a tritone away, at B if the set is
listed as F♯–G–B♭–C–E♭–E. As another
example, the set C–E–F–F♯–G–B has an
axis at the dyad F/F♯ and an axis at B/C if
it is listed as F♯–G–B–C–E–F.[11]

Jazz theory
Pitch axis inversions of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

about C and A.

In jazz theory, a pitch axis is the center

around which a melody is inverted.[12]

The "pitch axis" works in the context of the

compound operation transpositional
inversion, where transposition is carried
out after inversion. However, unlike in set
theory, the transposition may be a
chromatic or diatonic transposition. Thus,
if D-A-G (P5 up, M2 down) is inverted to D-
G-A (P5 down, M2 up) the "pitch axis" is D.
However, if it is inverted to C-F-G the pitch
axis is G while if the pitch axis is A, the
melody inverts to E-A-B.

Note that the notation of octave position

may determine how many lines and
spaces appear to share the axis. The pitch
axis of D-A-G and its inversion A-D-E either
appear to be between C/B♮ or the single
pitch F.

See also
 Voicing (music)
Pitch axis theory
Retrograde inversion

References
1. Schuijer (2008), p.66.
2. Adapted from Measures 14–16, Parry H
(1897) "Rustington". In: The Australian
hymn book: harmony edition, 1977, p. 492.
3. The root-position triad at the end has no
fifth above the root. This is common at
cadences as a consequence of the voice
leading.).
4. Wyatt, Keith; Schroeder, Carl (1998).
Harmony and Theory: A Comprehensive
Source for All Musicians. Hal Leonard
Corporation. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7935-7991-
4.
5. Lovelock, William (1981), The Rudiments
of Music, London: Bell & Hyman, p. ?,
ISBN 0-7135-0744-6.
6. Deane L. Root (ed.). "Rivolgimento".
Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.
Oxford University Press. (subscription
required)

7. Service, Tom. (2014) Symphony Guide:

Mozart’s 41st (‘Jupiter’) Guardian, 27 May.
8. Randel, Don Michael, ed. (2003). The
Harvard Dictionary of Music (fourth ed.).
Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press. p. 418.
ISBN 0674011635. OCLC 52623743 .
9. Straus, Joseph N. (1990). Introduction to
Post-Tonal Theory . Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice Hall. pp. 34–35.
ISBN 0136866921. OCLC 20012239 .
10. Straus, p. 36.
11. Wilson, Paul (1992), The Music of Béla
Bartók, pp. 10–11, ISBN 0-300-05111-5
12. Pease, Ted (2003). Jazz Composition:
Theory and Practice, p.152. ISBN 0-87639-
001-7.
External links
Chord Inversions and Exercises for Jazz
Guitar

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