Keep the chord, move the bass
Before you begin: Music foundations: major scales and triads. Use a keyboard or piano roll.
A triad contains three pitch classes. Its inversion describes which chord member is lowest, not which note is most prominent. Root position puts the root in the bass; first inversion puts the third there; second inversion puts the fifth there.
Octave placement can change while chord identity stays the same. Voicing describes how the notes are distributed; inversion describes the bass relationship. A wide voicing is not automatically an inversion.
Worked example & observations
Original G-major comparison: G3–B3–D4 is root position. B2–D3–G3 is first inversion. D3–G3–B3 is second inversion. Play each slowly and then together, keeping the level similar. The note classes G, B and D remain; the lowest note changes.
Your turn
Classify E3–A3–C4, and rewrite it in root position without adding a new pitch class.
Show answer and reasoning
It is A minor in second inversion because E, its fifth, is lowest. A2–C3–E3 is one root-position answer. A different octave is fine if A is the lowest chord member.
Watch for: Naming the chord after its lowest note would turn every inversion into a different chord. Identify the pitch-class set and chord quality first.
Published and planned
Published: this starter lesson, worked example and exercise with an answer.
Planned: Interactive chord construction, extended chords and playable voicing comparisons.
Validation: source review and mathematical checks where applicable. Photography captures, audio listening and device workflows have not been performed for these lessons. Synthetic cases are labelled; no personal media or field observations are implied.
References
Original AUWEN teaching and examples. Sources reviewed 14 September 2026.
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