Inversion (Music) - Wikipedia

Inversion (music) - Wikipedia
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inversion_(music)
Inversion (music)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings.

There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted
intervals, and (in counterpoint) inverted voices. The
concept of inversion also plays a role in musical set theory.
Contents
1 Intervals
2 Chords
2.1 Root position
2.2 Inversions
2.3 Notating root position and inversions
2.3.1 Figured bass
2.3.2 Popular-music notation
2.3.3 Lower-case letters
2.3.4 Hindu-Arabic numerals
2.4 Cadential six-four chord (or Appoggiatura
six-four chord)
3 Counterpoint
4 Melodies
5 Inversional equivalency
6 Musical set theory
7 Pitch axis
8 History
9 See also
10 References
Inversion example from Bach's The

Well-Tempered Clavier[1] Play top
Play bottom . The melody on the
first line starts on A, while the melody
on the second line is identical except
that it starts on E and when the first
melody goes up the second goes down
an equal number of diatonic steps, and
when the first goes down the second
goes up an equal number of steps.
Prime, retrograde, (bottom-left)

inverse, and retrograde-inverse.
Intervals
An interval is inverted by raising or lowering either of the notes using displacement of the octave
(or octaves) so that both retain their names (pitch class). For example, the inversion of an interval
consisting of a C with an E above it 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.
Under inversion, perfect intervals remain perfect, major intervals become minor and vice versa,
augmented intervals become diminished and vice versa. (Double diminished intervals become
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double augmented intervals, and vice versa.) Traditional

interval names add together to make nine: seconds become
sevenths and vice versa, thirds become sixes and vice versa,
and fourths become fifths and vice versa. 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).
Interval quality under inversion
Perfect
Perfect
Major
Minor
Augmented
Diminished
Interval name under inversion
Unison
Octave
Second
Seventh
Third
Sixth
Fourth
Fifth
Interval complementation: P4 + P5 =
P8
Interval inversions
Chords
A chord's inversion describes the relationship of
its bass to the other tones 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 bottom note in the chord.
The term inversion is often used to categorically
refer to the different possibilities, although it may
also be restricted to only those chords where the
bass note is not also the root of the chord (see root
position below). In texts that make this restriction,
the term position may be used instead to refer to
all of the possibilities as a category.
Root position
Figure 1: the closing phrase of the hymn-setting

Rustington by the English composer Hubert
Parry (18481918),[2] showing all three positions
of the C major chord.[3] Play See figured bass
below for a description of the numerical
symbols.
A root-position chord Play is sometimes known as the parent chord of its inversions. For
example, C is the root of a C major triad and is in the bass when the triad is in root position; the 3rd
and the 5th of the triad are sounded above the bass.
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C major, root
position
Play
The following chord is also a C major triad in root position, since the root is still in the bass. 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.
Same,
different
voicing
Play
Inversions
In an inverted chord, the root is not in the bass (i.e., is
not the lowest note). The inversions are numbered in the
order their bass tones would appear in a closed root
position chord (from bottom to top).
In the first inversion of a C major triad Play , the bass
is Ethe 3rd of the triadwith the 5th and the root
stacked above it (the root now shifted an octave higher),
forming the intervals of a minor 3rd and a minor 6th
above the inverted bass of E, respectively.
Root position, first inversion, and second

inversion C major chords Play root
position C major chord , Play first
inversion C major chord , or Play
second inversion C major chord . Chord
roots (all the same) in red.
In the second inversion Play , the bass is Gthe 5th of the triadwith the root and the 3rd above
it (both again shifted an octave higher), forming a 4th and a 6th above the (inverted) bass of G,
respectively. This inversion can be either consonant or dissonant, and analytical notation sometimes
treats it differently depending on the harmonic and voice-leading context in which it occurs (e.g.,
see Cadential six-four chord below). For more details, look at Second inversion
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Third inversions exist only for chords of four or more

tones, such as 7th chords. In a third-inversion chord
Play , the 7th of the chord is in the bass position. For
example, a G7 chord in third inversion consists of F in
the bass position, with G, B and D above it being
intervals of a major 2nd, augmented 4th and perfect 6th
above the (inverted) bass of F, respectively. ( Play 1st
inversion G7 , Play 2nd inversion G7 , Play 3rd
inversion G7 )
Root position, first inversion, and second

inversion chords over C bass Play root
position C major chord , Play first
inversion A minor chord , or Play
second inversion F major chord . Chord
roots in red.
F major chord
First inversion.
Notating root position and inversions

Figured bass
Second inversion.
Figured bass is a notation convention that specifies chord inversion with

Arabic numerals (figures), placed vertically, in descending numerical order)
above the bass note of each chord in performing notation (or below the note
in analytical indications), indicating a harmonic progression. Each numeral
expresses the interval that results from the voices above it (usually
assuming octave equivalence).
Third inversion
F7 chord Play .
For example, in root-position triad C-E-G, the intervals above bass

note C are a 3rd and a 5th, giving the figures 5-3. If this triad were
inverted (e.g., E-G-C), the figures 6-3 would apply, due to the
intervals of third and sixth appearing above bass note E. Figured
bass is similarly applied to 7th chords, which have four tones.
Figure 2: the common chord
positions and their
corresponding figured-bass
notation in abbreviated form
Certain arbitrary conventions of abbreviation (and sometimes

non-abbreviation) exist in the use of figured bass. In chords whose
bass notes appear without symbols, 5-3 position is understood by
default. First-inversion triads (6-3) are customarily abbreviated as 6,
i.e., presence of the 3rd is understood. Second-inversion triads (6-4)
are not abbreviated. Root-position seventh-chords, i.e., 7-5-3, are abbreviated as 7. First inversion
seventh-chords 6-5-3, are abbreviated as 6-5. Second inversion seventh-chords 6-4-3, are
abbreviated as 4-3. Third inversion seventh-chords 6-4-2 are abbreviated as either 4-2 or simply 2.
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Figured-bass numerals express distinct intervals in a chord only as they relate to the bass voice.
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, figured bass is unconcerned with the interval relationship E-G). They do not express tones 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
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for the terms given above such as "4 chord"; 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] For example, the C chord above, in first
inversion (i.e., with E in the bass) may 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
an F9 chord (GFAC). (This is quite different from analytical notations of function; e.g., the use
of IV/V or S/D to represent 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, the C major chord below 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.
Hindu-Arabic numerals
See Tfd
A less common notation is to place the number "1", "2" or "3" (and so on) after a chord to indicate
that it is in first, second, or third inversion respectively. The C chord above in root position is
notated as "C", and in first inversion as "C1". (This notation can be ambiguous because it clashes
with the Hindu-Arabic numerals placed after note names to indicate the octave of a tone, typically
used in acoustical contexts; for example, "C4" is often used to mean the single tone middle C, and
"C3" the tone an octave below it.)
Cadential six-four chord (or Appoggiatura six-four chord)

6
The cadential 4 (Figure 3) is a common harmonic device Play that can be analyzed in two
contrasting ways: the first labels it as a second-inversion chord; the second treats it instead as part
of a horizontal progression involving voice leading above a stationary bass.
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1. In the first designation, the cadential 4 chord features the

6
progression: I4, V, I. Most older harmony textbooks use this label,

and it can be traced back to the early 19th century.[7]
2. In the second designation, this chord is not considered an inversion
of a tonic triad[8] but as a dissonance resolving to a consonant
6-5
dominant harmony.[9] This is notated as V4-3, I, in which the 4 is not

5
the inversion of the V chord, but a dissonance that resolves to V3

6
(that is, V4, V). This function is very similar to the resolution of a
43 suspension. Several modern textbooks prefer this conception of
Figure 3: a cadential 4
progression[6] Play
the cadential 4, which can also be traced back to the early 19th
century.[10]
Counterpoint
Contrapuntal inversion requires that two melodies, having accompanied each other once, do it
again with the melody that had been in the high voice now in the low, and vice versa. Also called
"double counterpoint" (if two voices are involved) or "triple counterpoint" (if three), themes that
can be developed in this way are said to involve themselves in "invertible counterpoint." The action
of changing the voices is called "textural inversion". The inversion in two-part invertible
counterpoint is also known as "rivolgimento."[11]
Invertible counterpoint can occur at various intervals, usually the octave (8va), less often at the
10th or 12th. 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 6th, and motive
B in the low voice moves up a 5th, in such a way as to result in A and B having exchanged
registers, then the two are in double counterpoint at the 10th ((6+5)1 = 10).
Invertible counterpoint achieves its highest expression in the four canons of J.S. Bach's Art of
Fugue , with the first canon at the octave, the second canon at the 10th, the third canon at the 12th,
and the fourth canon in augmentation and contrary motion. Other exemplars can be found in the
fugues in G minor (http://www2.nau.edu/tas3/wtc/ii16.html#movie) and B-flat major
(http://www2.nau.edu/tas3/wtc/ii21.html#movie) [external Shockwave movies] from Book II of
Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, both of which contain invertible counterpoint at the octave, 10th,
and 12th.
Melodies
When applied to melodies, the inversion of a given melody is the melody turned upside-down. For
instance, if the original melody has a rising major third, the inverted melody has a falling major
third (or perhaps more likely, in tonal music, a falling minor third, or even some other falling
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interval). See m. 24 of Bach's C#m fugue

(http://www2.nau.edu/tas3/wtc/ii04.html#movie)
[external Shockwave movie], Well-Tempered Clavier
2, for an example of the subject in its melodic
inversion.
Similarly, in twelve-tone technique, the inversion of
the tone row is the so-called prime series turned
upside-down, and is designated TnI.
Figure 4: Inversion of the melody in

Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by
Paganini
Given a certain prime set, with general element pi,j; under the inversion operation,
pi,jI(pi, 12 - j); that is, each element of the prime set is mapped into an element with
identical order number but with set number the complement (mod.12) [sic] of the
original set number.
Babbitt 1992, 16[12]
each element p of [a given set] P is associated with one and only one inverse element s
equals p' in [the universal set] S.
Forte 1964, 144[13]
For each u and v in S (v may possibly equal u), we shall define an operation Iv/u, which
we shall call 'u/v inversion.'...
...[W]e conceive any sample s and its inversion I(s) [...] as balanced about the given u
and v in a certain intervallic proportion. I(s) bears to v an intervallic relationship which
is the inverse of the relation that s bears to u.
Lewin 1987, 50[14]
Inversional equivalency
Inversional equivalency or inversional symmetry is the concept that intervals, chords, and other
sets of pitches are the same when inverted. It is similar to enharmonic equivalency and 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.
All sets of pitches with inversional symmetry have a center or axis of inversion. For example, the
set CEFFGB has one center at the dyad F and F and another at the tritone, B/C, if listed
FGBCEF. For CEEFGB the center is F and B if listed FGBCEE.[15]
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Musical set theory

See Tfd
In musical set theory inversion may be usefully thought of as the compound

operation transpositional inversion, which is the same sense of inversion as in
the Inverted melodies section above, with transposition carried out after
inversion. Pitch inversion by an ordered pitch interval may be defined as:
which equals
First invert the pitch or pitches, x = x, then transpose, x + n.

Pitch class inversion by a pitch class interval may be defined as:
Pitch class
inversion
Inversion about a pitch axis is a compound operation much like set theory's transpositional
inversion, however in pitch axis inversion the transposition may be chromatic or diatonic
transposition.
Pitch axis
In jazz theory, a pitch axis is the center about
which a melody is inverted.[16]
The "pitch axis" works in the context of the
compound operation transpositional
inversion, where transposition is carried out
after inversion, however unlike musical set
theory the transposition may be 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.
Pitch axis inversions of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

about C and A Play .
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.
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History
In the theories of Rameau (1722), chords in different positions were considered functionally
equivalent. However, theories of counterpoint before Rameau spoke of different intervals in
different ways, such as the regola delle terze e seste ("rule of sixths and thirds"), which required the
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resolution of imperfect consonances to perfect ones, and would not propose a similarity between 4
5
and 3 sonorities, for instance.
See also
Voicing (music)
Pitch axis theory
Retrograde inversion
References
1. Schuijer (2008), p.66.
2. Adapted from Measures 1416, Parry H (1897) "Rustington". In: The Australian hymn book: harmony
edition, 1977, p. 492.
3. The root-position triad at the end has no 5th 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. Adapted from Piston W (1962) Harmony, 3rd ed., NY, Norton, p. 96.
7. Weber, Theory of musical composition, p. 350, quoted in Beach, D (1967) "The functions of the six-four
chord in tonal music", Journal of Music Theory, 11(1), p. 8
8. Aldwell, Edward; Schachter, Carl (1989), Harmony and Voice Leading (2nd ed.), San Diego, Toronto:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, p. 263, ISBN 0-15-531519-6, OCLC 19029983, "The chord does not act as
an inversion of I 5/3; it serves neither to extend it nor to substitute for it." LCC MT50 A444 1989
(https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/search?searchCode=CALL%2B&searchArg=MT50+A444+1989&
searchType=1&recCount=25).
9. Forte, Allen (1974), Tonal Harmony in Concept and Practice (2nd ed.), NY: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, p. 68, ISBN 0-03-077495-0.
10. Arnold, F.T. The art of accompaniment from a thorough-bass, Vol. 1, p. 314. ISBN 0-486-43188-6.
quoted in Beach, David (1967). "The functions of the six-four chord in tonal music", p.7, Journal of
Music Theory, 11(1).
11. "Rivolgimento". In L. Root, Deane. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University
Press. (subscription required)
12. Schuijer, Michiel (2008). Analyzing Atonal Music, p.67. ISBN 978-1-58046-270-9.
13. Schuijer (2008), p.69.
14. Schuijer (2008), p.72.
15. Wilson, Paul (1992), The Music of Bla Bartk, pp. 1011, ISBN 0-300-05111-5.
16. Pease, Ted (2003). Jazz Composition: Theory and Practice, p.152. ISBN 0-87639-001-7.
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Inversion (music) - Wikipedia

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings.

Inversion example from Bach's The

Prime, retrograde, (bottom-left)