Composition 101 – Chord Inversions

Use chord inversions to improve your song's harmonic progression

March 5th, 2011

Today I want to talk about chord inversions and how they can be used to make your compositions sound more elegant and colourful.
All examples in this post will be using simple major and minor chords, but the theory presented here applies to all types of chords.

Chords consist of a number of notes that are played either simultaneously or sequentially (arpeggio).
Major and minor chords are triads of notes. These triads consist of a root note, a third and a fifth. The fifth is a perfect fifth, being exactly 7 semitones higher than the root note and the third can either be 3 (minor third) or 4 (major third) semitones above the root.

E minor consists of E (root), G (minor third) and B (fifth). When you create a chord progression, let’s say Em – Am – F – G, you might be inclined to just shift your fingers to the new chord, so you would play: E,G,B – A,C,E – F,A,C – G,B,D. However, this chord progression would sound rather clumsy, because the cords do neither flow naturally into each other nor are there any variations in the feel of the chords – except the change from major to minor of course.

How can you add more colour to your chord progressions? With chord inversions

E minor consists of the 3 notes E, G and B. Now if we took the E from the bottom and placed it at the top of the chord, above the B, we would still be playing an E minor chord, but with a G in the bass. This chord is usually written as Em/G (“E minor with G in the bass”) and is the first inversion of E minor.
The second inversion is Em/B, consisting of the notes B, E and G. The following picture shows the root position, first and second inversions for the E minor and major chords:

Have a listen to both the E minor and major chords and their inversions:

[audio:examples/27_02_2011_chord_inversion/e_minor_A.mp3|titles=E minor chord inversions (Em - Em/G - Em/B)]

[audio:examples/27_02_2011_chord_inversion/e_major_A.mp3|titles=E major chord inversions (E - E/G# - E/B)]

It might be hard to tell the feel of the chords apart simply because the notes are so obviously being shifted up and each one chord sounds higher than the previous one.

I have created another example, using the exact same chord inversions, but rather than playing just the triad, I am playing the chord in the root position with the right hand and am playing a bass note with the left. For each inversion, I am only changing the bass note. This might make it easier to discern the feel the chords create:

[audio:examples/27_02_2011_chord_inversion/e_minor_B.mp3|titles=E minor chord inversions with bass note]

[audio:examples/27_02_2011_chord_inversion/e_major_B.mp3|titles=E major chord inversions with bass note]

Now while the chords consist of the same notes independent of the inversion, they feel very different. They are all conchords (rather than dischords) so they will sound harmonious, however you will notice that

• The chord in the root position sounds very solid, grounded and stable
• The first inversion adds slight tension and feels less stable
• The second inversion creates alot of tension and wants to resolve to another chord – preferrably a chord in root position.

The second inversion can work well at the end of a verse or bridge for that very reason.

Coming back to our initial chord progression Em – Am – F – G, we can make this progression sound alot more interesting by using chord inversions

By applying clever chord inversions we can
a) make the transitions less clunky by minimising the changes in notes required for each chord change and
b) add colour to the sequence by introducing some tension

One possibly way to play the chord progression would be E,G,B – E,A,C – F,A,C – G,B,D. If you play this sequence, it will sound alot more fluent than the initial, clunky version. Note that the transition from F to G is still a parallel shift of notes, which may or may not be desired.

Again, this is just one possibility. Experiment with how many variations you could come up with for this simple chord sequence and decide for yourself which one you like best!

Finally, I have created two little song fragments to demonstrate the theory of this post in the context of a composition

Both fragments make use of exactly the same chord progression: F – A – C – G – F – A – G – G (repeated). However, one of them does not make use of chord inversions, whereas the other one does.
First off, here is the composition for the version that does not employ chord inversions:

I have a bass guitar in the arrangement, but it only plays the root notes of the chords. Have a listen and you will hear the obvious shifts during the chord transitions. While not horrible, there is something unnatural and disconnected about this sequence.

[audio:examples/27_02_2011_chord_inversion/chord_inversion_demo_no_inversion.mp3|titles=Song fragment - without chord inversions]

The second version of the song fragment uses chord inversions for both minimising note changes for the piano as well as introducing colour and tension where appropriate. Here is the composition for this improved version of the song:

Now have a listen to this version of the song. The bass guitar plays the bass note as depicted in the score above, e.g. during G/B, the bass will play the B. I especially like G/B, G/d inversions at the end of the second bar and the transition back to the F.

[audio:examples/27_02_2011_chord_inversion/chord_inversion_demo_with_inversion.mp3|titles=Song fragment - with chord inversions]

Chord inversions are very simple to employ, yet they can add alot of elegance, colour and variations to your songs. Next time you create a chord sequence, experiment a little with the inversions – you will be surprised how much most progressions can still be improved

Guitar Composition – Open Chords

The elegance and magic of composing with open guitar chords

January 8th, 2011

A lot of people seem to have trouble coming up with their own melodies and chord progressions so today I want to show you one of my favourite – and probably most simple – methods

All you need is a guitar. You don’t need to be a particularly strong player, but you should be comfortable shifting your hand up and down the neck. We will be using open chords and fixed finger positions to create some interesting chord progressions.

Place your hand somewhere at or above the 5th fret of the guitar and choose one or two notes to hold down with your fingers. I usually make sure that the notes I press are within the same scale as the open strings I intend to use, but sometimes you can get nice effects if they are not.
If you are not sure, simply stick to any notes from the Em scale (E, F#, G, A, B, C, D) and you’ll be fine

Now strum or pick the notes you chose together with the open strings in an arbitrary rhythm. You might want to only strum some of the strings as too many different notes in one chord will make it sound muddy. In Example 1 below I am not playing the A string because it would add too much dissonance to the chords.

Finding a nice sound is all about experimentation. Never be afraid to just let your fingers fall wherever they want and just try it out! With time you will get better and better at having your fingers naturally find notes and chords that sound pleasant

From this initial chord, it is really simple to find follow up chords: simply shift your entire hand up or down the neck, keeping the relative finger positions and the open strings. Sometimes you might have to move a finger up or down by a fret when you shift your hand just to keep the notes within the scale and sometimes you might have to change your entire grip to something entirely different, but most of the time simply shifting your hand can give you some nice results.

Example 1
E|---0---0---0---0---0---0---
B|---0---0---0---0---0---0---
G|---8---4---6---8---11--9---
D|---9---5---7---9---12--10--
A|---------------------------
E|---------------------------

[audio:examples/30_12_2010_open_chords/open_chords_example_3.mp3|titles=Shift with fixed finger positions]

Notice that all I am doing in Example 1 is shifting my hand up and down the neck. My grip remains the same throughout. A modification of this method is to shift only a single note of the chord instead of the entire hand. This is most often done with the bass note of the chord as show in Example 2:

Example 2
E|---------------
B|---0---0---0---
G|---0---0---0---
D|---9---9---9---
A|---10--9---7---
E|---------------

[audio:examples/30_12_2010_open_chords/open_chords_example_2.mp3|titles=Single shifting note]

This is a really simple approach, but can give you some nicely flowing chord progressions.
For the last example, let’s look at something a bit more complicated! In Example 3, I am not only shifting my hand, but I am also changing my grip each time to add more intricate elements to the chords. We could add even more detail to this pattern with hammer-ons and pull-offs.

Example 3
E|---0---0---3---2---
B|-------------------
G|-------------------
D|---5---4---2---4---
A|---7---5---3---5---
E|-------------------

[audio:examples/30_12_2010_open_chords/open_chords_example_1.mp3|titles=Shift with changing finger positions]

I usually start with my hand at a fairly high position on the neck because I feel that it makes the notes under my fingers stand out in a nice contrast to the lower notes of the open strings. Furthermore, very simple picking patterns can sound quite elaborate because notes on consecutive strings are not necessarily in order of pitch.

And that is all ther is to this technique I like it for its simplicity and because it takes you away from playing the ‘standard’ chords you are usually taught when you start learning how to play.

To show you the power of this technique, I have created a little song example!

For the chords, I started off with a simple power chord on the 5th fret of the D string, leaving the 3rd and 4th string open, giving me a nice G9/D chord – that’s a G major chord with a 9th (A) and the D as the lowest note.
I then shift my hand up to the 7th, then the 10th and down to the 3rd fret to create my simple verse section:

I wasn’t too creative with the bridge. I wanted a similar feel, but with a little bit more power so all I did was change the picking pattern and move my hand down to the 3rd fret and across to the 6th string. I haven’t created a chorus yet, so the bridge just falls back to a small interlude section and then the song frament ends.

Here is the mixed song fragment! I hope you enjoy it

[audio:examples/30_12_2010_open_chords/31_12_2010_tranquility.mp3|titles=Tranquility]

Composition 101 – Changing Keys

How to elegantly transition between different keys in your song

October 31st, 2010

Changing key within your song is a great way to change the mood of certain sections, create interest or add and resolve tension. Plenty of great rock songs never change key – Smells Like Teen Spirit uses the exact same 4 chords throughout the entire song – and you shouldn’t use it just because you can. Use it when it makes sense and you want to make part of your song stand out by making it darker, happier or more mysterious than other parts.

Here are two small examples transitioning from a verse to a chorus and back with a key change. Have a listen

[audio:examples/31_10_2010_KeyChanges/BadTransition.mp3|titles=Transition 1]

[audio:examples/31_10_2010_KeyChanges/GoodTransition.mp3|titles=Transition 2]

Sounds like the same to you? Well, they are almost the same, but not quite. The chord just before the chorus is different in the two examples and I think that Transition 2 sounds more natural. But why? Let’s have a look at what exactly is going on.

The verse is in E-minor and the chorus is in G-minor.

Verse (Transition 1): Em | D | Am | G | Em | C | Am | Am
Verse (Transition 2): Em | D | Am | G | Em | C | D | D
Chorus: Eb | F | Gm | Gm | Eb | Cm | D | D

Notice that even though I’m jumping from one minor scale to another minor scale, the chorus has a more positive feeling to it? That is because I’m entering it on a major chord – Eb major.

The reson the key change in Transition 2 works better (in my opinion) is because the last chord in the verse, the D major chord, is

• a part of the E minor scale, therefore sounds natural in the verse section and
• the D major chord is the major dominant to the tonic of the G minor scale, or in other words, the D major chord is a part of the G harmonic minor scale (which is G, A, Bb, C, D, Eb, F#)

Harmonic minor?
The harmonic minor scale is a minor scale in which the seventh degree is pushed up by a semitone, which makes it a ‘leading note’ towards the tonic of the scale. This alteration to the natural minor scale causes the dominant chord to become a major chord, e.g. in G naturalminor, the dominant chord is D minor but in G harmonic minor, the dominant is D major!

Now because we end the verse on a D major chord, it leads up to the G (due to the F# note) and thus, we can easily transition into the G minor scale without it sounding unnatural. And since we are ending the chorus on D major, we can simply fall back into the verse because D major is a chord in that key

In Transition 1, we end the verse on an A minor chord, which is part of the E minor scale but is not part of the G minor scale (and not closely related either) and thus the key change sounds a bit more abrupt and sudden. Now a sudden change might be what you are after and is certainly appropriate in certain situations. Personally though, I prefer the harmonies to flow together a bit better, which is why I prefer the D major chord for the transition.

To smooth out the transition when changing keys, you should generally go through intermediate chords – chords which are either common or related to both your current and your new key.

For example, if you want to transition between A minor and D major, you can look at the chords in those scales
A minor: Am, Bdim, C, Dm, Em, F, G
D major: D, Em, F#m, G, Am, Bm, C#dim

Additionally, the major dominant for the A minor scale is D major (how convenient ) and for the D major scale it is A major.
Your best intermediate chords for a key shift would therefore be either common chords (Am, Em, G) or a dominant chord, e.g. using D major to transition to A minor.

To conclude this post, I have turned the Transition 2 example into a song fragment to demonstrate how the key change could sound in the context of a song.

Note that during the transition, the bass and the drums change and a new instrument (distorted guitar) is introduced – these are additional tools that can be used to ‘glue’ transitions together and I think even Transition 1 would have worked alright in this instance because the sudden key change isn’t harsh enough to break the glue provided by all the other elements.

Here’s the song fragment with Transition 1 – enjoy!

[audio:examples/31_10_2010_KeyChanges/SongExample.mp3|titles=Song Example - Key Change]

Changing key can introduce a lot of excitement into your songs, make use of them!