Chord inversions

[Anonymous]

#12820

Morning,

Just noticed when looking at and playing chord inversions that you have posted, that you can’t just build the notes anywhere and get the feel of the chord. For example when g is the root of a g maj 7 chord, i can’t put the g as an open, d as open and b on the 6 string, f# on the 5th string and have the chord sound anywhere near the same, however if i play the notes one at a time, it’s clear they are the same notes. Is it a function of which note the ear hears as a root note that explains the difference or is it that a root note needs to be one of the bass strings on a guitar to make the chord. very strange that you can’t just play all the same notes and get a similar sound?

Thanks,
Art

[Renato]

#12821

Hi Art,

The degree of balance of a chord inversion depends greatly on the way the notes are organized. There is an acoustic phenomenon (Physics) called overtone series which directly affects the way music has been developed over time.

If you have never heard about overtone or harmonic series, I recommend you to read this paper: http://in.music.sc.edu/fs/bain/atmi02/hs/hs.pdf and watch these videos before we start discussing this subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFR8UJK3Mzc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tul2JfUEnpA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHnSZaPcfdo

Best,
Renato.

[Anonymous]

#12824

Thanks Renato,

Watching the 1st video, this guy is really good at explaining sound. I’ll write more once i finish the material you sent.

Thanks again,

Art

[Renato]

#12829

Yes, he is an amazing teacher. I love watching his lessons.

Renato

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