{"id":12743,"date":"2023-03-24T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T19:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=12743"},"modified":"2023-05-05T10:23:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T17:23:33","slug":"how-to-practice-chord-inversions-on-piano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-practice-chord-inversions-on-piano\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Practice Chord Inversions on Piano (The Fun Way)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Piano chord inversions can make an <em>enormous<\/em> difference in your playing. You&#8217;ll sound more sophisticated, and inversions can even make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/chord-shortcuts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">transitioning between chords faster<\/a> and smoother! In this lesson, we&#8217;ll show you how to practice chord inversions in a way that&#8217;s also fun and musical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#backing-track\">Backing Track<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#chords\">Chords<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#practice\">How to Practice<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#transition\">Transition Practice<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h2 style=\"font-size:24px;\" id=\"backing-track\"><b>Practice Backing Track<\/b><\/h2><p>To get the most out of this lesson, enter your email below and we&#8217;ll send you a link to download the backing track used in this lesson. You&#8217;ll receive free lessons and more piano content from us, but don&#8217;t worry, you can unsubscribe anytime.<\/p><\/center><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/chord-inversions\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"chords\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>The Chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In this lesson, we&#8217;ll be playing a vi-IV-I-V progression in G major. That&#8217;s Em-C-G-D. Here are all the chords and their inversions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Chord<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Root Position<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">1st Inversion<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">2nd Inversion<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">Em<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">E-G-B<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">G-B-E<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">B-E-G<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">C<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">C-E-G<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">E-G-C<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">G-C-E<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">G<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">G-B-D<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">B-D-G<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">D-G-B<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">D<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">D-F#-A<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">F#-A-D<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\">A-D-F#<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"font-size:22px\">\ud83c\udfb9 <strong>Need more help with inversions?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-inversions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Piano Chord Inversions, Explained<\/a> for a beginner lesson just on inversions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"practice\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>How to Practice Chord Inversions on Piano<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2023\/Inversions%20Practice\/inversions%20practice%201.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Here are the practice routines I use in this lesson. First, practice just playing the chords in their root position. Get used to the movement. Get used to the sound. If you get lost, you can always return to the root position.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2023\/Inversions%20Practice\/inversion%20practice%202.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Next, play the root position triad on beat 1 and the first inversion of the chord on beats 2, 3, and 4. You can hold out the inversion or play quarter notes on it. Count and feel the rhythm in your body\u2014it helps with internalizing your physical technique.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2023\/Inversions%20Practice\/inversion%20practice%203.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Finally, try playing all the inversions, one on each beat, with your last inversion holding out over two beats. Or, play that last inversion twice. To add some depth, you can pair your right hand with bass notes in your left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Anytime you want to take a break, just return to your root position triad, hold, and breathe \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"transition\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>How to Use Inversions to Transition Between Chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The cool thing about inversions is that they can act as a shortcut between chords. We&#8217;ll practice exactly that in this exercise. It&#8217;ll go something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2023\/Inversions%20Practice\/inversion%20practice%204.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Em<\/strong> root position<br><strong>C<\/strong> 1st inversion<br><strong>G<\/strong> 2nd inversion<br><strong>D<\/strong> root position<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<video playsinline=\"\u201c\u201d\" autoplay=\"\u201c\u201d\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2023\/Inversions%20Practice\/Inversions%20Practice%205.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Here&#8217;s another pattern you can try:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Em<\/strong> 2nd inversion<br><strong>C<\/strong> root position<br><strong>G<\/strong> 1st inversion<br><strong>D<\/strong> 2nd inversion<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope you had fun with this lesson \ud83d\ude42 If you want more fun approaches to piano practice, check out these lessons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/10-minute-arpeggio-practice-in-f-sharp-minor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10-Minute Arpeggio Practice in F-Sharp Minor<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/d-minor-practice-routine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Complete Practice Routine in D Minor<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/motivational-piano-ideas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Piano Ideas When You Don&#8217;t Feel Like Practicing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><center><h3 style=\"font-size:22px;\"><b>Master the Piano YOUR Way \ud83d\udd25<\/b><\/h3><p>As a Pianote Member, you\u2019ll get access to our 10-step Method, song library, and growing community of piano players just like you. Plus: get coached by world-class pianists and learn whenever you  want, wherever you want, and whatever you want.<\/p><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRY PIANOTE FOR 7 DAYS<\/a><\/center><br><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Free backing track included. Learn how to practice chord inversions on piano in a way that&#8217;s fun, engaging, and musical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[507,1108,1112],"tags":[1088],"class_list":["post-12743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chord-theory","category-musicianship","category-practice-musicianship","tag-ch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12743"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12773,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12743\/revisions\/12773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}