{"id":13984,"date":"2023-06-02T07:06:41","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T14:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=13984"},"modified":"2023-06-02T11:52:59","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T18:52:59","slug":"the-secret-to-beautiful-chord-progressions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/the-secret-to-beautiful-chord-progressions\/","title":{"rendered":"The Secret to Beautiful Chord Progressions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Here\u2019s the secret to beautiful chord progressions on the piano: inversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chord inversions may seem intimidating to new piano players, but they\u2019re worth learning, I promise. And instead of memorizing a bunch of inversions (boring!), we\u2019ll show you the magic of inversions through an exercise that sounds good and is fun to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\"><p><strong>Table of Contents:<\/strong><\/p><nav><ol><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-chords\">The Chords<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-theory-behind-this\">The Theory Behind This<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#why-play-chords-like-this\">Why play chords like this?<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/nav><\/div>\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:22px\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Learn Piano For Free<\/b><\/h2><p>Inspiring tutorials. Fascinating articles. Exclusive interviews. We create piano content anyone, anywhere can enjoy for free. Don&#8217;t miss out, sign up for more free lessons.<\/p><iframe class=\"email-form-include\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/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=\"the-chords\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>The Chords<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For this exercise, we\u2019ll be using the following chord progression:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\">Am &#8211; G &#8211; C &#8211; F<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we won\u2019t play standard triads. Instead, we\u2019ll voice each chord like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"am\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Am<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-1024x441.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram with E and C highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14000\" width=\"256\" height=\"110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6.png 1768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"g\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170233\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-Inv-2-1024x441.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram with D and B highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14001\" width=\"256\" height=\"110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170233\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-Inv-2-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170233\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-Inv-2-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170233\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-Inv-2-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170233\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-Inv-2-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170233\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-Inv-2.png 1768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"c\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>C<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-1024x441.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram with E and C highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14000\" width=\"256\" height=\"110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31170211\/Beautiful-Chord-Progressions-Am-2nd-Inv-smaller-6.png 1768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"f\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>F<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31171409\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1024x442.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram with F and C highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14002\" width=\"256\" height=\"111\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31171409\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31171409\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31171409\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31171409\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/31171409\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root.png 1767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>With your left hand, play the root notes of each chord:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\">A &#8211; G &#8211; C &#8211; F<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-theory-behind-this\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>The Theory Behind This<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, let me explain how this works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inversions are when we shuffle the order of the notes in a chord stack. There\u2019s a method to this: the first inversion of a C major triad is when we flip C to the top, making E-G-C. And the second inversion of a C major triad is another flip, making G-C-E.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are all the chords and their inversions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"am\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>Am<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Root<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080634\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-Root-1-1024x402.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of Am root position triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080634\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-Root-1-1024x402.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080634\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-Root-1-300x118.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080634\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-Root-1-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080634\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-Root-1-1536x602.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080634\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-Root-1.png 1943w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>1st Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080808\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-1st-1024x402.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of Am 1st inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14012\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080808\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-1st-1024x402.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080808\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-1st-300x118.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080808\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-1st-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080808\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-1st-1536x602.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01080808\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-1st.png 1943w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>2nd Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081433\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-2nd-1024x442.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of Am 2nd inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14013\" width=\"231\" height=\"99\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081433\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-2nd-1024x442.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081433\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-2nd-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081433\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-2nd-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081433\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-2nd-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081433\/Beautiful-Progressions-Am-2nd.png 1767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"am\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>G<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Root<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081841\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-Root-1024x401.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of G root position triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14015\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081841\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-Root-1024x401.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081841\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-Root-300x117.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081841\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-Root-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081841\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-Root-1536x601.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01081841\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-Root.png 1947w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>1st Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01093840\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-1st-inv-1024x401.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of G 1st inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01093840\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-1st-inv-1024x401.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01093840\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-1st-inv-300x117.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01093840\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-1st-inv-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01093840\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-1st-inv-1536x601.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01093840\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-1st-inv.png 1946w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>2nd Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01114906\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-1024x441.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of G 2nd inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14032\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01114906\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01114906\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01114906\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01114906\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01114906\/Beautiful-Progressions-G-2nd.png 1769w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"am\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>C<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Root<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01095333\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-Root-1024x441.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of C root position triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14018\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01095333\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-Root-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01095333\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-Root-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01095333\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-Root-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01095333\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-Root-1536x661.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01095333\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-Root.png 1770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>1st Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01100002\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-1st-1024x441.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of C 1st inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01100002\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-1st-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01100002\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-1st-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01100002\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-1st-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01100002\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-1st-1536x661.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01100002\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-1st.png 1770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>2nd Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01101111\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-2nd-1024x441.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of C 2nd inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14020\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01101111\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-2nd-1024x441.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01101111\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-2nd-300x129.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01101111\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-2nd-768x331.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01101111\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-2nd-1536x662.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01101111\/Beautiful-Progressions-C-2nd.png 1768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\" id=\"am\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong>F<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Root<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102600\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1-1024x401.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of F root position triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102600\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1-1024x401.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102600\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1-300x118.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102600\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102600\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1-1536x602.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102600\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-root-1.png 1944w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>1st Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102356\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-1st-1024x402.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of F 1st inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102356\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-1st-1024x402.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102356\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-1st-300x118.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102356\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-1st-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102356\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-1st-1536x602.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01102356\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-1st.png 1943w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>2nd Inversion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"402\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01103735\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-2nd-1024x402.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram of F 2nd inversion triad with keys highlighted in red and labelled.\" class=\"wp-image-14024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01103735\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-2nd-1024x402.png 1024w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01103735\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-2nd-300x118.png 300w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01103735\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-2nd-768x301.png 768w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01103735\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-2nd-1536x602.png 1536w, https:\/\/pianote-blog.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01103735\/Beautiful-Progressions-F-2nd.png 1943w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll see that in our exercise, we\u2019re playing inversions of chords but omitting a middle note. Customizing the order of notes in a chord and omitting or adding notes is called <strong>voicing<\/strong> a chord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-play-chords-like-this\" style=\"font-size:32px\"><strong>Why play chords like this?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Inversions are useful because they help us transition from chord to chord in a smoother, easier way. For example, here\u2019s me transitioning from the root position of a C major triad to the root position of an F major triad:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Ultimate%20Chord%20Inversions\/root%20to%20root%20-%20cropped.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n\n\n\n<p>And here\u2019s me transitioning from the root position of a C major triad to the second inversion of an F major triad:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<video playsinline=\"\" autoplay=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Ultimate%20Chord%20Inversions\/root%20to%202nd%20-%20cropped.mp4\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" width=\"100%\"><\/video>\n\n\n\n<p>See how the movement is much smaller and easier in the second animation? Neat, huh!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inversions also spice things up. By mixing up the order of notes in a chord, we retain the quality and function of the chord (C major 1st inversion still sounds like C major) but the sound is somewhat different. Which keeps things interesting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this exercise, when we omit the middle note of our chord stacks, we end up playing sixths. A sixth is one of the most beautiful intervals out there. It just harmonizes so well!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope this lesson inspires you to play some inversions! If you want to learn more, here are some more in-depth lessons on chord theory and chording:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chord Theory 101<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-inversions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chord Inversions, Explained (With Free Downloadable Cheat Sheets!)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-chord-progressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10 Awesome Piano Chord Progressions (And How They Work)<\/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><h2 style=\"font-size:22px\"><b>\ud83c\udfb9 Learn Piano With Real Teachers<\/b><\/h2><p>The best way to learn piano is with real teachers, but not everyone has the time and money for a private instructor. At Pianote, you can get real feedback from real experts\u2026all from the comfort of your own home. Explore our Method and community yourself with a free 7-day trial.<\/p><p><\/p><a class=\"join\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">TRY PIANOTE FOR 7 DAYS<\/a><\/center><p><\/p><\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pssst! The secret is inversions&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1104,507],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chord-progressions","category-chord-theory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13984","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=13984"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14037,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13984\/revisions\/14037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}