Fwd: [Harp-L] Chord inversions

["Winslow Yerxa" <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Dave Murray <dlmurray@xxxx> 
wrote:
On Tue, 30 Nov 2004, Winslow Yerxa wrote:
> 
> There is no such thing. 
> 
> An F major chord has only three notes and therefore only two 
> inversions:
> 
> - Root position: F in the bass, then A and C in no particular order.
> 
> - First inversion: A in the bass, with F and C in no particular 
order.
> 
> - Second inversion: C in the bass, with F and A in no particular 
> order.
> 
> After that you run out of bass notes, so there can be no third 
> inversion.
> 
> The concept of inversions on a treble instrument is a little dicey. 
> The whole idea of inversions is the anchor note in the bass.



How do you distinguish between FAC & FCA, ACF & AFC, CFA & CAF?

I play all of them on another instrument, and thought that they were 
all called inversions, though I had no name (1st, 2nd, etc) for them. 
As long as I can play them, it doesn't matter what they are called. 
But since you have named them it seems like there must be a way to 
distinguish between all of them.

============Winslow says:

I'm not sure what you mean by "distinguish". The bass note is what 
distinguishes them. how The notes are arranged above the bass note is 
not a matter of inversions, it's a matter of voicing.

Why does the bass note matter so much? Because of the tension it 
creates when the chord is not in root position.

The bass note - and I mean bass like a bass player would play, not 
just the lowest note in a treble chord - generates overtones. The 
notes above the bass note may match these overtones or clash with 
them.

let's say we're dealing with aan F major triad:

F - the root note
A - the third (count up 1-2-3 from F)
C - the fifth (count up 1-2-3-4-5 from F)

Here's how each of these will interact with the rest of the chord 
when used as a bass note.


===Root position

In root position the root note of the chord is in the bass, and 
generates no tension:

The chord: 
F (bass) with A and C and maybe more instances of F above it.

The overtones:  F, A, and C. (There are more, but those are the 
strongest.)

The clash: none 

===First inversion

In first inversion the 3rd in the bass, and generates clashing 
overtones:

The chord:
A (bass), with F and C above it.
(more A's are something you have to be careful about overdoing).

The overtones: The bass note A will generate overtones of A, C#, and 
E.

The clash: 
C# clashes with C, E clashes with F.

A first inversion chord generates tension that wants resolution - it 
does not want to just sit there. Usually it will resolve to another 
chord with the bass note rising from A to Bb - possibly to a Bb major 
triad.

===Second inversion

In second inversion, the fifth is in the bass, and again generates 
clashing overtones.

The chord:
C (bass) with A and F and possible more instances of C above it

The main overtones: C, E, G.

The Clash: E clashes with F, G clashes with A.

Again, this tension creates a tendency for the chord to resolve in 
some way. The most common way is for the A to sink to G and the F to 
sink to E, for a C major triad in root position.

Again, playing treble harmonicas you don't really face this much. 
It's really only noticeable with a true bass note. Still, the 
principles of voice leading embodies in the above can be applied 
profitably to your chordal playing.

Winslow