Beginner's Guide to Chord Inversions: Step-by-Step Piano Lesson

To learn chord inversions on piano, play the I vi IV V progression (G, Em, C, D in G major) in the right hand, keeping common notes in place and sliding only the notes that change, while the left hand always plays the root of each chord.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 20 min

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What this lesson teaches

This lesson is for beginners who can already form major and minor chords but find inversions, and what each hand should do, a little confusing. Jason Zac uses the popular I vi IV V progression in two keys, G major (one sharp, F#) and F major (one flat, Bb), and plays it through every inversion, going up and then down the keyboard.

Step 1: Find the chords with Roman numerals

Write out each scale and put Roman numerals above it. Capital I, IV and V are major chords, lowercase ii, iii and vi are minor, and vii with a degree sign is diminished.

• G major: G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F#dim
• F major: F, Gm, Am, Bb, C, Dm, Edim

So I vi IV V is G, Em, C, D in G major and F, Dm, Bb, C in F major.

Step 2: The circle trick

Write the scale notes in a circle and use a skip-one, take-one pattern to build each triad: G, skip A, B, skip C, D gives G B D. This gives Em = E G B, C = C E G and D = D F# A. Write each chord in a circle too. Reading round the circle shows you all three close inversions:

• Root position: G B D (root at the bottom)
• First inversion: B D G (root at the top)
• Second inversion: D G B (fifth at the bottom, third at the top)

Step 3: Move by common notes

Instead of jumping to each chord in root position, ask what the next chord shares with the one you are holding.

1. G to Em: G and B are shared, so keep them and move D up to E: G B E.
2. Em to C: G and E are shared, so slide B up to C: G C E.
3. C to D: nothing is shared, so slide the whole shape up: A D F#.
4. D back to G: keep the D and you land on G in first inversion, B D G.

Now repeat the progression from that first inversion (B D G, B E G, C E G, D F# A), then again from the second inversion (D G B, E G B, E G C, F# A D), finishing on G B D. That is 13 chords covering every inversion. Swap or flip fingers, or lift the hand, where the fingering feels awkward.

Step 4: Left hand always plays the root

Whatever inversion the right hand plays, the left hand plays the chord's root: G, E, C, D. If you play G in the bass under the E minor shape, you get Em/G, a slash chord, not plain E minor. Singing the root names as you play helps.

Step 5: F major

Use the same method: F A C, then keep F and A and slide C to D for Dm, then move to Bb, then slide to C. Continue through the first and second inversions of F in the same way.

Step 6: Right-hand patterns

• Block chords: all three notes together.
• Broken chords: the top two notes, then the bottom note, or outside-inside: the outer two notes, then the middle.
• Arpeggios from the top note: high-middle-low-middle, or high-low-middle-low.

How to practise

Start slowly with four beats per chord, aiming for two beats per chord. Put a pencil or tape at your start and end points so you finish on the right G after 13 chords. Practise ascending first, then try descending (V IV vi I). If it feels easy, try new patterns and transpose the progression to other keys.

Questions about this lesson

What are the three inversions of a G major chord?

Root position is G B D, first inversion is B D G, and second inversion is D G B. Writing the notes in a circle makes it easy to read all three.

How do I move between chords smoothly with inversions?

Find the notes the two chords share and keep them in place, moving only the other notes. For example, G B D to E minor becomes G B E by moving just D up to E.

What should my left hand play with right-hand inversions?

The left hand plays the root of each chord, such as E under any E minor shape. Playing another chord note in the bass creates a slash chord like Em/G.

How fast should I practise chord inversions?

Start with four beats per chord and work towards two beats per chord. Begin ascending, then try the progression descending.

Practise it

• Pop LessonsPractice companions for Jason Zac’s pop piano lessons: octave fillers, chord changes and inversions in every key.
• Chord TreesStart from a note and explore related chords, inversions and voicings.
• Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• 10 Rhythm Patterns That Make Chord Inversions EasyTo make chord inversions musical, play the root position, first inversion and second inversion of a triad such as Bb major or C major through real rhythm patterns like block chords, oom-pah, waltz, broken chords, arpeggios, the tresillo, the Charleston, dual-speed arpeggios and floating inversions.
• 3 Beautiful Piano Arpeggio Patterns (for Any Genre)Three go-to piano arpeggio patterns are low-middle-high-middle (LMHM), high-middle-low-middle (HMLM) and high-low-middle-low (HLML), played as eighth notes in the right hand over close chord inversions while the left hand plays the root of each chord.
• The Daily Piano Chord Exercise: Climbing Inversions With Many Rhythm PatternsThis daily piano drill moves three-note chord shapes up and down the keyboard in C major, then plays them as block chords, broken chords, arpeggios and a broken-arpeggio combo, across different speeds, time signatures, syncopated hand patterns and finally in the left hand.
• The Chord Progression Behind Hundreds of Songs (Pachelbel's Canon)The Pachelbel's Canon progression in D major is D, A, Bm, F#m, G, D, G (or Em/G), A, which is I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV (or ii)–V. On piano you invert each right-hand chord so the violin melody note sits on top, then arpeggiate it with a high–low–middle–low pattern.