What's an Inversion in Music?

In music theory, an inversion is a type of change to intervals, chords, voices, and melodies. In each of these cases, "inversion" has a distinct but related meaning. The concept of inversion also plays an important role in musical set theory.

What does inversion mean in music?

inversion, in music, rearrangement of the top-to-bottom elements in an interval, a chord, a melody, or a group of contrapuntal lines of music. The inversion of chords and intervals is utilized for various purposes, e.g., to create a melodic bass line or (with certain chords) to modulate to a new key.

What is the purpose of an inversion in music?

An inverted chord means that you've moved the root of a chord to some upper position, leaving a note other than the root as the lowest sounding note. It's a really great device that will add colour to your musical palette.