Spelling inversions

An inversion is not a new chord and not new notes. It is the same three names, rotated.

C major is the list C, E, G. Move the root to the back and you have the 1st inversion: E, G, C — written C/E, the chord name and then the note at the bottom.

Rotate once more and you get G, C, E — the 2nd inversion, written C/G, with the 5th at the bottom. Three names, three rotations, and you are back where you started.

Once you can rotate the list in your head, finding it on the keys is the easy half.

1 3 5 → 3 5 1 → 5 1 3

C/E — the same three names as C major, starting from the 3rd.

Practise this in the trainer — it opens with this lesson the first time the concept comes up.