It is all relative to the context of the song, any chord is defined by it's root note, but that doesn't always have to be the bass note.

It is all relative to the context of the song,
any chord is defined by it's root note, ......YES
but that doesn't always have to be the bass note. ....... YES, Inversions.

Am7 = A,C,E,G vs. A,-,E,G,--C is different,
NOT DRAMATICALLY, but different.

A difference in voicing I've learned. :)


(1,3,5,7)
So now I know :) that any formation with a
(1 in the bass) is "ROOT POSITION" no matter
where the 3,5,7 are.
(3 in the bass) is "1ST INVERSION" no matter
where the 1,5,7 are.
etc. etc.

chord symbols have NOTHING to do with the octave that certain intervals appear. A chord symbol will not change if the 3rd is a "3rd" above the root or a "10th" above the root.
i.e.
A E G C is AMI7
G A C E is AMI7/G (3rd Inversion)
C A E G is AMI7/C (1st inversion)
E C G E is AMI7/E (2nd Inversion)

an extreme example would be:
A E G, then C 7 octaves up. That would still be an AMI7 chord.

an extreme example would be:
A E G, then C 7 octaves up. That would still be an AMI7 chord.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Without the use of notes on a staff, how would
I convey that to you?

Is it a 10th
17th
24th
31st
etc. etc. ?

if all you are giving is chord symbols, you can't convey that. If you want someone to play a specific chord VOICING, you need to write it out note for note.

NOTE for NOTE,
Thanks ADAM

Hi

Regarding your question about inversions, in a chord with 4 notes there are only 4 inversions.

Let us name the notes on the chord 1234, 1 being he root and then going up tonally. The inversions would then be:

2341 --- first inversion
3412 --- second inversion
4123 --- third inversion

In Am7 they would be:

CEGA first inversion
EGAC second inversion
GACE third inversion

As for the name of the chord you want, if you write Am7(add 10th no 3rd) I guess you would make yourself clear, but I have only seen that kind of notation when they add the 9th, 11th or 13th.

Guitar, by its very design, gives up for pretty weird chord voicings. What I have seen is a grapghical depiction of how the chord should be played instead of naming it.

Hope this helps you.

Enrique

Learning to crawl here;

If I have this right, 1234, 2341, 3412, & 4123 are all inversions of the same chord, but 2314 is a different chord. Correct?

It's a DIFFERENT 1st inversion,
I think.

There are 24 permutations of the 4 notes above,
18 of which would be "INVERSIONS", six each of
1 A
3 C
5 E
7 G

Is this right, Enrique?

As far as I know only the four above are inversions.

The other ones might be considered as voicings.

I guess (although none of my music theory books is clear on that) that what determines the inversion is the lowest note (tonally).

The other permutations you mention would be just voicings of the "canonical" inversion.

I am by no means sure of this, so do not take my word for granted. What I can assure you is that all of the music theory I know regards only those four permutations as inversions.

Hope this will not add to the confussion :P.

Enrique

3 inversions, 1 root. I just
figured out finally what is
meant by:

I.(7)
I.(6/5)
I.(4/3)
I.(2)

Thanks Enrique

Well, I'm glad I helped, although I don't see how :P.

I checked the inversions again and now I am positive that the inversion is determined by the lowest note.

I have no idea what the notation you wrote means, would you explain it to me?.

Thanks

Enrique

How you helped me was making me
continue my search for answers.

To which I found:

G 7
E 5
C 3
A 1

A 6
G 5
E 3
C 1

C 6
A 4
G 3
E 1

E 6
C 4
A 2
G 1

When we move the 3rd (C) to the bass
C E G A it is as if we have 1,3,5,6

When we move the 5th (E) to the bass
E G A C it is as if we have 1,3,4,6

When we move the 7th (G) to the bass
G A C E it is as if we have 1,2,4,6


I hope that's what it means.

Hi Wayne hows it going? Its been awhile since I have been on AB. I have been working on my orchestration lessons and have not been on for awhile. I forgot my password for my other account so i had to use this one til they get back to me with my password.

Thanks Wayne