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Chord Inversion vs Voicing: Bass Note or Whole Layout
Chord inversion vs voicing is a common mix-up. An inversion answers one question: which chord note is in the bass? A voicing answers all the others: in what order are the notes above it, how far apart, which ones are doubled or left out.
No account, no download. The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
- MIDI keyboard
- Digital or acoustic piano
- Guitar
- Computer, phone or tablet
One inversion, many voicings
- C major, first inversion, means E in the bass. That is all it says.
- E G C is one voicing of it.
- E C G, with the G up high, is another.
- E G C E, with a doubled E, is a third. All three are first inversion.
Why the difference matters
Analysis cares about inversions, because the bass note changes how a chord moves. Playing cares about voicings, because the layout changes how the chord sounds and how far your hand travels. Good pianists choose the voicing that keeps the top note smooth and the hand still.
Chord Inversion vs Voicing: Bass Note or Whole Layout
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps.
Play the demoVoicings with names
Jazz players name common layouts: shell voicings with only root, 3rd and 7th; rootless voicings that leave the root to the bass player; drop 2 and drop 3, where one note of a close chord drops an octave. These are all voicings, and each one can still be in root position or any inversion.
Try them in the game
ChordRunner accepts any inversion and any voicing, doubled notes and rootless jazz chords included. Its practice keyboard shows any chord in root position, first and second inversion, as a two-hand shell and in five jazz voicing styles, so you can see the layouts before you play them.
The levels in ChordRunner
- Beginner: major, minor, augmented and diminished chords.
- Intermediate: adds sus2 and sus4.
- Advanced: adds 6th, 7th and 9th chords.
- Pro: adds 11th, 13th and altered chords; an adaptive mode adds the next family when you are ready.
Common questions
What is the difference between an inversion and a voicing?
An inversion only tells you which chord note is in the bass. A voicing is the full layout: order, spacing, doublings and omissions of the notes above the bass.
Is every inversion a voicing?
Every played chord has a voicing, and that voicing has an inversion. Many different voicings can share the same inversion.
What is a chord voicing on piano?
The exact keys you press for a chord. C E G and C G E are two voicings of C major, both in root position.
Which instruments work?
A USB MIDI keyboard, detected automatically, or a piano or guitar through the microphone. Everything runs in Chrome or Edge on a computer, tablet or phone.
How is this different from apps where you tap the screen?
Tapping trains your eyes and fingers on glass. Here you press real keys or fret real strings, and the game hears the actual notes, so what you practise is exactly what you will play on your instrument.
Is everything in the demo?
The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
Your instrument is the controller.
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps. MIDI keyboard or microphone, both work.
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