Songs that use Inversions

[@Mikeinrepose]

David Bennett Piano, the man who makes music theory seem easy, understandable and the only person who has made it make sense to me

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you Mike!!

[@aijamberisabel]

100% agree!

[@isacaraujo550]

I'm Brazilian, and my English is not so good, but he can make me understand everything without subs

[@tonyanddeb1012]

yep, totally agree

[@gqbrown09]

I completely agree! His video explaining why there are 12 notes and how that creates intervals in standard Western music was an epiphany and made me understand what was previously confusing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqfQq5qMqb-ni7M

[@rocco7041]

The outro piece is amazing. I love that you always do one of these

[@eeztulk]

Same inversions as Take It Easy On Me by Little River Band! Nice!

[@Omii_3000]

Totally! The 4 4m 1/3 add9 is the best

[@tanukibrahma]

Brian Wilson’s “God Only Knows” is a brilliant example. I can’t even conceive how he came up with those inversions. Incredible ear.

[@GG-kp3gf]

The keyboard appearing on the screen makes your videos absolutely perfect, even better understandable than before. It really is a highly appreciated new feature. Thanks a lot David!

[@dannycipriano2421]

Wow that song at the end was really beautiful!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!!

[@DeKevers]

I've always heard you talk about Radiohead for years and now I've been dragged into the world of Kid A and it feels so depressing and just perfect. It speaks to me. How To Disappear Completely, beautiful song. When he harmonises with the melody literal heaven.

[@AidanEyewitness]

One of my favourite inversions: the first chord in ‘Aint no mountain enough’ i just thought of it and came on immediately in your video. Coincidence! Minds thinking alike!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Good choice!

[@vib80]

What makes that chord is the half diminished chord that follows, because there's only one note different. The inversion just lines things up nice to establish the downward motion.

[@pauldonachy5084]

David Bennet, is truly the teacher I wish I’d had when I was young. I always enjoy his examples and narratives.

[@YazzMusicOfficial]

You are helping me SO much to get through my GCSEs. Especially during the analysis of songs!!! ❤️❤️👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Great!!

[@YazzMusicOfficial]

@@DavidBennettPiano 😇😇

[@DeKevers]

I did my GCSEs last year. I ended up doing my music exam at home. I did music production and produces a creative song in FL studio. Is your more theory based?

[@kay-412]

@@DeKevers that’s amazing! i’m learning FL Studio on mobile but their orchestral samples are 💀🥴 but it’s so good to use

[@DeKevers]

@@kay-412 fl has been my favourite DAW for the past 3 years because of how intuitive and immersive it is

[@BillMcGirr]

There are very few KZbin channels that I watch all of their content. And click as soon as I can. You’re one of them. You’ve improved my musical life. And I’m thankful. You’re killing it David. Great content. Strong.💪🎸👍🥃

[@abuventertainment2856]

The song you wrote as an example is stunningly beautiful!

[@AllieSakwa]

Brian May often used D/A on guitar -it's formed a big part of the Queen guitar sound!

[@DanielLightspeedMcNair]

I won’t lie, your channel has made understanding music concepts so much easier, I’ve always been really good at understanding time signatures and writing with them, but chord theory used to be completely alien to me until I started watching your channel. now I’m actively seeking out new musical concepts to learn and apply to my own music because I can actually comprehend and digest them because of your videos.

[@josephcorey4316]

Outstanding video. Helps me to realize the color added to a song by merely performing an inversion. Helps me to realize why listening to Brian Wilson's compositions can be so emotional.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@jameswyre6480]

One of your best, and there are no bummers in your library of videos thanks to your skill at teaching and hard work.

[@PFDarkside]

You are really hitting your stride, just putting out so many awesome videos so frequently! Thank you David!

[@bassesatta9235]

I never knew that made such a big difference, i usually play a chord with whatever the triad notes are. i didnt care for what the bass was, just used what sounded the best/easiest to play. Great video as always

[@justie1220]

The instrumental section of Layla by Derek and the Dominos is one of my favorite examples of inversions

[@NomeDeArte]

Adam Neely once said that he love the bass because of the "brute force" of it, because you can invert or generate another lot of chords and armony, even if the whole band is playing D, you with a F# can change it all.

[@badgasaurus4211]

Also why Sting likes it

[@N.I.R.A.T.I.A.S.]

You with a D# could change it even more.

[@GNVS300]

Use Somebody was the song that taught me inversions, although I didn't know until now it was in inversion; I just knew it had a slash chord

[@edwardtait4285]

Thank you David and please compose some more. You have a great talent there.

[@MartyWilson100]

Inversions are a favorite trick of mine to use in songwriting, a relatively simple yet effective way of making basic chords sound more interesting

[@WoodyGamesUK]

Even if you play root position chords on piano or guitar, if the bass player is having fun using the 3rd or 5th instead of the root, or making melody lines (like Paul McCartney for example), then you end up with inversions. As Sting said: "as a bass player, you decide what the chord is".

[@schoithemreibachXVI]

Exactly, or if you play in a full band setup. The guitar player play the G major chord. Which contains the G, B and D notes. Then the bass player play the E note. Both of them creates a new chord the E minor 7 chord. Which contains the E, G, B, D notes. And if you have a Piano/Keyboard player. He will play the E note on his left hand and G major chord on his right hand.

[@robbybobbyhobbies]

Adam Neely laid into figured bass two weeks ago in his “Can I pass AP” piece - its time on earth must soon be up if you two are combining forces.

[@singsongdan249]

Ooh that song at the end is gorgeous! 💓

[@felixa.6077]

Wow, Your composition in the end was really impressive! I didn't know that you're SUCH a great composer. Thanks vor the Video!

[@isomeme]

As a pianist, I read the title and thought "All of them". 🙂🎵 Voice leading is useful in many ways, and naturally results in inversions. For example to go from F major in root position to A minor, you can move just one finger from F to E if you play the A minor in 2nd inversion (Am/E).

[@diarmuidsutton6231]

Love the piece at the end David. Super work. Thanks again for all.

[@druwk]

Beautiful progression at the end. Voice leading and color. Cool post, and informative

[@iancavalari7286]

Your videos are awesome David. I always look forward to them and learn a lot. I love the fact that you’re always using real world examples of these ideas in practice.

[@MrBanzoid]

Thanks David. You've explained thinks that have been bugging me for ages in such an easy to understand way.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Great!

[@Douglust]

The bit at the end is a beautiful piece of music

[@mikewigley7748]

I love the way that Queen's "You're My Best Friend" ends on a first inversion, at least to my ears. It's the only example I can think of!

[@robster7316]

Wonderful segment, David. You filled in a number of blanks for me in a clear and concise manner. Well done, as always!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Great!!

[@scottbrown6305]

If my professors had been more like you, David; my college experience would have been soooooooo much better.

[@el_brollo_loco]

I love Sir Elton John's use of inversions in Your Song. They add a level of beauty and sophistication the the harmonic color. Basically all of Billy Joel's music is the same

[@tedl7538]

Yes I was playing that song a few months ago and noticed it as well.

[@cubesandoldstuff]

I love this chord series!

[@scottmatznick3140]

glad you included the Beach Boys. Brian is the inversion king.

[@aijamberisabel]

I love your channel. You make music theory digestible, education and most importantly fun!

[@boomerbear7596]

Interestingly I learned inverted chords (specifically second-inversion ones) before even the root position ones as the first chart I learned chords off of had them in second-inversion. As such it is one of my favorite musical concepts and I've begun to realize that just like the examples you've used in this video, inverted chords tend to resolve rather than be resolved to, almost in my mind having some semblance of instability. I-4 tends to resolve to IV (as the third in the bass leads up to the fourth) and I-6-4 tends to resolve to V (as the root of the V is already there in the bass). Notable examples of inversion heavy songs I can think of include "These Dreams" by Heart which has a chorus of almost all inverted chords along with "Baby Hold On" by Eddie Money which uses a combination of I-6-4 and augmented chords. These both have chord progressions I would describe as unstable.

[@lindadee2053]

Very sweet and pretty melody you composed at the end. I really, really liked it a lot.

[@KiteGiedraitis]

Great video! I agree that figured bass is confusing and messy. Here's how I personally write inversions and other slash chords using roman numerals. Take Bob Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate": C - - - Em/B - - - C/B♭ - - - F/A - - - Fm/A♭ - - - C/G - F - C - G - C - - - (Each dash is one additional beat.) In roman numerals: I - - - iii/5 - - - I/m7 - - - IV/3 - - - iv/3 - - - I/5 - IV - I - V - I - - - The bass note is always relative to the chord root, not the tonic. Thus a 1st inversion is always /3, a 2nd inversion is always /5, etc. Note that "3" refers to A in the F chord, but to A♭ in the Fm chord, because "3" refers to whatever the chord's 3rd is. If you wanted to do something weird like F/A♭ or Fm/A, that would be IV/m3 or iv/M3. In other words, to add a bass note that's not in the chord, just write the interval from the root to the bass note. Thus the C/B♭ chord becomes I/m7. (But C7/B♭ would become I7/7.)

[@oscar-cm4rc]

These outro pieces are god-tier

[@BIGREDSETHJONES]

Thanks David for giving me ptsd from my days in AP Music Theory, when you started talking about the figured bass all the bad memories of using it came back 😂, I just graduated high school and we did a lot of figured bass and even my teacher thought it was stupidly complicated/unnecessary 😂

[@naspaarchiveocular]

I've learnt so much theory in such a few days because of you. Thank You.

[@DavidBeddard]

A superb introductory explanation! I love watching your videos that cover more advanced topics too, but this is MY level. Thanks, David! 😃 So many other things I've seen make so much more sense now.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Great 😊

[@alexandermikoyan9171]

Such a beautiful melody of yours at the end!

[@papageorge1718]

Very, very beautiful composition.

[@inigo137]

Hey David, 6:48 why is the bIII (Eb) in Something from the Beatles? Where is the logic behind that chord?

[@OTR392]

Love your videos, been watching for a while, and theyre getting better! Thanks for doing what you do David!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!!

[@canonwright8397]

Another good show and a nice song at the end to boot. Keep it up and have a nice day.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks, will do!

[@Arycke]

5:46 Bbmin7b5 is bii dim The key is A, Bb is the flat 2. Bm6 is the ii-6, think you just had a typo on the flat 2 (#1) diminished. Awesome video, I love these kinds of videos a lot. The examples make retention easier. Thank you.

[@BrytonBand]

Talk about timing. Coincidentally, I was just watching your video on augmented chords and you brought up how they’re the only form of chords that can’t be inverted. After you said that, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Now here we are.

[@descendingforth]

Best music theory channel on KZbin!

[@dd-ccds]

thanks to you i’m finally understanding about chord progressions and modes. i can’t thank you enough. you’re really the best teacher out there. cheers! 🎶🎶🎶

[@bassplayer3974]

God only knows what invertions I play by time I splatter the chord tones all over the neck, good vid thanks.

[@jeffreyestacio5394]

Wow!!! Thanks a brilliant chord progression!!! I always learn a lot from you!!! Keep up the good and generous work you share.

[@wadecooler7496]

Beautiful piece of music you have there at the end

[@i.setyawan]

Your outro composition has always been a pleasure to listen to. But, I think this one is the best yet! Great video.

[@gianpierocea]

A fantastic italian song full of inversions is Paolo Conte's "gli impermeabili". Actually the tune you composed at the end sort of reminded me of it. I really reccomend it for the English listeners ;)

[@Veni_Vidi_Vortice]

10:33 Dammit, you forced me to stand up and salute! 😛

[@DesertScorpionKSA]

Interesting. I always thought of some of those inversions as just walking the bass line up or down to the next chord but now I see that there is some music theory behind it.

[@tedl7538]

Well these inversions ARE the "next chord." That's a distinction here.

[@chrishb7074]

Another one of your best episodes.

[@JumpingCow]

Loved your piece at the end!

[@nugboy420]

5:18 (my area code woot woot…) anyway thanks for doing this part. I often get people asking why I use inverted chords and this is a prime example I will start showing.

[@nugboy420]

Speaking to that, my knowledge is ever changing and I am wondering if I am right in saying the Cdim7, being the flat third diminished, the lil o next to biii is for a half diminished; whereas the Bbm7(b5), being the second… fully diminished? The lil o has a / through it next to the ii. I assume I could look up to confirm the hypothesis but I guess based off of the notes in Bbm7(b5) kinda shows me that lol. If I am wrong plz let me know.

[@BigmanBoi]

I've personally found with my own song writing that inversions really add some great colour to a song, and believe it or not, they really suit alternative rock and power chords

[@tedl7538]

I thought power chords were just two-note intervals (usually fifths), how do you do an inversion with that?

[@osocargm]

Your composition is beautiful, thanks for sharing

[@christopherfryda]

I absolutely enjoy your videos, thank you!!!

[@oblivionpro69]

I liked your inversions piece at the end, those last 3 chords were very pretty. Keep it up

[@johnmac8084]

Really interesting post, thanks. Great outro music as well

[@robertpien8708]

Great lesson I know Elton John uses a lot of slash chords to create diffrent emotion and really helps with voice leading. Sus chords and clusters also create incredible about of emotion as well because they help extend chords and melodies also . Ty

[@tedl7538]

Yes! Also, sometimes these inversions create a momentary pedal point effect in the bass.

[@aviolentpurple9925]

Outstanding video! I must try using this ASAP

[@pcp110]

I really hope you’re getting good pay from those ads because. Your vids are top notch. Your level of care really shows. It’s pretty impossible to find other creators that break down theory to the point that anyone can understand the why of it all, and still maintain a solid conversation. You talk like we’re the new guy in the studio who just needs some help 😂. So many other times i watch other theory vids, they get stuck on the monotonous parts of theory and I find myself just waiting for them to get to the parts i’m not sure about. Bottom line, you should be charging us for these vids (please don’t)

[@EricMakingWaves]

I use actual numbers in place of Roman numerals. It's easy to read 1/3 because it's same format as C/E. I denote major, minor, 7th (etc.) with standard notation after that. Every time I hand out a chart like this people understand it right away.

[@JCoubz]

Great vidéo, as always! Thx

[@composer7325]

Excellent video, thank you, David.

[@althealligator1467]

I always just write the bass note as an arabic numeral for the specific scale degree, so for example C/E in the key of C major would just be I/3, or Ab/Eb also in the key of C major would just be bVI/b3. It can't really lead to confusion since chord extensions which are also labeled with arabic numerals never appear after the /.

[@alnitaka]

To me a second inversion major chord suggests a major seventh chord. An E in the bass with a C major chord has an overtone B that comes with it, which makes it sound somewhat like CEGB, the Cmaj7 chord. A C in the bass in an A minor chord reminds me of a C6 or perhaps an Am7 chord, with the G overtone of the c together with ACE.

[@axlhyvonen461]

This was extremely intrresting, even more than usually, if possible! ☺️

[@leorautins1]

Great video! Two songs with inversions I dig. Pre-chorus to Peace Love and Understanding - third chord being G7 third inversion (the bass playing the F). Pre-chorus to the Kinks’ Better Things - I don’t know what they all are, but they’re cool.

[@Skelterbane69]

Inverting powerchords is a fun little trick, too

[@Tinyterror-dn5cs]

Song 2 by blur is the first that comes to mind

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Agreed!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Yeah, I saw that in Paul David's recent video 😀😀

[@victorwilburn8588]

Makes them even easier to play on guitar than regular power chords. Richie Blackmore loved them (though I believe he talked about them as parallel 4ths, but same diff -- a 4th is an inverted 5th) as evidenced by songs like "Smoke on the Water" and "Burn". Page used them in Zep's version of "In My Time of Dying". An easy way to make great-sounding riffs.

[@eduardotrillo3519]

thanks David!

[@drew-adams]

Excellent video. Clear and informative. Keep up the great work!

[@HeribertoRangelM]

Amazing explanation tank-you!

[@washaconte3956]

The thing with figured bass is that there are numbers that are let out to write it faster. Maybe because they were obvious at the time. For example first inversion is 6-3, but people let out the number 3, it's like writing "n't" instead of "not". Those two numbers represent the intervals between the bass and the next note of the chord, hence 6-3 in a C chord is a third from E ( the bass) to G, and a 6th from E to C. That's why 6-4 doesn't get rid of the 4, as in this kind of chord with 3 notes, its the only inversion with a 4th from bass to the other note of the chord. In the C chord, that will be the interval from G (in the bass) to C. With 7th chords things get complicated, as there are more intervals... time to count and figure what is the number they let out this time...

[@wandajames143]

Thanks for this!

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks for watching!

[@tunestar]

Wonderful video! I'm so glad I found your channel!

[@jaredgarciaosorio4014]

Geez that outro piece was perfect David

[@connorlarkinbass]

lovely piece at the end!

[@ShaharHarshuv]

Your piece is just beautiful. Love it.

[@los9952]

Guess I was playing C major first inversion when I first started playing guitar… couldn’t mute the low E lol

[@illwobble]

I've mainly got used to it now, but I still think it weird and unhelpful that the same "slash chord" system is used to denote straightforward 1st and 2nd inversions and also things like G/Bb, Gm/E and others where the bass note is not from the chord. It often tripped me up, and makes sight reading on piano from chords harder than it need be if the simple inversions were more obviously marked and didn't look the same as these more exotic chords.

[@tedl7538]

That's why your first example should just be labelled as a Bb with a sixth and flatted ninth, and your second example as just a root position E half diminished.

[@illwobble]

@@tedl7538 hmmm… your use of “just” suggests those are simpler but they’re actually much harder to work especially when sightreading. It’s very easy to play a G chord in right hand and a Bb in the bass. I just think it’s confusing things like that use the same notation as simple inversions. Probably the simple inversions are the ones you’d want to label differently…

[@helenbromley3618]

Thanks, really appreciated!

[@PendelSteven]

I grew up playing the C as C/G on keys. Later I changed to guitar and even though you can play the root notes - you don't have to. So guitar chords tend to have quite some invertions. The B7/E comes to mind. From low to high you can play E - B - D# - A - B - F and resolve it to E (E-B-E-G#-B-E). A trick Oasis learned from the Beatles, I think and I learned from Oasis. :)

[@wildy6980]

9:02 Why not just to call the first inversion []³⁄₆ and to be honest I`ve never seen somebody call it []₆ so I think it`s not such a problem I know it`s somewhat outdated system, but I like it because it literally tells you what to do and which intervals are in a chord :D But you`re right, it gets confusing if a chord is more that a triad

[@joschlunde]

Damn, I think that could be my favourite of your example compositions.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thank you!

[@kalvino67]

Hi David, I would love it if you could do a lesson on how you have acoustically treated your room for recording. BTW, your videos/lessons are inspiring, educational and entertaining!!

[@tutubeos]

Well done 💙

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Cheers!

[@lim7lim]

Beautiful outro piece

[@nugboy420]

4:15 I need one of those right now ;)