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🎹 Chord Inversion Calculator

Choose a root note, chord type, and inversion to see which note ends up in the bass and the resulting note order.

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What this calculator does

The Chord Inversion Calculator shows what happens to a chord’s note order when it is inverted, meaning a note other than the root is placed in the bass (the lowest voice).

How the calculation works

Every chord is built from a root note plus a fixed pattern of semitone intervals: for example, a major triad is root, root+4 semitones, and root+7 semitones. Root position plays these notes low to high starting with the root. Each inversion rotates the note order by one step: 1st inversion puts the 3rd of the chord in the bass, 2nd inversion puts the 5th in the bass, and for four-note 7th chords, 3rd inversion puts the 7th in the bass.

This calculator covers standard tertian (stacked-third) triads and 7th chords used in Western music theory. It shows note names and voicing order only; actual octave placement and doubling are up to the performer or arranger.

Last reviewed August 2026