homeontherange inversion lesson

8/12/2019 HomeOnTheRange Inversion Lesson

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/homeontherange-inversion-lesson 1/5

Get A Grip On ChordsWith An Inversion Immersion

By Hemme B. Luttjeboer

Are you able to play basic chords and know enough about them to create anexciting rhythm accompaniment? Then this brief tutorial will serve as a review of

your overall prowess. If not, then pick up your guitar and read on.

From A Simple Lead SheetIn this simple tune, “Home On The Range,” I have created a few possibilities forchord accompaniment using a common musical practice of “chord inversions” toadd movement to rather plain garden-variety cowboy chords. The simple triads

might work for you as in the leadsheet. The diagonal slashes are usedas simple quarter note suggestions soyou can invent your own rhythms. Thechords are basic in the key of G majorand feature an occasional secondarydominant yet they don’t quite augment,propel or excite the overall song verymuch. Fig. 1



Using InversionsAll four-part chords contain fourdifferent notes. From each one of thesenotes you can create another chordshape. The sound changes slightly

and its spelling is rearranged. For

example, Gmaj7 chord is a four-partchord containing the root, 3rd, 5th andmajor 7th notes. When you displacethe lowest chord tone, the root, and

place it somewhere else in your chord

voicing or ngering, the lowest notein the chord becomes the 3rd. Thisnew ngering shape is called the rstinversion of Gmaj7 and is now called

Gmaj7/B. The chord has been inverted.Fig. 2 .

For A More Involved Arrangement The second arrangement of “HomeOn The Range” Fig. 3 , is a little moreinvolved and opens the door to somegreat possibilities for chord movement.It has been transformed from a simple“campre sing along” to a more hiparrangement. By simply moving the

chords along using inversions a farmore ear catching accompaniment iscreated.

Without wasting any time measure 1moves from the I chord (Gmaj7) to the2nd inversion V7 chord (D7/A) on beatthree. This sets up the rst inversion G/B

in measure 2 followed by a 1st inversiondominant G7/B that resolves nicely toCmaj7.

Take note of the chords played inmeasures 5 and 6. They can really testyour nger dexterity if the shapesare unfamiliar. On the lead sheet



there are only two chords played inmeasures 5 and 6 yet I’ve created someworthy of note movement in the newarrangement. Isolate and play just thelowest note of each of these chordsto hear how a bass player could walkthrough these measures. Simply playingthe melody together with these low

notes implies the chords. Gmaj7/F isthe 3rd inversion of Gmaj7 and A7/C isthe 1st inversion of A7.

Note the contrary motion of melodyagainst the low notes of the chords

in measure 13. The melody takes adownward path as the lowest chordnotes move upward. The note or notes

in between help determine whatkind of chord is created. Measure 20introduces three different ways to playD7 while measures 29 and 30 essentiallyfollow the melody contour beforecoming to rest on G.



Compare this involved harmonization of“Home On The Range” to the lead sheetarrangement. You don’t have to play anew chord on every beat as in someof these measures but hopefully I havegiven you a possibility for spicing up asomewhat staid arrangement. Take other

simple tunes you know that use a fewchords and liven up the arrangementby injecting some inversions. You’ll beamazed at the transformation!

You can nd more lessons with chordinversions and guitar exercises in my book“The Complete Idiot’s Guide To GuitarExercises” published by Penguin/AlphaPublishing.

Hemme Luttjeboer is a guitar transcriber,arranger and engraver from British

Columbia, Canada. Over the past 22 yearshe has transcribed over 250 folios with allthe top U.S. publishing companies. You cancontact him at –www.musiconpaper.com

http://www.musiconpaper.com/

http://www.musiconpaper.com/

homeontherange inversion lesson

Documents