music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

, inversions higher than the third require

extended chord In music, extended chords are certain Chord (music), chords (built from third (chord), thirds) or triad (music), triads with notes ''extended'', or added, beyond the seventh (chord), seventh. Ninth chord, Ninth, Eleventh chord, eleventh, and T ...

s; the fourth inversion requires a

ninth chord In music theory, a ninth chord is a chord (music), chord that encompasses the interval (music), interval of a ninth when arranged in close and open harmony, close position with the root (chord), root in the bass (sound), bass. Heinrich Schenker ...

, the fifth an

eleventh chord In music theory, an eleventh chord is a chord that contains the tertian extension of the eleventh. Typically found in jazz, an eleventh chord also usually includes the seventh and ninth, and elements of the basic triad structure. Variants ...

, etc. Regarding these extensions, the writer Marcus Miller notes that:

Fourth inversion

The fourth inversion of a ninth chord is the voicing in which the

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

of the chord is the

bass note In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice (the note furthest in the bass.) Three situations are possible: # ...

and the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

minor seventh In music theory, a minor seventh is one of two musical intervals that span seven staff positions. It is ''minor'' because it is the smaller of the two sevenths, spanning ten semitones. The major seventh spans eleven. For example, the interval ...

above it. In the fourth inversion of a G- dominant ninth, the bass is A — the ninth of the chord — with the third, fifth, seventh, and root stacked above it, forming the intervals of a second, a fourth, a sixth, and a seventh above the inverted bass of A, respectively. : Ninth chord resolution examples given by Schoenberg

Ninth chord resolution examples given by Schoenberg

Fifth inversion

The fifth inversion of an

is the voicing in which the eleventh of the chord is the bass note and the root a perfect fourth above it. In the fifth inversion of a G- dominant eleventh with eleventh, the bass is C — the eleventh of the chord — with the root, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth stacked above it, forming the intervals of a second, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh above the inverted bass of C, respectively. :

Sixth inversion

The sixth inversion of a

thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is th ...

chord is the highest possible

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair ...

inversion, since the diatonic scale has seven notes. (The "seventh" inversion of the dominant thirteenth chord is root position.) Higher inversions would require

chromaticism Chromaticism is a compositional technique interspersing the primary diatonic scale, diatonic pitch (music), pitches and chord (music), chords with other pitches of the chromatic scale. In simple terms, within each octave, diatonic music uses o ...

and either nonscale tones or scales with more than seven tones.

Arrangement of notes above the bass

Any voicing above the bass is allowed. For example, a fourth inversion must have the ninth chord factor in the bass, but it may have any arrangement of the root, third, fifth, and seventh above that, including doubled notes, compound intervals, and omission of the fifth (A-G-B-D-F, A-B-D-F-G-B, A-G-D-F, etc.)

Notes

References