6 String Freedom

Part 5: Understand the chords you already hold · Lesson 043 / 117

The bass note does not always name the chord

Today’s one thing

Distinguish root from lowest sounding note.

The root is the reference that names a chord's construction. The bass note is its lowest sounding pitch. They can be the same, but they do not have to be.

C–E–G still gives C major when E is placed below the other two notes. The chord root remains C while the bass is E. This arrangement is a first inversion, written C/E. If G is in the bass, it is second inversion, C/G.

Focus on the C/E comparison today. On D, G and B strings, fret 2–0–1 gives E–G–C: a small C-major voicing with E at the bottom. Compare it with a root-position C voicing. The ingredients are the same even though the bass changes.

A slash chord symbol reads “chord over bass.” It is not a fraction and does not tell you to alternate two complete chords. Some slash chords involve non-chord bass notes, but this first example uses a chord tone.

Hear it

Inversions

Audio file

Four-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.

A concrete example

C/E means a C-major chord with E as its bass. D2=E, G0=G, B1=C is one compact example.

Fretboard view

Tap a labelled note to hear it. High E/string 1 is at the top, matching tablature.

Root / tonicChord toneChanged / colour note
C/E — first inversion
The third is in the bass.
Guitar fretboard from open strings to fret 3; C/E — first inversion. Notes and highlighted targets labeled.
Same notes, different bass. That changes the chord’s sound and its role in progressions.
C/G — second inversion
The fifth is in the bass.
Guitar fretboard from open strings to fret 4; C/G — second inversion. Notes and highlighted targets labeled.
Inversions rearrange known notes instead of introducing a new chord quality.

Use this as a note map, not a speed test. Once the relationships make sense, play them without looking.

Try it, slowly

  1. Play and name the notes of the small E–G–C grip.
  2. Find its lowest sounding note.
  3. Compare with open C and say “same chord ingredients, different bass.”

Check one idea

If E is at the bottom of C–E–G, does the chord automatically become E major?

Show the explanation

No. Its ingredients still form C major. E is the bass, while C remains the root. E major would require E–G#–B.

A good place to stop

You can identify root and bass independently in this inversion.

Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.