The MAGIC Of Third Inversion Chords - Chord Progression Music Theory

Tommaso Zillio

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In a musical key there are only 7 possible chords. How can we write new music with such a limited palette of colors?

There are several solutions to this.

You can use extended chords, you can use secondary and chromatic chords and go out of key, you can change key, you can use first or second inversion chords...

... all these are popular solutions. But today I'm giving you an idea from the less-traveled path.

(Of course, you have guessed it from the subject of this email)

Here it is: you can use third inversions chords.

Yes, first inversion and second inversion chords are extremely common - but today I want to talk about the absolutely underrated magic of third inversion chords.

These are found quite rarely (probably because songwriters don't always know about them) and they sound absolutely gorgeous.

All the details on how to play them and write with them here:

If you are curious about inversions, here's another video on first inversion triads and how to use them to write chord progressions.

These are another 'secret weapon' of songwriters:

Also, here are a few other chords that do not seem to be used that commonly, and yet sound great.

I mean, there's a reason why the video below is one of the most popular on my channel:

If you watched these videos, you now have a few tings to try out. And they may be overwhelming too! There are SO many options.

If you want to get to know not only what you can do, but also the principles behind it - so you can finally understand chords and harmony and can create (yes, CREATE) more and more chords and progressions like the ones above, then check out the Complete Chord Mastery guitar course that goes through the principles on harmony and explains how to apply them straight on the fretboard of your guitar.