# Inversions, fast

Drill root position and the first, second and third inversions, and switch between them with a single key press.

## Same chord, different bottom note

An inversion keeps the notes of a chord but puts a different one at the bottom. C major is C–E–G in root position, E–G–C in first inversion and G–C–E in second. Songs use inversions all the time, because they let the hand move a short way instead of jumping across the keyboard.

You choose which inversions PianoKitty asks for, and it checks that the right note is at the bottom.

![The practice screen asking for C major in first inversion: a green "1st inversion" bar, and the notes E, G, C.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/inversions/hero.webp)

## Change inversions without leaving the keyboard

Since your hands are on the piano, you switch inversions from the computer keyboard. On the practice screen:

| Keys | Action |
| --- | --- |
| `0` `` ` `` | Root position |
| `1` | First inversion |
| `2` | Second inversion |
| `3` | Third inversion (seventh chords and up) |
| `←` `→` | Previous / next inversion |

> To drill a mix, press several digits within about a quarter of a second. `0``1``2` asks for all three inversions of a triad in random order. The app skips inversions a chord cannot have, such as a third inversion of a triad.

## The same choice in Preferences

The inversion buttons are also in [Preferences](https://pianokitty.com/preferences), next to the chord types. Select as many as you want to mix.

![The Inversions setting: root position and 1st inversion selected, 2nd and 3rd not; an "Any inversion is fine" checkbox below.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/inversions/preferences.webp)

## When any inversion will do

While you are still learning to *find* F major, any inversion of it should count. Tick **Any inversion is fine** and the app accepts every inversion. The bar then becomes a dotted outline, which shows that any note of the chord can be at the bottom.

![F major with a dotted "Any inversion" bar and a hand icon at each end.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/inversions/any-inversion.webp)

> An inversion key turns strict mode back on: after you press `1`, the next chord must be in first inversion again.

## How the inversion is shown

These display options in Preferences change how the inversion appears:

- **Color each inversion** — black for root position, green for first, violet for second and orange for third.
- **Show inversion bar** — shows or hides the bar under the chord name.
- **Slash inversions (C/E)** — writes the inversion into the chord name, as lead sheets do: C/E is C major with E in the bass.
- **Display inversions in the chart** — marks the inversions in the chord chart as well (C.2, G.1).

![The chord name written as C/E above a green first-inversion bar.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/inversions/slash.webp)

## Try a drill

- Try it: [First inversions](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=1&reqinv=true): Major and minor triads, every key, always the first inversion.
- Try it: [All three, mixed](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=0,1,2&reqinv=true): Root, first and second inversions of major triads in random order.
- Try it: [Third inversions](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=6,7,8&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=3&reqinv=true): Seventh chords with the seventh in the bass.
- Try it: [Read slash chords](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11&inv=1,2&reqinv=true&slash=true): Inversions written as C/E, Am/C…, as on a lead sheet.

Related: [Random chords + levels](https://pianokitty.com/features/random-chords.md), [Choose your own voicing](https://pianokitty.com/features/voicings.md), [Broken chords and arpeggios](https://pianokitty.com/features/broken-chords.md)

Source: https://pianokitty.com/features/inversions