# Seventh Chord Inversions: Practice with Full Answers

*2026-11-01*

F♯3–A3–C♯4–D4 is a D major seventh chord in first inversion. Its root is D, but F♯ is lowest. Spread it out as F♯3–C♯4–A4–D5 and it keeps the same inversion. The gaps changed; the bass didn't.

**To identify a seventh-chord inversion, recover the chord's root-order spelling, then identify which member is in the bass.** Check the quality from the root. Keep the actual lowest pitch in view while you rearrange the other notes.

The ten exercises below cover five common seventh-chord qualities, with full answers for each. You'll compare wide and close arrangements, distinguish half-diminished from fully diminished chords, and build a new voicing yourself.

![A man points to the ochre base of four differently colored stones stacked on a seaside ledge](https://czaixyl0esghkd4s.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/marketing/0da8ceeaded957bcf9e410ddb46a529a9a5e21efbb8b8ed9df9012df8e6fb52d.webp)

## Keep the bass separate from the root

Write two things before naming an inversion: the **actual bass** and the chord's **root–third–fifth–seventh spelling**.

- The **root** names the chord and starts its stack of thirds.
- The **bass** is the lowest sounding pitch in the given arrangement.
- The **voicing** is how the chord's notes are arranged across registers and voices, including spacing and doubling.

The root stays the same across a chord's inversions. The bass determines the inversion, as shown in [musictheory.net's seventh-chord inversion lesson](https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/47).

Here, every pitch list runs from lowest to highest. C4 is middle C; the octave number changes at C, so B3 comes just below C4. These are the [octave-register conventions used by Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom](https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/OctaveRegisters.html). All required sharps and flats are written beside the notes; no key signature is implied.

To recover the root-order spelling, temporarily set octave numbers aside and arrange the distinct written notes in consecutive letter thirds. The opening F♯–A–C♯–D becomes **D–F♯–A–C♯**. The letters D–F–A–C give root, third, fifth, seventh. Keep each accidental attached to its letter. If this step is unfamiliar, start with [triad chord spelling](/blog/triad-chord-spelling/), then add the next alternating letter for the seventh.

This method is for complete, correctly spelled seventh chords built in thirds. An omitted note, added tone, or enharmonic respelling may require musical context to establish the root. A fully diminished seventh chord, for example, can have different root names when the same sounding notes are respelled.

## Check the quality from the root

Measure the third, fifth, and seventh above the **root**, wherever they appear in the voicing. Bring them into the octave above the root for this check.

| Seventh-chord quality | Third | Fifth | Seventh | Semitones above root, including root |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Major seventh | Major third | Perfect fifth | Major seventh | 0, 4, 7, 11 |
| Dominant seventh, also called major-minor | Major third | Perfect fifth | Minor seventh | 0, 4, 7, 10 |
| Minor seventh | Minor third | Perfect fifth | Minor seventh | 0, 3, 7, 10 |
| Half-diminished seventh | Minor third | Diminished fifth | Minor seventh | 0, 3, 6, 10 |
| Fully diminished seventh | Minor third | Diminished fifth | Diminished seventh | 0, 3, 6, 9 |

[Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom introduces these five common qualities](https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/SeventhChordsIntroduction.html). Other seventh-chord qualities exist; this worksheet stays with these five.

Half-diminished and fully diminished chords share their third and fifth. Check the seventh to tell them apart. Its letter matters too: a diminished seventh spans seven letter positions, even though its nine semitones sound like a major sixth in equal temperament.

Common chord symbols include Dmaj7, D7, Dm7, Dø7, and D°7 for those five qualities on D. **D7 means D dominant seventh**, rather than any seventh chord with D as its root.

## Seventh-chord inversion chart: 7, 6/5, 4/3, 4/2

Match the actual bass to a member of the root-order spelling.

| Bass is the chord's… | Position | Full figures above the bass | Usual shorthand |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Root | Root position | 7/5/3 | 7 |
| Third | First inversion | 6/5/3 | 6/5 |
| Fifth | Second inversion | 6/4/3 | 4/3 |
| Seventh | Third inversion | 6/4/2 | 4/2, sometimes 2 |

The slashes put normally stacked figures on one line; they aren't division signs. The [university text's inversion-symbol guide](https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/FiguredBassInversionSymbols.html) shows 6/5, 4/3, and 4/2. [musictheory.net uses the shorter 2 for third inversion](https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/49).

Figures give **written interval numbers above the bass**, reduced across octaves for these inversion labels. A tenth reduces to a third; a ninth reduces to a second. They don't count semitones or label members from the root. Nor do these bare numbers specify the chord quality or every accidental: the notation and musical context supply that information.

Take **F♯3–A3–C♯4–D4** through the whole process:

1. Record the bass, F♯3. Separately, arrange the notes as D–F♯–A–C♯.
2. From D, the intervals are a major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh: D major seventh.
3. F♯ is the chord's third, so the chord is in first inversion.
4. Above F♯, A is a third, C♯ a fifth, and D a sixth. The full figures are 6/5/3, shortened to **6/5**.

A slash chord names the bass directly: **Dmaj7/F♯**. That slash has a different job from the slashes separating figures here.

## Change the spacing, then change the bass

Compare these three voicings:

| Pitches, lowest first | Chord | Bass member | Inversion |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| F♯3–A3–C♯4–D4 | D major seventh | Third, F♯ | First, 6/5 |
| F♯3–C♯4–A4–D5 | D major seventh | Third, F♯ | First, 6/5 |
| C♯3–F♯3–A4–D5 | D major seventh | Seventh, C♯ | Third, 4/2 |

In the second row, the upper notes moved while F♯3 stayed lowest. In the third, C♯ moved below F♯ and became the bass. All three retain the spelling D–F♯–A–C♯. [musictheory.net's voicing lesson](https://www.musictheory.net/lessons/51) demonstrates the same distinction between arranging upper notes and choosing the bass.

Doubling a note leaves the chord's root and quality unchanged. Record the lowest pitch, then ignore duplicate copies when finding the four distinct members. That tells you how to identify the chord; choosing doublings for a particular style is a separate task.

This also differs from [interval inversion](/blog/interval-inversion/), which concerns the complementary interval between two notes. For chord inversion, identify the member in the bass.

## Ten exercises to try before reading the answers

Cover the answers and use this response format for questions 1–9:

**Root-order spelling → root and quality → actual bass and member (1, 3, 5, or 7) → inversion and figures**

These are written analysis exercises. You can work on paper without an instrument. If you're putting the pitches on a bass staff, the [bass clef note guide](/blog/bass-clef-notes/) can help with register placement.

| # | Pitches or task |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | E♭3–G3–B♭3–D4 |
| 2 | A2–F3–C4–D4 |
| 3 | C3–E3–F♯3–A3 |
| 4 | C3–E♭3–F♯3–A3. What changed from question 3? |
| 5 | F3–A♭3–C4–D♭4 |
| 6 | F3–C4–A♭4–D♭5. Did the inversion change from question 5? |
| 7 | C3–F3–A♭4–D♭5. What changed from question 6? |
| 8 | E3–A3–C4–E4–G4. Account for the repeated E. |
| 9 | A♭2–B♭3–D4–F4 |
| 10 | Build an E major seventh chord in third inversion with D♯3 as the bass. Include all four members. Then write a second voicing that keeps D♯3 lowest but changes the upper notes' registers. |

## Answers with the checks shown

### 1. E♭ major seventh, root position, 7

The spelling is **E♭–G–B♭–D**. From E♭, G is a major third, B♭ a perfect fifth, and D a major seventh: 4, 7, and 11 semitones. E♭3 is lowest and is member 1, the root. The intervals above that bass are third, fifth, seventh: full figures **7/5/3**, shortened to **7**.

### 2. D minor seventh, second inversion, 4/3

Rearrange the notes as **D–F–A–C**. The root-relative intervals are minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh: 3, 7, and 10 semitones. A2 is the actual bass and member 5. D can be the highest note and still be the root. Above A, C gives a third, D a fourth, and F a sixth after octave reduction: **6/4/3 → 4/3**.

### 3. F♯ half-diminished seventh, second inversion, 4/3

The spelling is **F♯–A–C–E**. From F♯, A is a minor third, C a diminished fifth, and E a minor seventh: 3, 6, and 10 semitones. C3 is the bass and member 5. Above C, E is a third, F♯ a fourth, and A a sixth: **6/4/3 → 4/3**. Measuring quality from C would confuse the bass with the root.

### 4. F♯ fully diminished seventh, second inversion, 4/3

The spelling is **F♯–A–C–E♭**. The minor third and diminished fifth still measure 3 and 6 semitones from F♯. E♭ makes a diminished seventh at 9 semitones. Keep the E♭ spelling: the seventh above F♯ needs an E letter, while D♯ would be a sixth.

Only the seventh changed from question 3. C3 remains member 5 in the bass, so the quality changed while the inversion stayed the same. E♭, F♯, and A still give a written third, fourth, and sixth above C: **6/4/3 → 4/3**.

### 5. D♭ major seventh, first inversion, 6/5

The spelling is **D♭–F–A♭–C**. From D♭, the intervals are major third, perfect fifth, major seventh: 4, 7, and 11 semitones. F3 is lowest and is member 3. A♭, C, and D♭ give a third, fifth, and sixth above F: **6/5/3 → 6/5**.

### 6. D♭ major seventh, first inversion, 6/5 again

The spelling remains **D♭–F–A♭–C**, with root-relative intervals of major third, perfect fifth, major seventh (4, 7, 11 semitones). F3 is still the bass and member 3. A♭ and D♭ moved up an octave; the inversion didn't change.

Above F3, C4 is a fifth, A♭4 a tenth, and D♭5 a thirteenth. Reduce the tenth to a third and the thirteenth to a sixth: **6/5/3 → 6/5**. The order of the upper notes doesn't alter the figures.

### 7. D♭ major seventh, third inversion, 4/2

The spelling is still **D♭–F–A♭–C**, with a major third, perfect fifth, and major seventh above D♭ (4, 7, 11 semitones). This time C4 moved down to C3, below F3. C is member 7, so it creates third inversion.

Above C3, F3 is a fourth, A♭4 a thirteenth, and D♭5 a sixteenth. The last two reduce to a sixth and second: **6/4/2 → 4/2**. F3 remains in the chord, but C3 now determines its inversion.

### 8. A minor seventh, second inversion, 4/3

Ignore the duplicate E when finding the spelling: **A–C–E–G**. From A, the intervals are minor third, perfect fifth, minor seventh: 3, 7, and 10 semitones. E3 is the lowest pitch and member 5; E4 doubles that fifth.

Above the bass, A, C, and G reduce to fourth, sixth, and third: **6/4/3 → 4/3**. The extra E adds an octave above the bass, which doesn't change this inversion label.

### 9. B♭ dominant seventh, third inversion, 4/2

The spelling is **B♭–D–F–A♭**. From B♭, D is a major third, F a perfect fifth, and A♭ a minor seventh: 4, 7, and 10 semitones. A♭2 is lowest and is member 7.

The wide gap to B♭3 doesn't change the inversion. Above A♭2, B♭3 is a ninth, D4 an eleventh, and F4 a thirteenth. They reduce to second, fourth, sixth: **6/4/2 → 4/2**.

### 10. E major seventh over D♯3

One answer is **D♯3–E3–G♯3–B3**. A second is **D♯3–B3–E4–G♯4**.

Start with **E–G♯–B–D♯**: major third, perfect fifth, major seventh above E, at 4, 7, and 11 semitones. Third inversion requires member 7, D♯, in the bass. D♯3 is lowest in both answers, so both are **Emaj7/D♯**.

In the first voicing, E3, G♯3, and B3 give a second, fourth, and sixth above D♯3. In the second, B3 gives a sixth, E4 a ninth, and G♯4 an eleventh. Both reduce to **6/4/2 → 4/2**. Other arrangements work if they include all four members and keep every upper note above D♯3.

## Use the mistake to choose the next question

If you found the right root but chose the wrong inversion, keep your root-order spelling and circle the original lowest pitch. Label that note 1, 3, 5, or 7 before checking the chart.

If questions 3 and 4 blurred together, compare their seventh intervals. If 5–7 caused trouble, write two new voicings over the same bass, then move a different chord member below it. Check both the spelling and the lowest pitch each time.

For spaced review, save the questions that exposed a recurring error. Ask for the chord, bass member, and reason; keep the full explanation on the answer side. Try again on a later day, then use a fresh voicing so you're applying the rule. Written naming, hearing inversions, and playing them are separate skills. This worksheet practices written naming.

*Preparation note: AI tools were used to research, write, and edit this worksheet using the linked theory references. The worked voicings and exercises were created for this article and checked for pitch order, chord spelling, and intervals. The illustration is AI-generated. No classroom trial or human expert review was performed.*

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