Chapter 28

The Fretboard: Power Chord Inversions

Here is G5:

For bass: The fretboard diagrams in this chapter use only the shared E–A–D–G strings. The shapes and fret locations work exactly as shown on four-string bass and sound one octave lower.

To invert the interval, take the low note and make it the higher note:

G5 can also be played here:

And therefore, you can also think of inversion as bringing the higher note down and making it the lower note:

An inverted G5 is D–G, a Perfect 4th. The chord symbol is then “G5/D”. It’s pronounced like “G5 over D” or “G5 with D in the bass”. And the shape looks like this (a perfect 4th shape):

Here is tablature for both chord shapes along with the chord symbols and chord diagrams:

And just so that we’re clear, there is no chord symbol for the Perfect Unison or Perfect 8th.