Quick key to invert a chord
I've been trying to find a way to do this, but can't. So I'm assuming (I know, I know, not a good thing to do sometimes) it's not possible, and would like to know if this may be something to consider in a future revision. Is there a quick key to invert a chord? What I'm looking to do is say if I have a chord and it is written middle C, E, G, and I want the C to be displayed at the top (so E, C, G), is there a quick way to do that?
I know you can click on the C and hit +, but what if I have a whole bar (or five) and I want to do that? Is there a quick way?
As an extension to this, when changing the key of a song, any way to set it to automatically invert a chord if the notes get too high or too low based on whatever rule I set?
Comments
You can move a note up or down an octave using ctrl+ arrow keys to create various inversions.
In reply to You can move a note up or… by mike320
I knew that, my line above rendered incorrectly because I used less than and greater than to indicate my keys...
I know you can click on the C and hit [ctrl] + [up arrow], but what if I have a whole bar (or five) and I want to do that? Is there a quick way?
I want to know if there is a way to select a bar full of chords, and by pressing, say, [alt] [up arrow] it would allow me to cycle through inversions by moving the lowest note up an octave, and conversely have [alt] [down arrow] do the same thing but in reverse.
In reply to I knew that, my line above… by amilardovic
No, MuseScore does not allow for automatically cycling through inversion of chords. You have to decide on your own inversion and move notes yourself. You can move several notes up or down at once by ctrl+click to add them to the selection.
In reply to I knew that, my line above… by amilardovic
There is no single command because that wouldn't be a common thing to do. But you could get creative with Explode and Implode under Edit / Tools if you have a need.
In reply to I knew that, my line above… by amilardovic
I think this would be possible using the plugin framework. Now if only someone had the time...
In reply to I think this would be… by jeetee
Time? What's that? A new feature? ;-)
Sometimes I write a piece for my tambura orchestra, and I try to keep the notes in my chords within an octave, trying to stay above middle C. Sometimes after I write a piece I change the key but then one of the notes goes outside of the range (ie. writing something in the key of a C with a C chord, the C will be middle C, dropping the song to A would move that note down to A would go two leger lines below the staff), ideally it would be cool if the software would "auto invert" to keep all the notes within a range.
Or, I guess, I could just plan it out better before writing the chords. :-)
Just thought I'd throw that out; thank you to everyone who took the time to read and comment--this is a fantastic community!
In reply to I knew that, my line above… by amilardovic
2024 - is now there this logical and beautiful feature?
In reply to 2024 - is now there this… by ascarafoni
Try my MU3 plugins:
https://musescore.org/en/project/next-inversion-replaces-all-chords-key…
https://musescore.org/en/project/keyboard-chord-inversions-single-selec…
I don't think they will work in MU4
In reply to Try my MU3 plugins: https:/… by elsewhere
Versions for MS 3x and MS 4x (including 4.4):
In reply to Versions for MS 3x and MS 4x… by graffesmusic
Thank you!!
EDIT: I can confirm these versions run fine in MU3.6. I'm posting them on the plugin pages with credit to you for MU4 compatibility.
In reply to Try my MU3 plugins: https:/… by elsewhere
Very interesting! I always wandered is there any "official" algorithm in music theory for making inversions of chords that span over one octave. With chords spanning one octave (like triad chords and seventh chord), it's easy. You raise the lowest note of the chord for one octave and there you have the next inversion.
You seem to put chord pitches of the chord to the same octave and then sort them to determine how lowest tones of inversions will occur. This looks nice in the score. However I wonder is there any music theory book which explains your method or you invented it?
Best regards
In reply to Very interesting! I always… by hstanekovic
I picked it up at a jazz workshop. What else could you do? It's like TINA (there is no alternative). Also in ceg, egc, gce you move each note to the next note.
In reply to Very interesting! I always… by hstanekovic
There is no particular reason changing inversion should alter the top note of the voicing, and indeed, musically speaking, it’s normally better if it doesn’t. Inversion is about one thing and one thing only: the bass note.
In reply to There is no particular… by Marc Sabatella
True, the bass note (and the bass not only) determines the inversion of the chord. But, for instance, when you have C4 E4 G4 B4 D5, I always wondered is the next inversion E4 G4 B4 C5 D5? This is because I learned that when you have an interval you can find it's inversion by raising the lowest note by an octave. The same holds for a chord that spans one octave. By using the same logic the next inversion would be E4 G4 B4 C5 D5. But I think here is presented another solution D4 E4 G4 B4 C5 which probably works better.
In reply to True, the bass note (and the… by hstanekovic
You learned incorrectly - although it's a pretty common oversimplification found in a lot of teaching materials. There is no such thing as a "next inversion". Assuming you mean C to be the root of that chord, then anything with C in the bass is root position. Octaves don't matter in the slightest. Anything with E on the bottom is first inversion - again, regardless of octaves. So if you start with C E G B D, then any combination of those pitches in any octave is first inversion. Doesn't matter if you take you original voicing and raise the C an octave, or lower the E an octave, or both, or just add a new E (doubled) leaving everything else alone), or completely scrambled all the octaves. Any voicing of that chord with E in the bass is first inversion, and no one such voicing is any more the "next" inversion than any other.
As I said, in most musical contests, the voicing is chosen based as much on the top note as anything anything, so you typically would opt for voicings that preserve that, assuming you have a voicing you like in some given content t and you just want to change inversions. Changing the top note wouldn't normally make musical sense - it messes up the voice leading.
In reply to You learned incorrectly -… by Marc Sabatella
I would not say it's incorrect. An interval has one root position and one inversion, a triad chord has one root position and two inversions, and seventh chord has one root position and three inversions. "Next" is well defined because there is the sequence: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion etc.
Of course, many possible chord voicing exist for a single position (but that was not my question). Or we can call all them as different positions, but then we should classify them as positions that are "root positions", positions that are "1st inversions" etc. For intervals, triad chords and seventh chords, for each position (root, 1st inversion...), there is exactly one voicing in "close position". So I should probably mention the term "close position" before to be clear.
In reply to I would not say it's… by hstanekovic
Yes there is a sense in which first inversion is the "next" inversion after root position in numerical order, but my point is, there is no specific voicing of first inversion that is any more "next" than any other. As I have been explaining, literally any combination of those pitches is first inversion if E is at the bottom. Octave simply doesn't matter - it is completely irrelevant from the perspective of defining inversions.
But yes, if you are limiting consideration to close position voicings for some reason - certainly not a musical one, as I have been explaining that rarely makes sense - then there is only one first inversion close position,. It still doesn't make any logical sense to say it is any more the "next" first inversion voicing than any other would be.
In reply to Yes there is a sense in… by Marc Sabatella
Yes, you are right Marc! If you are not limiting yourself to close positions then it's impossible to define what would be "next" position of a given chord.