4th Chord Inversions for Jazz Guitar

While many of us have experimented with 4th chords at some point in our development, we
often learn a fewroot-position shapes and move on from there.
Root-position 4th chords are essential learning for any jazz guitarist, but taking them one
step further andworking out their inversions will go a long way to expanding your
harmonic vocabulary, as well as helping you keep 4th chords in your playing without
sounding cliché or monotonous at times.
In this lesson, we’ll look at how you can practice three-note 4th chords in inversions, as
well as applying these shapes to chord scales, and tips for taking them further in the
woodshed.

4th Chord Inversions – Shapes

To begin, let’s look at the various shapes that you can work on when inverting 4th chords
on the guitar.
When you invert a 4th chord, you change the static 4th interval structure that you used to
build theroot position for that chord.
Here are the three interval patterns for 4th chords when applied to inversions.

Root Position – R-4-7 (4th + 4th)

1st Inversion – 4-7-R (4th + 2nd)
2nd Inversion – 7-R-4 (2nd + 4th)

As you can see, the addition of the 2nd blurs the strict 4th-interval sound that you get with a
root position chord. But, it is just this slight alteration that allows the chords to sound fresh
and new, without using any notes from outside your original chord shape.
Here is an example of these inversions as applied to a Dm7 and Cmaj7 4th chord shape.

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Try working these inversions in all keys for m7 and maj7 chords, as well as taking them to
7th chords in your woodshedding in order to get a full grasp of how these shapes are built,
how they sound, and how they fit across the fretboard in your playing.

4th Chords Inversions – Chord Scales

One of my favourite ways to practice 4th chords is by working on chord scales. This is when
you take a shape, such as a first inversion 4th chord, and then run it through the different
notes of the underlying key.
Here is an example of that concept using the first inversion of Dm7, which you saw earlier,
and then moving it up through each note in the D Dorian Scale, until you reach the first
chord shape one octave higher.
Start by working this idea in the key of Dm7, and then take it to other keys for m7 chords,
as well as to other chord types such as maj7 and 7th chords, as you move forward with this
idea in the woodshed.

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You can also apply chord scale to second inversion 4th chords, and here is an example
of that idea using the same Dm7 shapes you learned earlier.

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Again, begin by working this chord scale over Dm7, then move on to other keys and
chords, and finally use these shapes to create chord and comping lines over modal and
jazz standard tunes in a practical, musical situation.

4th Chord Inversions – Video Lesson

4th Chord Inversions – Further Practice

After you have worked out the above inversions and chord scales over a Dm7 chord, try
taking them to other 4th chords that you know or are working on in the woodshed, such as
maj7, 7th and m7b5 chords.
A good way to go about this, beyond practicing chord scales, is to put on a one chord
vamp and comp or chord solo over that change using inversions of 4th chords to build your
lines.
From there, you can move on to other keys for the one-chord vamp, as well as adding one
or more chords to the mix in order to begin working these shapes through multiple keys in a
single chord progression.
When you are comfortable, try taking them to a modal tune or jazz standard where there is
enough room between chords to apply these shapes and experiment with these sounds in
your comping, such as “Softly as in a Morning Sunrise,” “So What,” or “Milestones.”