What is the purpose of incorporating chord inversions in the creation of a piece of music?

Question

PianoPianoPiano: I don't understand what you mean by the second inversion tonic triad functioning as a dominant. Can you point me in the direction of some songs that illustrate this principle?

Answer 1

I like to make lists, so I'll list a few other reasons:

1. for purposes of counterpoint. Here is a clear example:
In "America the Beautiful," look at the bass part on the third line. For two measures, the basses sing what the sopranos sang at the beginning.

http://www.guitarnut.com/folktablature/the101bestsongs/americathebeautiful.html

2. To convey a sense of instability or insecurity. In Act I, 6-7 measures after rehearsal number 39, the heroine expresses jealousy over the woman whom Cavaradossi is painting. She asks him to paint the woman's eyes black. This passage ends in an inversion chord, probably for that reason.

3. There is something exciting about a descending bass line. Look at "Chim Chim Cheree," "A Bit of Honey," or Tschaikovsky's "Chanson Triste" and you will see what I mean.

4. The composer can get special effects by writing parallel chords. Look at the introduction to #12 in "Buds and Blossoms," op. 107 by Cornelius Gurlitt. Don't you agree that the paralell chords in the right hand add a flutey flavor?

5. For programmatic effects. In the introduction to #9, "The Chase" in the Burgmuller album, op. 100, you see inversions in the left hand which simulate hunting horns.

6. Second inversion chords are good right before a dominant seventh.

http://www.smu.edu/totw/inver2a.gif

Look through a church hymnal and examine the last three chords of each hymn. Betcha you won't have to look for long before you find a second second inversion--dominant seventh--tonic in root position, like in this example.

7. To keep the listener interested. One factor which separates Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven from mediocre composers like me is their skill in finding alternatives to the tonic chord in root position. When one of these masters DOES end a phrase with a chord in root position, you know that that is the end of an important section of the composition, such as a theme.

This is a trick which Puccini learned early in his career. At the beginning of Act II of "Le Villi," he teases us with inversion chords, modulations, chords with added dissonances--everything under the sun except a tonic chord in root position--until the scene opens on a funeral position. At that moment, we finally hear a tonic chord in root position.

For a bad example, listen to "Hebraic Lament," a composition for violin and orchestra by Richard Nanes. Once every few minutes, he sounds a sombre-sounding c minor chord in root position. He apparently hopes that the listener will forget that he has already heard it before, and will therefore be overawed by its sombreity.

You shouldn't have any trouble finding a CD. For purposes of self-promotion, the composer mails his CD's to music libraries and classical music stations everywhere.

Answer 2

Generally, an inversion of a chord sounds more unstable than the chord in it's root position....for example...a C major chord (C-E-G) if inverted to it's 2nd inversion or as a 6/4 chord (from bottom to top - G-C-E) will often "function" as a dominant (V) chord instead of a tonic (I) chord.

Also, sometimes a composer will want to vary the inversion of a chord for the purposes of voice-leading. For example, if you are in C major again (C-E-G) and you need to find a smooth way of moving to an F major chord...you would probably want to put the C major chord in it's first inversion (E-G-C). This makes it so that the "voices" of the chord lead more smoothly into the next. If the chords were always jumping around from root position to root position...melodies would never sound good...they would always be fragmented.

EDIT: "The cadential six-four is a second inversion tonic triad that MUST RESOLVE to a root position V or V7 chord. Even though the notes of the cadential six-four are those of the tonic triad, its cadential position and its necessary resolution to V reveal it to be of DOMINANT function. The cadential six-four is therefore NOT to be considered an inversion of tonic harmony but an intensification and embellishment of V. " This definition was taken from the following informative webpage through Duke University: http://www.duke.edu/web/mus118/cad.htm
Here is another helpful website that discusses all the different possible inversions. It appears to be a guide for a music theory class: http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/music/burnette/MUS111/111i.htm

For musical examples....it is difficult for me to think of one in particular because it is a technique/chord that was used all the time. You can find it in the sonatas of Beethoven as well as many other classical pieces. Here is one example that i was able to find: http://books.google.com/books?id=rL9VzC-6vYQC&pg=PA169&lpg=PA169&dq=cadential+%22six+four%22+chord+beethoven&source=web&ots=fy08BIOCwm&sig=f0-i1VGQhPujMScj82b2lwxzmio
Also...I found this helpful music theory example...it is mostly about chord doublings...but if you click through the animated presentation, it gives an example of how the cadential 6/4 chord is used. Hopefully it will help. http://www.musictheory.net/legacy/swf/id62.swf

Answer 3

Chim Chim Cheree Chords