Chord Identification & Inversion Worksheet — Triads / 7ths PDF

Stack the notes in 3rds, name the root, then read the quality

Chord identification is a two-step skill that students often try as one step. Step one: rearrange the notes in 3rds (C-E-G regardless of which appears at the bottom of the stack) — this finds the root. Step two: read the *intervals* between root, 3rd, 5th (and 7th if present) to determine quality: Major (M3 + P5), minor (m3 + P5), diminished (m3 + d5), augmented (M3 + A5).

Inversion is then trivial: which note is at the bottom of the *original* stack tells you root position (root in bass), 1st inversion (3rd in bass), 2nd inversion (5th in bass), or — for 7th chords — 3rd inversion (7th in bass). The figured bass / chord symbol column captures both notation systems: "C/E" pop-music slash chord = "I⁶" Roman-numeral analysis = first inversion.

7th chords appear at the bottom of the worksheet because they require one extra step: name the triad first, then identify the type of 7th. Dominant 7 has a m7 above the root, Major 7 has M7 above, Minor 7 has m7 above a minor triad, half-diminished has m7 above a diminished triad.

Pair with the Scales Reference Chart (chords are built from scale tones) and the Interval Identification Worksheet (chord quality *is* the intervals between chord tones).