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Information: Banjo Chord InversionsWith the following 3 basic shapes, you can make many major chords up the neck of the banjo. Making the same chord higher up the neck is called an inversion. Once you can move between these 3 shapes accurately without pausing you will be capable of many things such as backing up and jamming with other musicians. To further your understanding of chords, I encourage you to learn the basic theory behind chords.
The F shape |
The D shape |
The BAR shape |
Printer friendly inversion chart
Printer friendly seventh and minor inversion shapes
The following diagram shows the modifications required to make sevenths out of the 3 basic chord shapes. In this example, I am using G and begin at the first closed chord position (D shape at 3rd fret, F shape at 7th fret and BAR shape at 12th fret). The diagram only shows G because once you know the different major inversions, these shapes can be moved to different locations on the neck to form other sevenths.
Try it with C and D but remember you should aim for a strong grasp of the basic major inversions before learning sevenths or minors!
= In many cases you can drop this note, particularly if you are only rolling over the top 3 strings.
Printer friendly seventh and minor inversion shapes
The minor shapes follow the same principal above, in that these positions can be moved along the neck to form other minor chords. Here again, I'm using G.
I believe if you have a basic understanding of why chords look as they do, you'll be better positioned to commit them to memory. I recommend you take a look at my page on basic chord theory.
= In many cases you can drop this note, particularly if you are only rolling over the top 3 strings.