How is first inversion indicated?

How is first inversion indicated?

• A. By putting a 4 after the chord
• B. By putting a 7 after the chord
• C. By putting a 6 after the chord
• D. By putting a 3 after the chord

Answer: (C)

First inversion places the triad’s third as the lowest note, so the harmony is analyzed with a sixth above the bass (and a third as well). In standard figured bass, that situation is indicated by a 6 after the chord, signaling a first-inversion triad. A concrete example helps: a C major triad with E in the bass has intervals above E of a third (G) and a sixth (C), which is why the 6 is used. Therefore the correct indicator is the number 6. The other figures don’t mark this inversion: a 4 isn’t the standard mark for first inversion, a 7 points to a seventh-chord context, and a 3 isn’t the conventional marker for this inversion.

First inversion places the triad’s third as the lowest note, so the harmony is analyzed with a sixth above the bass (and a third as well). In standard figured bass, that situation is indicated by a 6 after the chord, signaling a first-inversion triad. A concrete example helps: a C major triad with E in the bass has intervals above E of a third (G) and a sixth (C), which is why the 6 is used. Therefore the correct indicator is the number 6. The other figures don’t mark this inversion: a 4 isn’t the standard mark for first inversion, a 7 points to a seventh-chord context, and a 3 isn’t the conventional marker for this inversion.