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Old 01-07-2019, 09:18 AM
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Erithon Erithon is offline
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In some cases you should still think of it as an inversion: Em/F#, for example, is an inversion of an Em9 [or perhaps Em(add9) if there is no D] chord. True, it just says "Em," but if an F# is heard it will sound like a 9th even if it's in the bass. Inversion applies to extended chords as well as triads.

In other cases, it is probably better to think of it less in terms of vertical analysis (what harmony it is) and more in terms of the horizontal motion of the bass line. Context will determine this, but you could have a bass line that is acting as a pedal or moving in a way that doesn't fit into basic analysis and thus is best not considered in such terms.
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