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Finding Your Own Voice by Jimi Durso – Inversions
Inversions can be a real fun way of using the fourth and fifth elements of the bass line hierarchy (from my column back in November). If you look in the Harvard Dictionary of Music, the definition of an inversion takes up half a page. I’m going to define it in a way that is simpler and more useful for us bassist: an inversion is when you treat another part of the chord as if it were the root.
This can be done in a number of ways. The simplest way is to only play that notes against the corresponding chord. Another thing is to make that sure that note is on the downbeat of the measure, or to make it the lowest pitch you play. Put both of those together and it makes the inverting much clearer. You could also play it more than the other notes in the measure. As you experiment, you may even come up with some other methods.
So let’s come up with some examples. I’m going to use a brilliant chord progression that was written by almost every guitarist you’ve ever worked with: D C G D. So what are some options for inversions? Well, if we’re just using triads, and only invert the first chord (which makes it sound like a change from the final chord, instantly providing this chord sequence with some forward impetus) we have D/F# C G D, or D/A C G D. If we wanted to get a little farther out, we could put the seventh under the first chord, providing us with D/C C G D. This is an intriguing sound, as the bass note stays the same for the first two chords, with the chord changing, but from the end to the beginning the chord is the same but the bass note changes.
So let’s take the first one and come up with some ideas on how we can create bass lines around it.
We could play whole notes or straight eighths on the low notes, but let’s see what else we can do. I came up with four different lines for this chord progression. For example one I leaned on the first note, and then just played a line through the related scale (D Mixolydian in this case) to get to the next one. For the first three chords two scale tones always worked (though I had to jump up an octave on the G chord to keep the line in four-string range) and for the final D I just jumped to the fifth to drop two notes back to the beginning.
For the second example, I created a more driving line by using an almost steady stream of eight notes. I also implied a counterpoint by using two pitches in each measure, but while the bottom goes through the chord progressions “roots” (F#, C, G, D), the high part ascends through the scale (F#, G, G, A). Notice how each of these notes are still part of the underlying chord.
Example number 3 has a more latinish rhythm, and most of the notes fit in with the chord. The exceptions are where the final note of the measure is used to lead to the next measure, in measure 1 it’s the fifth of the next chord and in measure 3 it’s the third. Notice how in the first measure F# is the first note but not the lowest. The line drops down to the root, but it still creates the sound of an inversion.
For example 4 I didn’t play the downbeat at all, giving it a reggae vibe (though if it’s slapped, it sounds really badass). Even though the chord progression is supposed to be D/F# C G D, the treatment of the chords in this bassline makes it unclear which chords are inverted. The G almost sounds like G/B, and both the C and the last D, though they have the root note as the lowest note, it’s between two other accented notes, making both almost sound like they could be inverted.
Now come up with some of your own. Also, discover how it sounds when you invert other parts of this chord progression, e.g. D C/G G D, or D C/G, G/B, D, or D/C C/E G/D D.
You can hear me play the examples here.
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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