Printable worksheet
Interval Inversion Worksheet
Free interval inversion worksheet: invert intervals on the staff and name the result. Learn the rule of nine; easy to hard; printable with answer key.
Interval Inversion Worksheet
Sheet #
Name Date Score /
Answer key
Interval Inversion Worksheet · Sheet #
How to use it
- Choose a difficulty and the type of question.
- Press New worksheet for a fresh set.
- Invert the interval by moving one note an octave, then name the new interval and, if asked, its notes.
- Show answers to check against the rule of nine, or print the answer page separately.
This worksheet practises interval inversion: turn an interval upside down and say what you get. Knowing inversions makes interval recognition faster, because a 6th is just an upside-down 3rd, and it explains why thirds and sixths behave alike in harmony.
The rule#
An inversion is made by moving the lower note up an octave or the upper note down an octave. Then:
- Number: original + inversion = 9 (3rd and 6th, 2nd and 7th, 4th and 5th).
- Quality: major and minor swap, augmented and diminished swap, perfect stays perfect.
Question types#
- Notes on a staff: two stacked notes are shown; you invert them, name the new interval and can write the new pair.
- Notes given as letter names: the same task from text, a good test of whether you can picture the interval without a staff.
- Interval names only: “A major 3rd is inverted: what is it?”, plus number-only and quality-only variants.
Difficulty levels#
- Easy: natural notes with major, minor and perfect intervals; letter-name questions tell you the original interval.
- Medium: sharps and flats are allowed and you must identify the original interval yourself.
- Hard: augmented and diminished intervals are included.
The answer key shows the inverted notes on a staff and the arithmetic behind each answer.
Frequently asked questions
What is an interval inversion?
Moving the lower note up an octave, or the upper note down an octave, so the two notes swap places. C up to E becomes E up to C.
What is the rule of nine?
An interval and its inversion add up to nine: a 3rd inverts to a 6th, a 2nd to a 7th, a 4th to a 5th. A unison inverts to an octave and an octave to a unison.
How does the quality change?
Major becomes minor, minor becomes major, augmented becomes diminished, diminished becomes augmented, and perfect stays perfect. A major 3rd (C-E) inverts to a minor 6th (E-C).
Do compound intervals invert the same way?
The usual rule applies to intervals within an octave. Compound intervals are normally reduced to simple ones before inverting, so this worksheet uses simple intervals only.