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Root (chord)

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	Topics Root (chord) Topic Home In musicMusic Summary Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity that involves organized and audible sounds and silence.... the root (basse fondamentale) of a chordChord (music) In music and music theory the term *chord* broadly refers to any collection of notes or pitches that appear simultaneously... is the note or pitchPitch (music) Overview Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a musical note or sound.... upon which that chord is perceived or labelled as being built or hierarchicallyTonality Overview Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a "center" or tonic.... centered upon. This feeling of centeredness is aurally perceivable for those who grew up with European music, and its verbal labelling is a basic skill for the musically trained. When the root is the bass noteBass note The bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated.... , or lowest note, of the expressed chord the chord is said to be in root position. This may also be described as uninverted or in normal formNormal form The term *normal form* is used in a variety of contexts.... . Often the root is not the lowest pitch played in a chord, in which case the chord is invertedInversion (music) In music theory, the word *inversion* has several meanings.... . Conventionally, the name of the note which is the root is used to denote the chord, thus a major chord built on C is a C Major chordMajor chord Generally speaking, a major chord is any chord which has a major third above its root, as opposed to a minor chord which has... . Starting with RameauJean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era.... , the analysis and theoryMusic theory Music theory is a field of study that involves an investigation of the many diverse elements of music, including the develop... of tonal musicTonality Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a "center" or tonic.... usually treats the roots as the defining feature of chords and much information can be gained from a progression of roots even if chord inversions are unknown. Also, if the keyKey (music) In music theory, the key identifies the tonic triad, the chord, major or minor, which represents the final point of rest for... is known then the chord qualities are known for each root in simple music. In a root progression, the most familiar form of labelling chord progressionChord progression Overview A chord progression, in its most basic definition, stands as an antonym for retrogression.... s, chords are labelled by their root, rather than bass if different, as above. This is in contrast to an older pre-tonal conception of chords as sonorities wherein root position or first inversion triads are simply considered alternative and fairly equivalent ways of "filling in" the consonance between octaves, C (E G) C or C (F A) C. See: Figured bassFigured bass Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and nonchord ... . See also Inversion (music)Inversion (music) In music theory, the word *inversion* has several meanings.... Music theoryMusic theory Music theory is a field of study that involves an investigation of the many diverse elements of music, including the develop...