Root

What it means

The root is the note on which a chord or scale is built and which gives it its name. In a scale it is the first note and is also called the tonic; in a chord it is the note above which the other notes are stacked in thirds. In the C major triad c–e–g, C is the root.

Musical use

The root determines the degree and function of a chord: the chord on the fifth degree has the dominant as its root. It stays the same in inversions even when another note sounds in the bass, so a chord can be traced back to its root. The concept is important for chord theory, for scale-degree theory, and for Rameau's idea of the fundamental bass. For a single sound, too, root means the lowest note of the overtone series.

The root should be distinguished from the bass note, the actually lowest sounding note, which in inversions is not the root, and from the tonic, which means the central degree of a key, not every chord root. It also differs from concert pitch, the tuning note a'.

Performance practice

When reading and listening, first determine the root of a chord by arranging it in stacked thirds and hear how it acts as the lowest note. When playing, make sure to intonate the root securely, since it carries the chord.