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Root (chord)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In music theory, the concept of root is the idea that a chord can
be represented and named by one of its notes. It is linked to
harmonic thinking—to the idea that vertical aggregates of notes
can form a single unit, a chord. It is in this sense that one speaks
of a "C chord" or a "chord on C"—a chord built from "C" and
of which the note (or pitch) "C" is the root. When a C chord is
Root, in red, of a C major chord
referred to in Classical music or popular music without a
reference to what type of chord it is (either Major or minor, in ( Play ). Note that the root is
most cases), it is assumed a C major triad, which contains the doubled at the octave.
notes C, E and G. The root needs not be the bass note, the
lowest note of the chord: the concept of root is linked to that of the inversion of chords, which is
derived from the notion of invertible counterpoint. In this concept, chords can be inverted while
still retaining their root.

In tertian harmonic theory, that is in a theory where chords can be considered stacks of third
intervals (e.g. in common practice tonality), the root of a chord is the note on which the subsequent
thirds are stacked. For instance, the root of a triad such as C Major is C, independently of the
vertical order in which the three notes (C, E and G) are presented. A triad can be in three possible
positions, a "root position" with the root in the bass (i.e., with the root as the lowest note, thus C, E,
G or C, G, E, from lowest to highest notes), a first inversion, e.g. E, C, G or E, G, C (i.e., with the
note which is a third interval above the root, E, as the lowest note) and a second inversion, e.g. G,
C, E or G, E, C, in which the note that is a fifth interval above the root (G ) is the lowest note.

Regardless of whether a chord is in root position or in an inversion, the root remains the same in all
three cases. Four-note seventh chords have four possible positions. That is, the chord can be played
with the root as the bass note, the note a third above the root as the bass note (first inversion), the
note a fifth above the root as the bass note (second inversion), or the note a seventh above the root
as the bass note (third inversion). Five-note ninth chords know five positions, etc., but the root
position always is that of the stack of thirds, and the root is the lowest note of this stack (see also
Factor (chord)).

Contents
1 Identifying a chord's root
2 History
3 Possible mathematical and scientific basis
4 Assumed root
4.1 In jazz

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5 Root progressions in music

6 See also
7 References

Root position, first inversion, and

Identifying a chord's root second inversion C major chords
Play root position C major
Although the safest way to recognize a chord’s root is, after chord , Play first inversion C
having reduced the chord to close spacing, to rearrange it as a major chord , or Play second
stack of thirds, there are shortcuts to this: in inverted triads, the inversion C major chord . Chord
root is directly above the interval of a fourth, in inverted roots (all the same) in red.
sevenths, it is directly above the interval of a second. [1] With
chord types, such as chords with added sixths or chords over
pedal points, more than one possible chordal analysis may be
possible. For example, in a tonal piece of music, the notes
C,E,G,A, sounded as a chord, could be analyzed as a C Major
sixth chord in root position (a major triad–C,E,G– with an Root position, first inversion, and
added sixth–A– above the root) or as a first inversion A minor second inversion chords over C
seventh chord (the A minor seventh chord contains the notes bass Play root position C major
A,C,E and G, but in this example, the "C" note, the third of the chord , Play first inversion A
A minor chord, is in the bass). Deciding which note is the root minor chord , or Play second
of this chord could be determined by considering context. If the inversion F major chord . Chord
chord spelled C,E,G,A occurs immediately before a D7 chord roots in red.
(spelled D,F#,A,C), most theorists and musicians would
consider the first chord a minor seventh chord in first inversion,
because the progression ii7-V7 is a standard chord movement.

Various devices have been imagined to notate inverted chords

and their roots:

Chord names and symbols (e.g., C Major, A minor, G7

etc.)
Roman numeral analysis (e.g., I to indicate the tonic chord Determining chord root from
and V to indicate the dominant chord) inversion Play . "Revoicing
Slash chords (e.g., G/B bass, which instructs the chord- inverted triads to root
playing performer to play a G Major triad with a "B" in position".[1]
bass voice/lowest note)

The concept of root has been extended for the description of intervals of two notes: the interval can
either be analyzed as formed from stacked thirds (with the inner notes missing): third, fifth,
seventh, etc., (i.e., intervals corresponding to odd numerals), and its low note considered as the
root; or as an inversion of the same: second (inversion of a seventh), fourth (inversion of a fifth),
sixth (inversion of a third), etc., (intervals corresponding to even numerals) in which cases the

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upper note is the root. See Interval.

Some theories of common-practice tonal music admit the sixth as a possible interval above the root
6
and consider in some cases that 5 chords nevertheless are in root position – this is the case
particularly in Riemannian theory. Chords that cannot be reduced to stacked thirds (e.g. chords of
stacked fourths) may not be amenable to the concept of root, although in practice, in a lead sheet,
the composer may specify that a quartal chord has a certain root (e.g., a fake book chart that
indicates that a song uses an A sus 4 (add b7) chord, which would use the notes A, D, G. Even
though this is a quartal chord, the composer has indicated that it has a root of A.)

A major scale contains seven unique pitch classes, each of which might serve as the root of a chord:

Root position triads from C major scale[2] Play .

Chords in atonal music are often of indeterminate root, as are equal-interval chords and mixed-
interval chords; such chords are often best characterized by their interval content.[3]

History
The first mentions of the relation of inversion between triads appears in Otto Sigfried Harnish’s
Artis musicae (1608), which describes perfect triads in which the lower note of the fifth is
expressed in its own position, and imperfect ones, in which the base (i.e., root) of the chord appears
only higher. Johannes Lippius, in his Disputatio musica tertia (1610) and Synopsis musicae novae
(1612), is the first to use the term "triad" (trias harmonica); he also uses the term "root" (radix), but
in a slightly different meaning.[4] Thomas Campion, A New Way of Making Fowre Parts in
Conterpoint, London, c1618, notes that when chords are in first inversions (sixths), the bass is not
"...a true base,", which is implicit a third lower. Campion’s "true base" is the root of the chord.[5]
Full recognition of the relationship between the triad and its inversions is generally credited to
Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Traité d’harmonie (1722). Rameau himself indeed was convinced having
been the first to discover triadic inversion,[6] but his main achievement is to have recognized the
importance of the succession of roots (or of chords identified by their roots) for the construction of
tonality (see below, Root progressions).

Possible mathematical and scientific basis

The concept of root has some basis in the physical properties of harmonic sounds. When two notes
or more notes from the harmonic series are played at the same time, people sometimes perceive the
fundamental note of the series, even if that note is not present (see Missing fundamental). This
property has been used in organ building for the production of low notes by resultant tones.

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Andreas Werckmeister’s Harmonologia (1702) describes the major triad in root position and in first
inversion in terms of the harmonic series, but this description cannot be extended to the minor
triad.[7]

Hindemith, who described the chromatic scale as resulting from "the juxtaposition of vibrating
units in the proportions of the simple numbers from 1 to 6", i.e. from the intervals corresponding to
harmonic partials 1 to 6, called the fundamental of this harmonic series the "root" of the scale.[8]
From this root, he then derived a series of notes in diminishing degree of relationship, which he
called Series 1 and on which he built a system of composition. This system however has been
criticized for being based generically in theory derived rules and not on perception of specific
instances.[3]

Assumed root
An assumed root (also absent, or omitted root) is, "when a
chord does not contain a root ([which is] not unusual),".[10] In
any context, it is the unperformed root of a performed chord.
This 'assumption' may be established by the interaction of
physics and perception, or by pure convention. "We only
interpret a chord as having its root omitted when the habits of
the ear make it absolutely necessary for us to think of the absent
root in such a place."[emphasis original].[11] "We do not
acknowledge omitted Roots except in cases where the mind is
necessarily conscious of them...There are also cases in
instrumental accompaniment in which the root having been
struck at the commencement of a measure, the ear feels it Assumed root, Am7/B: A minor
through the rest of the measure."[emphasis original][12] ninth chord without root and with
B in the bass.[9] Play Am9/B,
In guitar tablature, this may be indicated, "to show you where Am7, then full Am9.
the root would be," and to assist one with, "align[ing] the chord
shape at the appropriate fret," with an assumed root in grey,
other notes in white, and a sounded root in black.[9]

An example of an assumed root is the diminished seventh chord, of which a note a major third
below the chord is often assumed to be the absent root, making it a ninth chord.[15] The diminished
seventh chord affords, "singular facilities for modulation," as it may be notated four ways, to
represent four different assumed roots.[14]

In jazz

In jazz and jazz fusion, roots are often omitted from chords when chord-playing musicians (e.g.,
electric guitar, piano, Hammond organ) are improvising chords in an ensemble that includes a bass
player (either double bass, electric bass, or other bass instruments), because the bass player plays

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the root. For example, if a band is playing a tune in the key of C

major, if there is a dominant seventh chord played on the
dominant chord (i.e., G7), the chord-playing musicians typically
don't play the G note in their voicing of the chord, as they
expect the bass player to play the root. The chord playing
musicians usually play a voicing that includes the third,
seventh, and additional extensions (often the ninth and
thirteenth, even if they are not specified in the chord chart). A comparison of the diminished
Thus a typical voicing by a chord-playing musician for a G7 7th Play and dominant 7th[13]
chord would be the notes B and F (the third and flat seventh of
(♭9) Play chords.
the chord), along with the notes A and E (the ninth and
thirteenth of the G7 chord). One possible voicing for this G7
chord would be the notes "B,E,F,A" (the third, thirteenth, flat
seventh and ninth of the G7 chord). [Note: the thirteenth
interval is the same "pitch class" as the sixth, except that it is
one octave higher; the ninth is the same "pitch class" as the
second interval, except that it is one octave higher).]

Diminished seventh chord's use

Root progressions in music in modulation: each assumed
root, in parenthesis, may be used
The fundamental bass (basse fondamentale) is a concept
as a dominant, tonic, or
proposed by Jean-Philippe Rameau, derived from the
supertonic.[14] Play ninth
thoroughbass, to notate what would today be called the
chords Thus C, taken as
progression of chord roots rather than the actual lowest note
dominant, would modulate to F.
found in the music, the bassline. From this Rameau formed
rules for the progression of chords based on the intervals
between their roots. Subsequently, the Viennese theory of tonal music has typically treated chordal
roots as the defining feature of harmony.[16]

Roman numeral analysis may be said to derive from the theory of the fundamental bass, although it
does not particularly theorize the succession of roots. The theory of the fundamental bass properly
speaking has been revived in the 20th century by Arnold Schoenberg, [17] Yizhak Sadaï[18] and
Nicolas Meeùs.[19]

It may be noted in passing that the expression "Fundamental bass" is somewhat improper in
English, and is used here as a literal translation of the French basse fondamentale. Indeed, English
makes a relative distinction between the music-theoretic concept of "Root" and the acoustic concept
of "Fundamental", a distinction that does not exist in other languages: the links to Wikipedia
articles corresponding to this one in other languages link to articles titled Grundton in German or
the equivalent in other Germanic languages, or (Basse) Fondamentale in French or the equivalent
in other Roman languages. The literal translations of "root" as Wurzel (German) or racine (French),
etc., are not common in music theory, unless in texts translated from English.

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Why is it so important to know the root of the chord? Because the roots of the chords
will sound whether we want them to or not, whether or not the alphabetical symbol is
correct. The root progression which emerges may not coincide with what we think we
have written; it may be better or it may be worse; but art does not permit chance. The
root progression supports the work. The total root progression is heard as a substantive
element, almost like another melody, and it determines the tonal basis of the music. And
the tonal basis of a piece is very important to the construction of themes and to the
orchestration.[20]

See also
Figured bass

References
1. Wyatt and Schroeder (2002). Hal Leonard Pocket Music Theory, p.80. ISBN 0-634-04771-X.
2. Palmer, Manus, and Lethco (1994). The Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios and Cadences,
p.6. ISBN 0-7390-0368-2. "The root is the note from which the triad gets its name. The root of a C triad
is C."
3. Reisberg, Horace (1975). "The Vertical Dimension in Twentieth-Century Music", Aspects of Twentieth-
Century Music, p.362-72. Wittlich, Gary (ed.). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN
0-13-049346-5.
4. Joel Lester, "Root-Position and Inverted Triads in Theory around 1600", Journal of the American
Musicological Society 27/1 (Spring 1974), pp. 113-116.
5. Joel Lester, op. cit., p. 112.
6. B. Rivera, "The Seventeenth-Century Theory of Triadic Generation and Invertibility and its Application
in Contemporaneous Rules of Composition", Music Theory Spectrum, p. 67.
7. B. Rivera, op. cit., p. 66-67.
8. P. Hindemith, Craft of Musical Composition, A. Mendel transl., New York, 1942, p. 53. (Ein einziger
Ton die Wurzel der zu ihm gehörenden Tonleiter, Unterweisung im Tonsatz, new edition, Mainz, 1940, p.
73.)
9. Latarski, Don (1999). Ultimate Guitar Chords: First Chords, p.5. ISBN 978-0-7692-8522-1.
10. Chapman, Charles (2004). Rhythm Guitar Tutor: An Essential Guide to Becoming the Consumate [sic]
Rhythm Guitarist, p.4. ISBN 978-0-7866-2022-7.
11. John Curwen (1872). The Standard Course of Lessons and Exercises in the Tonic Sol-Fa Method of
Teaching Music, p.27. Londong: Tonic Sol-Fa Agency, 8, Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row, E.C.
12. Curwen, John (1881). The new How to observe harmony, p.44. Tonic Sol-Fa Agency.
13. Richard Lawn, Jeffrey L. Hellmer (1996). Jazz: Theory and Practice, p.124. ISBN 0-88284-722-8.
14. Adela Harriet Sophia Bagot Wodehouse (1890). A Dictionary of Music and Musicians: (A.D.
1450-1889), p.448. Macmillan and Co., Ltd.
15. Schoenberg, Arnold (1983). Theory of Harmony, 197. ISBN 978-0-520-04944-4.
16. Simon Sechter, Die Grundsätze der musikalischen Komposition, vol. I, Leipzig, 1853.

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17. A. Schoenberg, Theory of Harmony, op. cit., and Structural Functions of Harmony, ²1969, pp. 6-9 and
passim.
18. Y. Sadaï, Harmony in its Systemic and Phenomenological Aspects, Jerusalem, pp. 87-88.
19. N. Meeùs, “Toward a Post-Schoenbergian Grammar of Tonal and Pre-tonal Harmonic Progressions”,
Music Theory Online 6/1 (2000), http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.00.6.1/mto.00.6.1.meeus.html. See
also http://nicolas.meeus.free.fr/NMVecteurs.html
20. Russo, William (1975). Jazz Composition and Orchestration, p.28. ISBN 0-226-73213-4.

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