Root position

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title: "Root position" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["chord-factors", "chords", "voicing-(music)"] description: "Term in music" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_position" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Term in music ::

: { \override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/4) \time 4/4 \relative c' { \once \override NoteHead.color = #blue 1^\markup { \column { "Root" "position" } } 1^\markup { \column { "First" "inversion" } } 1^\markup { \column { "Second" "inversion" } } } }

In the root position of G dominant seventh chord, the bass note is G, the root of the seventh chord.

: { \override Score.TimeSignature

1. 'stencil = ##f \override Score.SpacingSpanner.strict-note-spacing = ##t \set Score.proportionalNotationDuration = #(ly:make-moment 1/4) \time 4/4 \relative c' { \once \override NoteHead.color = #blue 1^\markup { \column { "Root" "position" } } 1^\markup { \column { "First" "inversion" } } 1^\markup { \column { "Second" "inversion" } } 1^\markup { \column { "Third" "inversion" } } } } In figured bass, a root-position triad has no symbol, while a root-position seventh chord is notated with a "7".

According to The American History and Encyclopedia of Music:

Note that any voicing above the bass is allowed. A root position chord must have the root chord factor in the bass, but it may have any arrangement of the third and fifth above that, including doubled notes, compound intervals, and omission (e.g., C–E–G, C–E–G–E', C–G'–E'', etc.)

References

References

1. "Also".

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