Root note

The note a chord or scale is built from and named after, and the note that acts as its home centre.

Everything in a chord or scale is measured as an interval from the root, so a G major chord is a G with a third and a fifth above it and a G major scale starts and finishes on G. On guitar the root is also a physical landmark, since the notes of the sixth, fifth and fourth strings are learned first so the player can find a chord's position from its bass note. In slash chords and inversions the root is not the lowest note, which is a distinction worth keeping clear.

Example: The A played on the fifth string at the open position is the root of the open A major chord.

Root note

See also