Bass note, described in picture, of a C major triadPlay. The bass note of the triad is also the root of the triad in this scenario; but this is not always the case with triads, such as in the case of inverted triads.A♭/A (alternately notated as A Major♭/A bass) notated in regular notation (on top) and tabulature (below)Play.
In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice (the note furthest in the bass.)
Three situations are possible:
The bass note is the root or fundamental of the chord. The chord is in root position.
One of the other pitches of the chord is in the bass. This makes it an inverted chord
The bass note is not one of the notes in the chord. Such a bass note is an additional note, coloring the chord above it. Such a chord is also called a slash chord.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.