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root position

American  

noun

Music.

  1. the position of a triad in which the root is in the bass.

root position British  

noun

  1. music the vertical distribution of the written notes of a chord in which the root of the chord is in the bass See position inversion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of root position

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

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Plenty of phrases with the primary chords in root position must be taken before the other chords are treated.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.