Editing Bass note (section)

{{Short description|Lowest note of a chord}}
[[File:Bass Note.png|thumb|Bass note, described in picture, of a C major [[Triad (music)|triad]] {{audio|Major triad on C.mid|Play}}. 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 chord|inverted triads.]]]]
[[File:Ab-over-A slash chord.png|thumb|right|150px|A{{music|b}}/A (alternately notated as A Major{{music|b}}/A bass) notated in regular notation (on top) and tabulature (below){{audio|Ab-over-A slash chord.mid|Play}}.]]{{More citations needed|date=April 2025}}
In [[music theory]], the '''bass note''' of a [[chord (music)|chord]] or [[simultaneity (music)|sonority]] is the lowest [[Musical note|note]] played or notated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meaning of bass note in English |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bass-note}}</ref> If there are multiple [[voice (music)|voices]] it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice (the note furthest in the [[Bass (sound)|bass]].)

Three situations are possible:

# The bass note is the [[root (chord)|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]].

[[Image:Bass note examples.png|thumb|center|400px|Examples with bass note in red: C major chord in [[root position]] [[Voicing (music)|close position]] (C), [[open position]] (C), [[first inversion]] (E), [[second inversion]] (G), and [[tone cluster|cluster]] on C (C). {{audio|Bass note examples.mid|Play}}]]

In pre-[[tonality|tonal]] theory ([[Early music]]), root notes were not considered and thus the bass was the most defining note of a sonority. See: [[thoroughbass]]. In [[pandiatonic]] chords the bass often does not determine the chord, as is always the case with a [[nonharmonic bass]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-08 |title=What's The Difference Between A Root Note And A Bass Note? |url=https://www.hearandplay.com/main/whats-difference-root-note-bass-note |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=Hear and Play Music Learning Center |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Leading-tone triad and secondary leading-tone triad in Chorale Gotte der Vater, wohn' uns bei colored roots and bass.png|thumb|center|400px|Root notes and bass notes in an 18th century Chorale (bass notes are red, roots are blue, and bass notes which are also roots are purple) {{audio|Leading-tone triad and secondary leading-tone triad in Chorale Gotte der Vater, wohn' uns bei.mid|Play}}]]