The Root Note

You have been introduced to the root note before, but i have not said anything about it's job. The root note is the note on which the scale is built. If you choose the scale E phrygian, our root note would be E. E is actually a lot more than the first note of the scale.

The first thing I would like to make clear is that the root note of a peice of music is the note or chord on which it ENDS, i.e. the last note. It doesn't matter where it starts from, just where it ends. (There are a few exceptions to this rule, which you will learn later) For example, we take two chord progressions which use the notes of the C major scale:

Am G Dm Am G Am Listen
vi V ii vi V vi

This progression was in the Aeolian mode or the natural minor scale (they are the same thing) as it ends on a chord with root note A. This progression sounds a bit thoughtful. That is what music in the aeolian mode sounds like, sad.

Now take this chord progression:

C Dm G C Dm C Listen
I ii V I ii I

This progression apparently uses the same scale, but ends on the C chord. This sounds kind of bright, as opposed to the progression in A minor. This was in the C major key, or ionian mode. Music in a major key always sounds bright.

Here is, once again, the happy birthday tune:

E-----------------------2-0--------7-4-0-----|
B-0-0-2-0-5-4---0-0-2-0--------0-0-------4-2-|
G--------------------------------------------|
D--------------------------------------------|
A--------------------------------------------|
E--------------------------------------------|

E--5-5-4--0-2-0------------------------------|
B--------------------------------------------|
G--------------------------------------------|
D--------------------------------------------|
A--------------------------------------------|
E--------------------------------------------|

Doubtlessly, it's key is E major. We can see that from the last note, which is E. I said before, music in a major key sounds very bright and happy. This is why so many nursery rhymes are in a major key.