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A trick for working out the root of any triad or 7th chord

To do this tutorial you need to know your triads, 7th chords and 4ths.

Summary

How to find the root of any triad or 7th chord:

  1. Squash the notes into the same octave, removing any repeated notes if necessary.
  2. Look at the intervals between adjacent notes. Is one of them a 2nd or 4th? If so, the top of the 2nd or 4th is the root.
  3. If not, the bottom note is the root.

Note that if you have more than one 2nd or 4th it isn’t a straight triad or 7th chord.