In music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, a factor or chord factor is a member or component of a chord

Chord (music)

A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...

. These are named root

Root (chord)

In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....

, third

Third (chord)

In music, the third factor of a chord is the note or pitch two scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the third is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed triad, the chord is in first inversion ....

, fifth

Fifth (chord)

In music, the fifth factor of a chord is the note or pitch five scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the fifth is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in second inversion ....

, sixth

Sixth chord

A sixth chord may be any of several kinds of chord depending on the use of the term in classical music and popular music. The original meaning of the term is a chord in first inversion, in other words with its third in the bass and its root a sixth above it...

, seventh

Seventh (chord)

In music, the seventh factor of a chord is the note or pitch seven scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the seventh is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in third inversion ....

, ninth

Ninth

In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second.Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is a larger than a second, its sonority level is considered less dense.-Major ninth:A major ninth is a...

, eleventh

Eleventh

In music or music theory an eleventh is the note eleven scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the eleventh....

, thirteenth

Thirteenth

In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the interval between the sixth and first scale degrees when the sixth is transposed up an octave, creating a compound sixth, or thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor ....

, and so on, for their generic interval

Interval (music)

In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...

 above the root.
In harmony

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

, the consonance and dissonance

Consonance and dissonance

In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...

 of a chord factor and a nonchord tone

Nonchord tone

A nonchord tone, nonharmonic tone, or non-harmony note is a note in a piece of music which is not a part of the implied harmony that is described by the other notes sounding at the time...

 are distinguished, respectively.

Chord factors are taken into consideration in voicing

Voicing (music)

In music composition and arranging, a voicing is the instrumentation and vertical spacing and ordering of the pitches in a chord...

 and voice leading

Voice leading

In musical composition, voice leading is the term used to refer to a decision-making consideration when arranging voices , namely, how each voice should move in advancing from each chord to the next.- Details :...

. A chord contains as many factors as it contains separate notes, thus a chord with three pitches has three factors, even if some of those pitches are doubled or omitted.

The chord factor that is in the bass

Bass note

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. While the bass note is often the root or fundamental of the chord, it does not have to be, and sometimes one of the other...

 determines the inversion

Inversion (music)

In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices...

. For example, if the third is in the bass it is a first inversion chord () while if the seventh is in the bass the chord is in third inversion ().