In
music, the
tonic is the first
scale degree of a
diatonic scale and the
tonal center or final
resolution tone. The
triad formed on the tonic note, the
tonic chord, is thus the most significant
chord. More generally, the tonic is the
pitch upon which all other pitches of a piece are
hierarchically referenced. Scales are named after their tonics, thus the tonic of the scale of C is the note C. Simple
songs may begin and end on the tonic note.