Tonality in music refers to the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions, and directionality. The most stable note in tonal music is called the tonic, and the root of the tonic chord forms the name given to the key. Tonality is a fundamental concept in Western music from about 1600 to about 1910, and it refers to the particular system of relationships between notes, chords, and keys that dominated most Western music from c. 1650 to c. 1900 and that continues to regulate much music.
In general, tonal music works by establishing a tonic, moving away from it, and then returning to it. Having a tonic affects the way we understand music as we hear it, its sense of direction, and its musical structure. Simple folk music songs often start and end with the tonic note.
Tonality is not the same as key, although the two concepts are related. Key is a way to describe the tonality of a piece of music from the perspective of the major/minor system. Tonality is intricately linked to both melody and harmony, and it refers to the overall relationship between melody and harmony and how they create a unique sound set when combined.
