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You do not need to use powers and roots to discuss music unless you want to talk about frequency relationships. They are particularly useful when discussing equal temperament. (See Tuning Systems .)
Powers are simply a shorthand way to write "a certain number times itself so many times".
Roots are the opposite of powers. They are a quick way to write the idea "the number that, multiplied by itself so many times, will give this number".
Roots and powers are relevant to music because equal temperament divides the octave into twelve equal half steps. A note one octave higher than another note has a frequency that is two times higher. So if you divide the octave into twelve equal parts (half steps), the size of each half step is "the twelfth root of two". (Notice that it is not "2 divided by twelve" or "one twelfth". For more on this, see Equal Temperament .)
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