Questions tagged [figured-bass]
For questions related to figured bass (also called thoroughbass), the notation of a bass line and the intervals to be played above the bass.
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Who has brought up the English term **figured bass** for thorough bass?
I wonder when and by whom figured bass has been introduced as synonym for thorough bass in the basso continuo. In my view this must be somehow an error or a misunderstanding of figurierter bass in ...
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How to realize a figured bass
I am arranging a Bach piece. I know, what the challenge it is to do it. But I have been able to successfully arrange Mozart and later, Beethoven, so I think I'm ready.
But here is the challenge I am ...
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is this F 6'9 chord a figured bass or a chord extension?
I am looking at a lead sheet for I loves You Porgy, and the chord notation reads like a figured bass but does it not make sense as such, so I am wondering, if it is intended as a chord extension for ...
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In the partimento tradition, what strategies were used to harmonize non-bass melodies?
In my readings on partimento theory (mainly the books by Sanguinetti and IJzerman) I have so far only encountered rules for harmonizing a bass melody. This is to be expected of course, because ...
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What does an isolated horizontal dash mean in figured bass notation
Here you see a fragment from Francesco Geminiani's Guida Armonica (ca. 1752), a sort of 'dictionary' or catalogue of figured bass snippets. My question is, what do the isolated horizontal dashes mean ...
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Confused on marking figured bass for modulating sequence
I started writing down the figured bass of an anime theme, and for a particular passage, I am confused on how to accurately write the figured bass progression. I have recreated the bare progressions ...
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5/7b in figured bass
What does 5/7b mean in figured bass?
If it is just a 7th chord in root position, then why is it not just 7b?
In other places in the same score, 7 or 7b are used to denote a 7th chord.
Here is the ...
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Figured bass and ties
How does one play figured bass when the bass line contains ties?
For example, here are the first three measures of Vivaldi's "Filiae maestae Jerusalem" (sheet music source).
Do I understand ...
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How writing a dominant 7 sus4 chord in RNA ( Vsus7 chord in the 1st inversion) [duplicate]
Maybe I’ve just a black out. But I wanted to notate a V7sus (inversion 1) writing a dominant 7 without the suspension of the 4th in RNA. No idea ...
g,c,d,f => c,d,f,g
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How can I learn thoroughbass?
I've done some reading and I've discovered that our modern system of music theory (I'm looking at you Roman numeral analysis) is not the same system that most of the great composers used, including ...
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Is it necessary to use a dash to indicate a suspension in a figured bass?
In the ABRSM theory exams, a 4-3, 7-6 or 9-8 suspension always has a dash between the two numbers in the figured bass. I have not found this to be the case in analyses that I have looked at. So is the ...
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Do accidentals in a figured bass last the full measure, or do they only apply to that single chord?
Consider the example below.
In m. 1, the second beat has a G♯, but beat 4 should have a G♮. Does the G♯ used on beat 2 carry over into beat 4? As such, should we specify ♮...
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Figured bass 52?
This is from the ABRSM Grade 8 figured basses.
What does the 5/2 mean? I have not come across this before.
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Can we use double accidentals in figured bass?
I've composed the following figured bass example:
It modulates from E to F and therefore needs several chromatic alterations. But my question is on the final beat of the third measure: if I want a B♭-...
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How to realize the figured bass of the second movement of BWV 1014?
I am planning a performance of the second movement of Bach's violin sonata BWV 1014 in B Minor. The beginning of second mvt, Allegro is shown below.
As you can see there are some figured bass below ...
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How to read the accidentals and other modifiers in figured bass?
Is this figure correct?
That images comes from this page http://www.teoria.com/en/reference/b/baroque7.php.
I thought the +6 should mean a sixth raised from the key signature. In this case should ...
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Meaning of numbers under bass line in BWV 51 mvt.3 (maybe chords?)
Natalie Dessay performs Bach's very beautiful Aria "Höchster, mache deine Güte" (A minor) in these two videos
(only the sound and the score)
...
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Abbreviations for dominant seventh chords
I'm reading about dominant seventh chords and this is a summary of the notation that my book has introduced:
After a few moments' thought, I can deduce the convention for denoting the different ...
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Figured bass help. Am I on the right track with it?
I was wondering if anybody would be able to tell me if I am on the right track for working out figured bass. If not I would love any tips on how to improve this worked example.
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What chord does the following figured bass represent in this progression?
I am working through a figured bass exercise in the "Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Chords" chapter of Piston's Harmony.
The first bar of the figured bass is given as:
What is the chord represented ...
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Extra accidents in Roman Numeral analysis in Modulation by Max Reger
I've been thumbing though Modulation by Max Reger and while he explains most of his notation, there is one thing about the figured bass in his Roman Numeral analysis that bothers me. For example, in ...
Dom♦
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Did J.S. Bach write the figured bass in scores or continuo parts?
This full score for Bach's St. Matthew Passion helpfully has the figured bass written below the continuo part. I found this particularly illuminating, as it helped me to see the harmonic movement ...
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What is the basso continuo numbering of the inversions of a dominant seventh chord?
Consider for instance the following chord (C7) :
C E G Bb
E G Bb C
G Bb C E
Bb C E G
How can I number these inversions? I remember it was something with a '+'.
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Modern convention for writing raised sixth in figured bass?
In typesetting figured bass for modern readers, what is the preferred way of indicating a raised sixth?
I'm under the impression that the backslash approach is considered archaic, but unsure about ...
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7th chord notation confusion
I simply cannot understand the notation used in this question:
I need to express this chord in 4-part, open or close position; I just can't seem to understand how the notation works. I know that this ...
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