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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Function of augmented-fifth in figured bass
What is the harmonic function of the 5+ in the figured bass in the following snippet?
If I have interpreted the figuring correctly, a F♯ figured 5+ should realise the triad F♯ A C𝄪. I am confused ...
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How can I distinguish between a full 7th chord and a 7th chord without a 5th in figured bass?
The standard figured bass is usually just a 7 for a 7th chord in root position, right? If this is correct, the 5th and 3rd are assumed. But what about if the 7th chord should omit the 5th and double ...
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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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Do incomplete chords get roman numerals in harmonic analysis?
I am studying figured bass. I see some chords might be incomplete, for example 8/3 chords. Would those chords get Roman numerals assigned to them, or must all 3 notes of a triad be present to be able ...
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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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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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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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A 3/3 figured bass
I am working on my homework and encountered this that I cannot understand and the teacher did not talk about this. What does the 3/3 mean?
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Bach's figured bass notation?
In this original Bach manuscript excerpt (from BWV 998), does anyone understand what he's writing along the bottom? Can it be deciphered as figured bass?
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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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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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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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Did continuo players consider figured bass as "interval symbols" or "chord symbols"?
The "modern" idea of chords and their inversions being functionally equivalent is generally credited to Jean-Philippe Rameau's 1722 Treatise on Harmony. However, figured bass was already in ...
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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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Can the harmony change at the resolution of a suspension?
I came across a 7-5 suspension for the first time today- as seen in the image. This is the first time I have come across a suspension which has a change of bass (that isn't an octave leap or fall) at ...
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Do figured bass symbols indicate an altered octave?
This is notated in B♭ major and the ♭VII chord has a duplicate of its octave in one of the upper voices. Would this need a figured bass symbol?
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Figured Bass Standalone Accidentals
I'm wondering whether or not standalone accidentals always imply 3rds in figured bass notation.
Is (5)(♭)(8) the same as (5)(3♭)(8)?
Is (9)(♮) the same as (9)(3)?
Can a figure 3 always be inserted ...
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Confused on figured bass in minor
I’m new to learning figured bass... Why is the last set of notes considered as a capital Roman numeral V instead of vi? The root note shows G.
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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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What does a "6——" mean in figured bass?
I can't figure out what a "6——" means in figured bass. The bass notes are C and A.
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Help understanding basso continuo in Vivaldi's 'La Folia'
This piece by Vivaldi is shown in the score to be notated for 3 voices. However in performances, there are 4 instruments played: 2 violins, cello and keyboard. The keyboard, along with playing the ...
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Lilypond: Convenient code for basso continuo horizontal lines?
In basso continuo you sometimes want to place horizontal lines to indicate stable harmony. This is done in LilyPond using \bassFigureExtendersOn:
\version "2.18.2"
\score {
<<
...
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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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For a first-inversion major V in a minor key, is the figured bass just a 6?
In figured bass usually a first inversion chord is just labelled as 6. However, in minor the V in first inversion has a raised note. In my book the V in first inversion is still notated as 6 without ...
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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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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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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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Why are accented passing tones not figured but suspensions are?
If 4-3 happens as a suspension and it is figured then why not also figure an accented passing tone 4-3?
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What does a "2" on top of a figured bass exercise mean?
Here is a pic from my textbook, Adwell/Schachter's Tonal Harmony. It tells me what the soprano should be in the figured bass but there is a 2 next to both notes. What does that mean?
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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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Goldberg variations - chord progression changes between variations
The Wikipedia article on the Goldberg variations sets out the chord progression which all variations follow. In some bars, different options are separated by commas and it says there are different ...
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Figured bass question: When to use #6 in minor key?
So I'm transcribing a piece by Giuseppe Valentini, one of his Allettamenti da Camera (1714), but my figured bass is a bit rusty. Here's an excerpt that illustrates my question:
So in the end of first ...
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Is partimento a good way to learn how to write a Baroque trio sonata in the style of Corelli?
Who I am:
I am 16 years old and I play violin. I am a music student and I consider myself to have a very good ear and understanding of music theory. My piano-playing is however not very good. I really ...
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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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Figured bass: Am I on the right track?
I'm studying for the Grade 6 music theory exam with the ABRSM and am working through this exercise in preparation (2018 B, question 2)
Can anyone tell me if there are any errors I should correct? Beat ...
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What does an isolated dash mean in figured bass?
(Note that these do not seem to be the same as the isolated lines discussed in What does an isolated horizontal dash mean in figured bass notation)
I am trying to work with a figured bass score that ...
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Figured Bass Notation
I am wondering if there are better ways to remember the figured bass. I'm having trouble remembering all of the inversions for triads and sevenths, and I've been trying to memorize them for a few ...
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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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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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Should the inversions of VII and VII7 in minor be seen as dominant chords in the relative major?
I am doing some harmony exercises in minor keys where there are tonicizations of III approached usually by VII. By having VII7 or just VII and its inversions available as applied chords or secondary ...
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Why are all voicings of a 5/3 chord written the same way?
A G major chord in root position is named 5/3 because of the intervals above the bass, but if I move the 3rd and 5th around up higher through the octaves, those intervals change but the chord is still ...
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What does a prime mean in figured bass?
What does a prime symbol after a bass figure mean? For example 6' or 6 4' 2?
I came across this in a 1956 edition of J.S. Bach's BWV 1035, by Otto Heinrich Noetzel. Looking at the written right hand, ...
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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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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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Stuck with figured bass notation for inverted 7th chord
My apologies for the "name this chord" question, but i'm stuck trying to identify this harmony.
The figured bass notation indicates to me that the bass note should be the seventh of a 7 ...
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Denoting multiple suspensions in figured bass Roman numeral analysis
When composing a figured bass Roman numeral analysis for a chord that has more than one suspension, is it typical to denote both suspensions, as I have done at the end of my analysis?
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How do you figure an accented passing note in the bass?
How do you figure an accented passing note in the bass, specifically when the harmony changes?
If you have non-chord tones in the bass following a figuring, it's easy to show the same harmony ...
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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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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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