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A notational system where a bass line is annotated with numbers indicating the intervals to be played above it. The foundation of Baroque harmonic practice.
Figured bass is the original harmonic shorthand. Learning it connects you to how Baroque composers thought about harmony — from the bass up. Practicing figured bass realization builds your ability to harmonize bass lines, voice-lead smoothly, and think vertically.
Bach's cantatas and Handel's oratorios all include figured bass parts (basso continuo) that the keyboardist realizes in real time, creating the harmonic accompaniment.
Figured bass is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
Browse the full dictionary →