Exercise

Bass 196 — Fauxbourdon stream, minor

First inversion (6)G minor

Corpus id bass-196 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The descending stream in minor, riding the natural scale down until the sixth degree hands the bass to the dominant.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4	bar 5	bar 6	bar 7	bar 8
Bass	G3	B♭3	A3	G3	F3	E♭3	D3	G2
Figures		6	6	6	6	6	#

The given bass and its figures (G minor, 4/4; ⌒ = tied from the previous note)

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4	bar 5	bar 6	bar 7	bar 8
Soprano	D5	G5	F5	E♭5	D5	C5	D5	D5
Alto	B♭4	D5	C5	B♭4	A4	G4	A4	B♭4
Tenor	G4	G4	C4	G4	D4	G4	F♯4	G4
Bass	G3	B♭3	A3	G3	F3	E♭3	D3	G2
Figures		6	6	6	6	6	#

The model realization (G minor, 4/4; ⌒ = tied from the previous note)

Descending, the minor scale keeps its natural form, so five sixth chords pass without a single accidental — and the descent gathers no cadence until the sixth degree falls its half step onto the dominant. The sharp arrives with the chord that needs it, nowhere earlier.

At the keyboard

This realization is choral — the upper voices exceed a single hand’s span. No accidentals until the last moment: the descent is the natural minor scale, and the sharp belongs to the dominant that ends it. Carry it into D minor, C minor, A minor.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-196 — Fauxbourdon stream, minor. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-196

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-196

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