Exercise

Bass 201 — Authentic cadence

Cadence formulasC major

Corpus id bass-201 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The simple authentic close: dominant to tonic, both in root position, met at the end of a running bass with the soprano arriving on the tonic itself.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	C3		A2		F3	F3	G2		C3
Figures						6

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3		bar 4	bar 5
Soprano	C5	C5	C5	D5	D5	C5
Alto	G4	A4	A4	A4	B4	G4
Tenor	E4	E4	F4	F4	G4	E4
Bass	C3	A2	F3	F3	G2	C3
Figures				6

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

Every voice keeps its cadential promise at the close — the soprano falls 2̂ to 1̂, the leading tone rises — which leaves the tonic chord a tone short. The alto therefore takes the license the tradition grants an inner voice and falls from the leading tone to the fifth, completing the harmony the promises could not.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. Play the last three chords alone until the hand knows them, then attach the running bass in front. Carry it into G major, F major, D major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-201 — Authentic cadence. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-201

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-201

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