Exercise

Bass 202 — Authentic cadence, minor

Cadence formulasA minor

Corpus id bass-202 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The same close twice in one bass: first interior, with the soprano ending on the third, then final, with the soprano on the tonic — the difference between pausing and ending.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	A2		E3		A2		D3	E3	A2
Figures			#					#

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4		bar 5
Soprano	C5	B4	C5	D5	B4	A4
Alto	A4	G♯4	A4	A4	G♯4	E4
Tenor	E4	E4	E4	F4	E4	C4
Bass	A2	E3	A2	D3	E3	A2
Figures		#			#

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

Both closes resolve the same pulls, but the first lands the soprano on the third — a close that pauses rather than ends. Where the top voice arrives is part of what a cadence means: the same progression, one degree apart, changes how final the arrival feels.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The two closes are fingered alike; only the soprano’s destination differs. Hear how much less settled the first one is. Carry it into E minor, D minor.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-202 — Authentic cadence, minor. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-202

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-202

Loading…