Exercise

Bass 204 — Compound cadence, minor

Cadence formulasD minor

Corpus id bass-204 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The compound cadence in its older 4–3 form: the fourth alone suspends over the dominant, prepared as a common tone, and resolves to the raised third the sharp demands.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	D3		F3		G3		A3	A3	D3
Figures			6				4	#

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4		bar 5
Soprano	F4	A4	G4	E4	E4	F4
Alto	D4	D4	D4	D4	C♯4	D4
Tenor	A3	A3	B♭3	A3	A3	A3
Bass	D3	F3	G3	A3	A3	D3
Figures		6		4	#

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

The fourth is prepared as a common tone, strikes against the new bass on the strong beat, and falls by step — and in minor its resolution is the raised third itself, so the 4 and the ♯ are two halves of one gesture: distance created, then closed onto the leading tone.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The alto’s D is struck with the subdominant and simply held while the bass moves under it — the suspension is a tone that stays too long, not one that arrives. Carry it into A minor, G minor.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-204 — Compound cadence, minor. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-204

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-204

Loading…