Exercise

Bass 207 — Half cadence

Cadence formulasF major

Corpus id bass-207 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The half cadence: a phrase closes on the dominant itself, root position on a strong beat, and the answering phrase pays the resolution it left owed.

The given bass

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

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3	bar 4		bar 5	bar 6
Soprano	A4	B♭4	G4	G4	F4	F4	E4	F4
Alto	F4	F4	E4	E4	C4	D4	C4	C4
Tenor	C4	D4	C4	C4	C4	B♭3	G3	A3
Bass	F3	B♭2	C3	C3	A2	B♭2	C3	F3
Figures					6

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

The first phrase reaches the chord of maximum tension and stops there — stable enough to stand on, restless enough that no one mistakes it for the end. The second phrase is the answer: the same ground walked again, this time all the way home.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. Stop fully at the fourth bar and listen to the question mark before playing the answer. Carry it into C major, G major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-207 — Half cadence. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-207

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-207

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