Exercise

Bass 225 — Suspension 4–3

SuspensionsC major

Corpus id bass-225 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The 4–3 suspension as a procedure: the soprano enters as a consonance, is held while the bass moves under it, and falls one step on the weaker beat.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Bass	C3		A2	F3	G3	G3	C3
Figures					4	3

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
Soprano	C5	C5	C5	C5	B4	C5
Alto	G4	A4	A4	G4	G4	G4
Tenor	E4	E4	F4	D4	D4	E4
Bass	C3	A2	F3	G3	G3	C3
Figures				4	3

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

Three stations, now checked rather than trusted: the C enters as a consonance over the subdominant, strikes as a fourth on the strong beat while the bass stands on the dominant, and falls one step on the weaker half. The dissonant fourth is the tension; the stepwise fall is the release; the preparation is what makes the tension intelligible.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The soprano plays one C through four chords. Everything the figures describe happens beneath a finger that never moves — until it falls. Carry it into G major, F major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-225 — Suspension 4–3. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-225

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-225

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