Exercise

Bass 226 — Suspension 4–3, minor

SuspensionsA minor

Corpus id bass-226 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The 4–3 in minor, where the resolution is the raised third itself — the fall of the suspension manufactures the leading tone.

The given bass

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

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
Soprano	A4	A4	A4	A4	G♯4	A4
Alto	E4	E4	F4	E4	E4	E4
Tenor	C4	C4	D4	B3	B3	C4
Bass	A2	A2	D3	E3	E3	A2
Figures				4	#

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

The suspended A is prepared as the fifth of the subdominant, strikes as a fourth against the dominant, and falls a half step onto the sharp the figures demand. In minor the 4–3 is not decoration: its resolution IS the leading tone, so the suspension enacts the mode’s whole cadence problem in one gesture.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The soprano holds A against the arriving dominant, falls a half step onto G sharp, then rises home — tension, release, and arrival under one finger. Carry it into E minor, D minor.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-226 — Suspension 4–3, minor. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-226

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-226

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