Exercise

Bass 230 — Suspension 9–8, minor

SuspensionsE minor

Corpus id bass-230 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The 9–8 in minor, where the ninth strikes over the subdominant and the resolution hands the phrase directly to the dominant.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Bass	E3		A3	A3	B3		E3
Figures			9	8	#

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3	bar 4
Soprano	B4	B4	A4	F♯4	G4
Alto	G4	E4	E4	D♯4	E4
Tenor	E4	C4	C4	B3	B3
Bass	E3	A3	A3	B3	E3
Figures		9	8	#

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

The tonic chord’s fifth is held while the bass climbs to the subdominant, striking a ninth that falls to the octave — and the octave of arrival is the subdominant’s own root, so the resolution lands the phrase squarely on the pre-dominant and the sharp of the true dominant follows at once.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. One held finger makes the ninth; the bass does all the arriving. Listen for how much heavier this strike is than the 4–3’s. Carry it into A minor, B minor.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-230 — Suspension 9–8, minor. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-230

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-230

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