Exercise

Bass 231 — Suspension 2–3

SuspensionsC major

Corpus id bass-231 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The suspension turned upside down: the bass is the voice that holds, an upper voice strikes a second above it, and the bass itself resolves by falling.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	C3		C3	B2	C3	F3	G3		C3
Figures			5/2	6		6

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	bar 5
Soprano	G4	G4	G4	G4	A4	B4	C5
Alto	E4	D4	D4	E4	D4	D4	G4
Tenor	C4	D4	D4	C4	A3	D4	E4
Bass	C3	C3	B2	C3	F3	G3	C3
Figures		5/2	6		6

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

The procedure is unchanged — preparation, strong-beat strike, weak-beat fall — but the dissonant voice is now the foundation. The bass stands still while the alto moves to a second above it; then the bass falls one step, the second becomes a third, and the chord it leaves behind is a sixth chord.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. For once the right hand makes the dissonance and the left hand releases it: the upper voices strike against a bass that then falls out from under them. Carry it into G major, F major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-231 — Suspension 2–3. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-231

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-231

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