Exercise

Bass 235 — Suspension chain 2–3

SuspensionsC major

Corpus id bass-235 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The 2–3 chain: the bass holds and falls, holds and falls, suspending against the upper voices at every step of its own descent.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5		bar 6
Bass	C3		C3	B2	B2	A2	A2	G2	G2		C3
Figures			5/2	6	5/2	6	5/2	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	bar 6
Soprano	G4	G4	G4	F4	F4	E4	E4	D4	E4
Alto	E4	D4	D4	C4	C4	B3	B3	B3	C4
Tenor	C4	C4	G3	C4	C4	A3	E3	G3	G3
Bass	C3	C3	B2	B2	A2	A2	G2	G2	C3
Figures		5/2	6	5/2	6	5/2	6

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

The bass suspension chained: each fall lands the bass on a consonance that immediately becomes the next preparation, and the upper voices descend in step against it. Each resolution is a sixth chord, so the chain walks the bass from tonic to dominant through a stream of first inversions it makes for itself.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The left hand is the whole story: strike, fall, strike, fall. The right hand walks down calmly and lets the bass do the suffering. Carry it into G major, F major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-235 — Suspension chain 2–3. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-235

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-235

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