Exercise

Bass 245 — The V7 tour — all four figures

Dominant seventh and inversionsC major

Corpus id bass-245 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The tour: one dominant seventh through all four positions, the bass climbing its own chord while the seventh is held — the obligation deferred until the harmony finally changes.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	C3	G2	B2	D3	F3	E3	F3	G3	C3
Figures		7	6/5	4/3	4/2	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	E4	F4	F4	F4	D4	C4	D4	D4	E4
Alto	C4	D4	D4	B3	B3	C4	A3	B3	C4
Tenor	G3	B3	G3	G3	G3	G3	A3	G3	G3
Bass	C3	G2	B2	D3	F3	E3	F3	G3	C3
Figures		7	6/5	4/3	4/2	6	6

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

Four figures, one chord, one dissonance. The soprano’s seventh is retained while the bass visits root, third and fifth — the obligation is owed to the next harmony, not the next beat — and when the bass takes the seventh itself, the soprano is released and the bass inherits the fall. The figures are a map of one tone’s position, not four different chords.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The soprano’s F is struck once and held through three figures. Say each figure aloud as the bass moves under it: seven, six-five, four-three — the same tone, renamed by the bass. Carry it into G major, F major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-245 — The V7 tour — all four figures. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-245

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-245

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