Exercise

Bass 254 — The rising 5–6, minor

Bass motions and sequencesD minor

Corpus id bass-254 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The rising 5–6 in minor, climbing from the third degree to the dominant’s doorstep — where the cadential 6/4 receives the sequence and turns it into a close.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	D3		F3	F3	G3	G3	A3	A3	D3
Figures				6		6	6/4	#

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Soprano	A4	A4	A4	B♭4	B♭4	A4	A4	A4
Alto	F4	F4	F4	D4	E4	F4	E4	F4
Tenor	D4	C4	D4	D4	B♭3	D4	C♯4	D4
Bass	D3	F3	F3	G3	G3	A3	A3	D3
Figures			6		6	6/4	#

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

Minor’s 5–6 climbs its natural third-to-fifth degrees — each exchange lifting one voice while the bass stands — and the arrival is the lesson: the sequence ends not on a chord but on a formula, the 6/4 leaning on the dominant, its fourth falling onto the sharp that ends the phrase. Sequences gather; cadences spend.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The climb delivers the bass onto the dominant carrying the tonic chord above it — the sequence walks straight into the cadential 6/4 and the close does the rest. Carry it into A minor, G minor.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-254 — The rising 5–6, minor. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-254

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-254

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