Exercise

Bass 270 — The 4–♯ pair

Bare accidentals as figuresC minor

Corpus id bass-270 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The 4–♯ pair over the dominant: the suspended fourth falls one semitone, and what it lands on is whatever tone the ♯ demands — here B natural, three flats notwithstanding.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Bass	C3		A♭2	F2	G2	G2	C3
Figures			6		4	#

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Soprano	E♭4	F4	F4	D4	D4	E♭4
Alto	C4	C4	C4	C4	B3	C4
Tenor	G3	F3	A♭3	G3	G3	G3
Bass	C3	A♭2	F2	G2	G2	C3
Figures		6		4	#

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

The compound cadence in its flat-key dress: the fourth is prepared as the tonic itself, strikes over the arriving dominant, and falls — and the ♯ that names its destination delivers B♮, a semitone up from the key’s B♭. The two figures, 4 then ♯, spell tension and its release; the key decides only how the release is written.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The alto’s C is held from the first chord and falls onto B natural. In this key the resolution of the suspension and the manufacture of the leading tone are the same finger movement. Carry it into G minor, F minor.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-270 — The 4–♯ pair. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-270

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-270

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