Exercise

Bass 277 — Subdominant seventh

Non-dominant seventhsF major

Corpus id bass-277 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The subdominant seventh: a major seventh above the bass, prepared by the tonic’s own third, pressing into the dominant with the brightest dissonance the key owns.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	F3		B♭2	C3	F3		B♭2	C3	F3
Figures			7				7

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3	bar 4		bar 5
Soprano	C5	D5	C5	C5	D5	C5	C5
Alto	A4	A4	G4	A4	A4	G4	A4
Tenor	F4	F4	E4	F4	F4	E4	F4
Bass	F3	B♭2	C3	F3	B♭2	C3	F3
Figures		7			7

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

IV7’s seventh is a major seventh — the sharpest interval the diatonic key can hang over a bass — yet it enters unremarked, because it is the tonic chord’s own third held in place. The law is quality-blind: major seventh or minor, the tone falls one degree into the next harmony, here onto the dominant’s fifth.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The formula returns in the second half; let the hands prove they know it. The alto’s A is the seventh both times — struck as a held common tone, spent as a falling step. Carry it into C major, Bb major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-277 — Subdominant seventh. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-277

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-277

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