Exercise

Bass 278 — Mediant and submediant sevenths

Non-dominant seventhsD major

Corpus id bass-278 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The seventh spread down the whole ladder: iii7, vi7 and ii7 in succession, each seventh prepared by the chord before and falling into the chord after.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Bass	D3		F♯3	B2	E3	A2	D3
Figures			7	7	7

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Soprano	F♯4	E4	D4	D4	C♯4	D4
Alto	D4	C♯4	B3	B3	A3	A3
Tenor	A3	A3	A3	G3	E3	F♯3
Bass	D3	F♯3	B2	E3	A2	D3
Figures		7	7	7

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

The mediant and submediant sevenths live almost nowhere except this ladder, which is why the corpus teaches them inside it: roots falling by fifths, each chord’s seventh prepared as a common tone from the chord before, striking with the new bass, and falling to become the next chord’s third. The dominant simply ends a process the whole key participated in.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. Three sevenths, three colors — minor seventh on iii, on vi, on ii — and one identical obligation. Name each chord aloud as its seventh falls. Carry it into G major, A major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-278 — Mediant and submediant sevenths. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-278

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-278

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