Exercise

Bass 281 — Subdominant seventh 6/5

Non-dominant seventhsBb major

Corpus id bass-281 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The subdominant seventh in root position and 6/5: the same four tones from two floors, the major seventh falling into the dominant both times.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5
Bass	B♭2		E♭3	F3	B♭2		G2	A2	B♭2
Figures			7				6/5	6

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3	bar 4		bar 5
Soprano	F4	G4	F4	F4	E♭4	F4	F4
Alto	D4	D4	C4	D4	D4	C4	D4
Tenor	B♭3	B♭3	A3	B♭3	B♭3	C4	B♭3
Bass	B♭2	E♭3	F3	B♭2	G2	A2	B♭2
Figures		7			6/5	6

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

The 6/5 stands on the chord’s third, so the seventh sits a fifth above the bass — the same relationship every 6/5 has taught since the dominant’s. What changes between the two strikes is only which tone of the chord the left hand holds; the alto’s D falls to C into the dominant either way. Position is geography, obligation is law.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The alto holds the same D through both strikes — the seventh at the first, the same tone renamed by a lower floor at the second — and both times it falls to C. One finger, two figures, one law. Carry it into F major, Eb major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-281 — Subdominant seventh 6/5. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-281

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-281

Loading…