Exercise

Bass 312 — Applied diminished seventh

Chromatic figuresC major

Corpus id bass-312 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The applied diminished seventh: vii°7 of V, its sharp on the staff and its diminished seventh under a ♭7 figure — four tendency tones converging on the dominant.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Bass	C3		F3	F♯3	G3	G3	C3
Figures				b7		7

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Soprano	G4	A4	A4	G4	G4	G4
Alto	E4	F4	E♭4	D4	F4	E4
Tenor	C4	C4	C4	B3	B3	C4
Bass	C3	F3	F♯3	G3	G3	C3
Figures			b7		7

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

The subdominant sharpens into vii°7 of the dominant: the bass takes F♯ on the staff and rises as a made leading tone must, while the ♭7 figure hangs E♭ above — the diminished seventh that gives the chord its name and its ache. Both tritones close by step, the seventh falls onto the dominant’s fifth, and the true seventh then gathers to finish the journey home.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The bass climbs F, F sharp, G — its own chromatic line — while the alto darkens F to E flat above it. A diminished seventh is four voices all owing semitones, and every debt here is paid. Carry it into G major, F major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-312 — Applied diminished seventh. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-312

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-312

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