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Exercise
Corpus id bass-315 · cite this id — it is permanent
A bare stepwise bass, rising an octave: the Rule of the Octave IS the answer — write the figures the Rule supplies, then realize what you wrote.
| 4/4 | bar 1 | bar 2 | bar 3 | bar 4 | bar 5 | bar 6 | bar 7 | bar 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | D3 | E3 | F♯3 | G3 | A3 | B3 | C♯4 | D4 |
| Figures | 5/3 | 4/3 | 6 | 6/5 | 5/3 | 6 | 6 | 5/3 |
| 4/4 | bar 1 | bar 2 | bar 3 | bar 4 | bar 5 | bar 6 | bar 7 | bar 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soprano | D5 | C♯5 | D5 | D5 | C♯5 | B4 | E5 | D5 |
| Alto | A4 | A4 | A4 | B4 | A4 | G4 | A4 | A4 |
| Tenor | F♯4 | G4 | F♯4 | E4 | E4 | D4 | E4 | F♯4 |
| Bass | D3 | E3 | F♯3 | G3 | A3 | B3 | C♯4 | D4 |
| Figures | 5/3 | 4/3 | 6 | 6/5 | 5/3 | 6 | 6 | 5/3 |
This is why the Rule was memorized as vocabulary rather than consulted as a table: a stepwise bass with no figures at all is not underspecified — it is fully specified, by the Rule. Stability at the pillars, motion between them, the sevenths pressing at the second and fourth degrees. The bass alone tells you everything the figures would have.
The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. When the figures are silent, the Rule is what the accompanist plays. Say the figures aloud before writing them: five-three, four-three, six, six-five — the ascent recites itself. Carry it into G major, A major, C major.
Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-315 — Unfigured: the octave rule, ascending. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-315
Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-315