Exercise

Bass 321 — Unfigured: comprehensive

Unfigured bassC majorunfigured bass

Corpus id bass-321 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The comprehensive test, major: half the Rule of the Octave, a diatonic descent to the supertonic seventh, and a suspended close — every figure derivable from what the corpus taught.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4		bar 5		bar 6
Bass	C3	D3	E3	F3	G3		A2	D3	G2	G2	C3
Figures		4/3	6	6/5				7	4	3

The given bass — unfigured: the student supplies the figures (C major, 4/4; ⌒ = tied from the previous note)

The model realization

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3	bar 4		bar 5		bar 6
Soprano	C5	B4	C5	C5	B4	C5	C5	C5	B4	C5
Alto	G4	G4	G4	A4	G4	A4	A4	G4	G4	G4
Tenor	E4	F4	E4	D4	D4	E4	F4	D4	D4	E4
Bass	C3	D3	E3	F3	G3	A2	D3	G2	G2	C3
Figures		4/3	6	6/5			7	4	3

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

Nothing here is new; everything here is unlabeled. The ascent to the dominant is the Rule of the Octave’s first half, figure for figure. The submediant falling a fifth to the supertonic invites the prepared seventh, and the bass that stands on the dominant through two half notes has scheduled a suspension. An unfigured bass is a memory test disguised as a composition.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. Work in three passes: the rising half-scale takes the Rule’s own figures; the falling fifth from the submediant asks for the supertonic’s seventh; and the doubled dominant at the close is the 4–3 announcing itself. Carry it into G major, F major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-321 — Unfigured: comprehensive. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-321

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-321

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