Exercise

Bass 327 — Diminution: anticipations

DiminutionF majorwith florid model

Corpus id bass-327 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

Diminution by anticipation: at each bar line the soprano sounds its next tone a quarter early — the suspension’s mirror, borrowing the future where the ear already knows it.

The given bass

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4
Bass	F3	B♭2	C3	F3

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

The model realization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4
Soprano	A4	B♭4	G4	A4
Alto	F4	F4	E4	F4
Tenor	C4	D4	C4	C4
Bass	F3	B♭2	C3	F3

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

Each of the soprano’s tones of arrival is sounded a weak quarter early, against the old harmony, and then confirmed as the bass moves — the anticipation, at home exactly here because every arrival is already expected. The last one is the classic: the tonic touched before the cadence lands, sharpening the arrival it foretells.

The florid model

4/4	bar 1		bar 2		bar 3		bar 4
Soprano	A4	B♭4	B♭4	G4	G4	A4	A4
Alto	F4		F4		E4		F4
Tenor	C4		D4		C4		C4
Bass	F3		B♭2		C3		F3

The florid model — the block realization opened into texture (F major, 4/4; ⌒ = tied from the previous note)

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. The suspension holds the past against the present; this figure borrows the future. Feel the difference: the anticipation relaxes the bar line, the suspension leans on it. Carry it into C major, Bb major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, bass-327 — Diminution: anticipations. v1.0. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/bass-327

Corpus v1.0 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/bass-327

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