Given melody

Melody 12 — Melody borrowed sixth (second key)

Chromatic MelodiesD majorharmonize downward

Corpus id melody-12 · cite this id — it is permanent

What it teaches

The lowered sixth degree is borrowed from the parallel minor, and it falls: ♭6̂ leans onto 5̂ with a weight the diatonic sixth never has.

The given melody

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4	bar 5	bar 6	bar 7
Soprano	A4	D5	B♭4	A4	G4	E4	D4

The given melody — harmonize it downward (D major, 4/4; ⌒ = tied from the previous note)

Write the bass, the figures and the inner voices beneath it. Sing the line first; sketch the bass alone against it; add the figures your bass implies; fill the inner voices last.

The model harmonization

4/4	bar 1	bar 2	bar 3	bar 4	bar 5	bar 6	bar 7
Soprano	A4	D5	B♭4	A4	G4	E4	D4
Alto	F♯4	G4	G4	F♯4	E4	C♯4	A3
Tenor	D4	D4	D4	D4	B3	A3	F♯3
Bass	D3	B2	G3	D3	G3	A3	D3
Figures		6	b		6

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

The flat under the subdominant bass lowers its third: the borrowed sixth degree, the parallel minor lending its darkest color to a major phrase. The soprano carries it and lets it fall to the dominant degree, and from there the phrase closes as if nothing had happened — which is the point of mixture: a shadow, not a modulation.

At the keyboard

The three upper voices of the model realization fit under one hand. Carry it into C major, G major.

Voice-leading patterns this exercise drills

Cite this exercise

Gradus Figured-Bass Corpus, melody-12 — Melody borrowed sixth (second key). v1.1. https://gradusmusic.com/figured-bass-corpus/exercise/melody-12

Corpus v1.1 · licensed CC-BY-4.0 · machine-readable at /api/v1/figured-bass/exercises/melody-12

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