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Figured bass is the notation system of the Baroque — the composer writes a bass line, numbers indicate the intervals above it, and the player fills in the harmony. Every great composer from Bach to Brahms was drilled on it from childhood. Below is a bass from Paul Vidal’s 178 Basses, used at the Paris Conservatoire. Click the upper staff to place a soprano over each chord — just as you would in the real tool.
Each bass note is a 5/3 chord. Click the upper staff to place a soprano note from that chord — root, third, or fifth.
The numbers under a bass note count intervals above it. 5/3 means a fifth and a third — a plain root-position triad. A lone 6 means first inversion; 6/4 second inversion; a 7 adds a seventh.
The full curriculum works through Vidal, Handel, Kellner, and Mozart figured basses — from these root-position triads to inversions, sevenths, suspensions, and chromatic figures.
New lessons, score studies, and curriculum updates — a short note now and then, as the method grows.