Topmusicanswers
Figured Bass is a specific kind of notation in which the composer writes numbers below bass notes in the lower staff, and those numbers represent the chords made above the bass notes.
- Why is figured bass useful?
- What does a 7 mean in figured bass?
- Why is it called figured bass?
- Is figured bass useless?
Why is figured bass useful?
For music analysts today, figured bass is useful in two ways: for indicating chord inversions and. for representing intervals and melodic motion above a bass line.
What does a 7 mean in figured bass?
A seventh chord in root position would be 7/5/3 if completely figured. In practice this is abbreviated to just "7." A seventh chord in first inversion would be 6/5/3, and is abbreviated to 6/5. A seventh chord in second inversion would be 6/4/3, and is abbreviated to 4/3.
Why is it called figured bass?
In brief — the texts will explain it in more detail — a bass line was given, with accompanying figures — ie, numbers — written below each note. These numbers stood for intervals — specifically, the intervals to be found above the written bass note.
Is figured bass useless?
Other than the additional familiarity with writing music and musical practices of the past, and the general principle which might be adaptable in some circumstances, as well as just the mental exercise that might yield deeper understanding of music, Figured Bass is pretty useless for modern composers.
