- What is figured bass used for?
- What does it mean when there is a 7 in the figured bass?
- How do you write figured bass?
- What does it mean to realize the figured bass?
What is figured bass used for?
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 it mean when there is a 7 in the 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.
How do you write figured bass?
Figured bass is written underneath the bass line. (Sometimes a bass line with figures is called a "continuo".) The numbers in figured bass tell you what chord to build up from the bass note, and in which inversion.
What does it mean to realize the figured bass?
"Realizing" a figured bass means "making it real" or, filling out the four-part harmony by adding a tenor, alto and soprano part.