Figured bass roman numerals

1. What is figured bass and Roman numerals?
2. How do you notate figured bass?
3. What does a 7 in figured bass mean?

What is figured bass and Roman numerals?

Figured bass is how chord inversions are written in Roman numeral analysis. It's the small subscript numbers you may have seen underneath chord symbols in some sheet music. But hang on a second.

How do you notate figured bass?

How to Read and Write Figured Bass

1. If the bass note is the root of a Seventh chord, then there is a “7” written below it.
2. If the bass note is the 3rd of a Seventh chord, then there is a “6 5” written below it.
3. If the bass note is the 5th of a Seventh chord, then there is a “4 3” written below it.

What does a 7 in figured bass mean?

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.