What do the numbers in figured bass mean?
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.
What does v65 mean in music?
V6/5 is a first inversion, with the 3rd of the chord in the bass. The interval of a 6th would be the root of the chord, and the interval of the 5th would be the 7th. If this were a G7 chord, it would be spelled B-D-F-G. V4/3. This is a 2nd inversion chord, with the 5th in the bass.
What does a 7’5 mean in figured bass?
A seventh chord in root position would be 7/5/3 if completely figured.
What does a 4 2 MEAN IN figured bass?
Chords of the sixth that take the figure 6/4/2 (or its abbreviation 4/2 or simply 2) are third-inversion chords. Their root is a second, or a step, above the bass. The most common 4/2 chord has fa in the bass, and sol is its root, making its Roman numeral V.
What does 54 mean in figured bass?
So in figured bass, 5/4 means a 5th above the root and a 4th above the root. This would mean (in your example, where C is the bass note) C, some kind of F, and some kind of G (this depends on the key signature—e.g., if you are in G major, it’s C, F#, G; if you are in C major, it’s C, F, G, etc.).
What does 33 mean in figured bass?
Since the prior chord is a V65, that means that the chordal seventh, D♭, will need to resolve down by step to C. And since the soprano moves from B♭ up to C, this means that two separates voices will be on C, and thus the uncommon “3 3” figured bass.
What is a 7 inversion?
Seventh Chord Inversion. Seventh Chord Inversion. Like triads, seventh chords can be inverted by moving the lowest note up an octave. Root position is the same as a triad – the root is the lowest (bass) note.
What does a #6 mean in figured bass?
Along the same lines, the first inversion chord was figured as “6” — instead of “6/3”. Therefore, a bass note with a “6” beneath it automatically means that that bass note represents the third of a chord, and that there will be two notes — one at an interval of a 3rd, and one at an interval of a 6th — above it.
What does 64 mean in figured bass?
The figured bass numbers should be interpreted like this: 64 means that the D is the fifth of the chord (so the first half note is a G chord), and the 53 tells you that the D is now the root of the chord (so the second half note is a D chord.)
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.
Why do bass lines have figures in them?
Bass lines with figures are often used in music theory classes to learn part writing and analysis. The numbers represent intervals that one should play, sing, or write above the given bass note. The numbers usually reduce compound intervals to simple intervals (less than an octave).
What is figured bass and what is thoroughbass?
What is Figured Bass, or Thoroughbass? Figured bass is a shorthand system for chords above a given bass note or series of bass notes. Basso continuo musicians, who accompany Baroque music from a bass part, use thoroughbass to remind them of what chords to play for each bass note.
What is the seventh chord in figured bass?
A seventh chord in third inversion would be 6/4/2, and is abbreviated to 4/2. Figured bass provides no explicit indication of a secondary dominant or a modulation; everything is implied by the changes in the figures.