Brainlag Plus Music
Brainlag Plus MusicFigured bass
Reading the numbers under a bass note, the three basic figures, and naming the chord they describe.
How figures work
In Baroque music the keyboard player read only the bass line, with numbers under it, and filled in the chords. Question 1 of the Grade 6 paper asks you to do the same.
The numbers are intervals above the bass, counted up the scale of the key. They tell you which notes to add; they are not chord names.
Here a 3rd above the bass and a 6th above it give the notes of chord I, with its 3rd in the bass: Ib. The full figure is 63, but it is shortened to a 6.
The next 2 screens and the 5 questions are in Plus.
Screen 1 of 3, free to read.
- 5 exam-style questions, marked as you go, each with a worked solution
- Anything you get wrong is saved to your flashcards