Brainlag Music Theory
Brainlag Music TheoryFigured 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.
The figures stay under the bass; the chord's label is a separate thing you work out from them.
The rest of this lesson and its 5 practice questions are in Brainlag Music Theory.
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