In Theory class the other day, we were working on figured bass. We were given a 4-part chorale (SATB) and had to put the appropriate figures underneath it. We were not doing Roman Numeral analysis or putting in Pop Chord symbols (which I like to call "popcorn symbols" 'cause I'm weird like that); all we had to do was put in the figures.
As the class worked, several of the people who sit around me started asking me for help. I wrote out a couple of charts & explained it as best I could.
Let me stop here & say that I went into this class knowing that I already knew all the "paper stuff" - that is, I know my scales, chords, Roman numerals, non-harmonic tones, etc. And while yes, I am taking this class to brush up on these things, I am mostly in this class for the ear training. So, while 95% of the class is hearing this material (the "paper stuff") for the first time, I am busily thinking of ways to explain it to those who ask me for help.
Here's what I came up with for figured bass. I'm going to send this post to my professor & see what feedback he has on it.
We start by writing out a few charts:
TRIAD LETTER NAMES
This chart is one that the professor wrote on the board on Tuesday. I like it, so I plan to keep using it! :-) This chart shows the letter names involved in triads. The top line tells you which note is the Root (1), which note is the third (3), and which note is the fifth (5).If you are presented with a chord, the first thing you do is look at the notes (duh!).
NOTE: At this point, we are ignoring things like flats, naturals, and sharps; we only care about letter names right now.
Say your chord has notes D, B, and F. You look at the chart & find that combination of notes. You then look at the top line & see that B is the root, D is the third, and F is the fifth.
TRIAD FIGURES
Once you have figured out which of your 3 notes is the root, etc., you then look to see which one is in the bass. In our example above, we'll say that D is in the bass. Since Chart One told us that D is the third of our chord, we know that the figure we will need to use is "6". NOTE: we do not care in what order the other notes appear. That is, we don't care if the root is in the tenor, the alto, or the soprano voice; WE ONLY CARE WHAT'S IN THE BASS.
I point this out because it seems as if the other students were having trouble understanding this.
(I think it's because they're trying to apply ALL their thus-far-accumulated knowledge, not realising that it's not all relevant to the "problem" at hand.)
OK, that's great for triads, but what about seventh chords? That is, what about when you don't have THREE notes in a chord, but you have FOUR??
SEVENTH CHORD LETTER NAMES
This is just like Chart One above, except that it includes the seventh of the chord. We again ignore things like flats, naturals, and sharps; we only care about letter names. Let's use the same example as above - say your chord has notes A, D, B, and F. Look at the chord chart & find that combination of notes. You then look at the top line & see that B is the root, D is the third, F is the fifth, and A is the seventh.SEVENTH CHORD FIGURES
This is similar to Chart Two above. It's actually easier to remember because the top line (representing the bass note) is just your odd numbers - 1, 3, 5, 7. To get the figures, you count down from 7 - 765432. NOTE: it is more common to see "42" rather than just "2" in figured bass (although the "2" by itself is also acceptable); that's just something you need to remember when making your chart.
Now, again look at which note of your chord is in the bass. In our example, A is in the bass. Since Chart Three told us that A is the seventh of our chord, we know that the figure we will need to use is "2" or "42". Again, we do not care in what order the other notes appear; WE ONLY CARE WHAT'S IN THE BASS.
OK, now that we have our charts & know how to use them, let's look at our musical example, a 4-part chorale:
This is Bach's Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (I Will Not Leave God), BWV 418, mm. 5-6.Let's take this one chord at a time & look at them from the bass up. (That is, I will put the note names in order of bass, tenor, alto, soprano.)
Chord One = B G D F
That's four different letters, so we have to use Charts Three & Four. Chart Three tells us that G is the root of this chord and that our bass note B is the third. Chart Four then tells us that the appropriate figure is "65".
Chord Two = C G C E
This chord has only three different letters, so we use Charts One & Two. Chart One tells us that C is the root. C is also in the bass, so we know this chord is in root position. Chart Two tells us that if the root is in the bass, we do not have to write a figure at all.
Chord Three = F A D A
Again, three different letters. Chart One tells us that D is the root and our bass note, F, is the third of the chord. Chart Two tells us that the appropriate figure is "6".
Chord Four = E C E A
Three letters. Chart One says A is the root & our bass note, E, is the fifth. Chart Two tells us that our figure is "64".
Chord Five = E B E G#
Three letters. Chart One says that E is the root. It's also our bass note.
NOTE: Because this chord contains a note with an accidental, we need to do something slightly different.
The G# does not appear in the key signature. So even though Chart Two tells us that we have no figure to write, we do need to indicate that the third of the chord is sharp. We do this by putting a # sign by itself under the chord.
Chord Six = A C# E A
Three letters. Chart One says that A is the root. It's also our bass note. C is the third of the chord & it is sharped, so even though Chart Two tells us that no figure is needed, we still need to put a # under the chord.
We end up with:
There are other rules for when accidentals appear in the chord and the chord is not in root position, but that's beyond the scope of this assignment. I'll probably write up an explanation for that, too, since it's important to know how to do that, too.*****
UPDATE: I've posted an Addendum to this post!
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