Brainlag MusicA method for writing any chord above a figured bass note, and how your answer is marked.
Four steps
Every chord above a figured bass, here and in question 1 of the exam, is written in the same four steps.
Learn the four steps by heart
- Name the chord from the bass and the figures.
- List its three notes, with the raised 7th if the key is minor.
- Choose the note to double: the root in root position, the bass in a six-four or a diminished chord, never the leading note.
- Place the soprano, then the alto and tenor, each in range, with no more than an octave between soprano and alto, or between alto and tenor.
Why soprano first? It is the line people hear most clearly. In a progression it should move mostly by step; the inner voices then take the nearest notes.
You try In D major, which chord do this bass and figure give, and which note do you double?
Show the answer
IIb. It is not diminished, so double its root or its 5th.
The rest of this lesson and its 4 practice questions are in Brainlag Music Theory.
Screen 1 of 3, free to read.
- 4 exam-style questions, marked as you go, each with a worked solution
- Anything you get wrong is saved to your flashcards