Why Learn Figured Bass? - Music Theory

See why every musician should become familiar with figured bass. For harpsichordists and organists needing to realise figured bass in performance realising figured bass fluently with style is essential. For others it’s a useful way of understanding the mind of the Baroque composer. It’s also a helpful way of thinking about music from the bass upwards rather than the more usual approach from the top downwards. Additionally figured bass helps to think about chords in terms of intervals above the bass line. Being able to think fluently between thinking chords in roman numerals, in lead sheet presentation, and in figured bass is the most helpful way of understanding harmony from multiple perspectives. So figured bass is for all.
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🕘 Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction to why learn figured bass?
3:35 - Explanation of how the figured bass system works
9:31 - Seventh chords
14:12 - Accidentals
15:51 - Suspensions
21:56 - Ways to play figured bass
25:22 - Conclusion
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Пікірлер: 45

  • @MusicMattersGB
    @MusicMattersGB Жыл бұрын

    Learn Music Online - Check out our courses here! www.mmcourses.co.uk/courses

  • @rasheedcampbell3211

    @rasheedcampbell3211

    Жыл бұрын

    You could also use the rule of the octave

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    Videos coming soon on this topic

  • @desiderioelielton2051
    @desiderioelielton2051 Жыл бұрын

    I really appreciate the thoroughbass. I'm an organist in a church and I usually rewrite the pieces, replacing the figures (like Am, F, G, C etc.) with figured bass or reducing the choral arrangement to figured bass. Learning to read figured bass not only gave me a different perspective on chords, but also broadened my improvisation skills.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    Absolutely my experience too.

  • @NotLegato
    @NotLegato Жыл бұрын

    i think figured bass is one of the most intuitive ways for an accompanist to do a harmony for something. i'm a big fan of it.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    I agree

  • @martinlang5139
    @martinlang51395 ай бұрын

    Dear Gareth, another great one. Special thanks for explaining PSR 🎶

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    5 ай бұрын

    A pleasure.

  • @michaelvarney.
    @michaelvarney.8 ай бұрын

    9:00 In guitar, 2nd inversion is very common… particularly 3 string voices of triads. The reason is how the guitar is tuned (E A D G B E from bass to treble). Simply by barring the 2-3-4 stings (numbered treble to bass) you get a 2nd inversion triad. It is a very comfortable shape, easy to finger and transpose to any major triad simply by moving up or down the neck. I’m comping it is a nice triad to play. The ergonomic are great, and the sound is nice, and the shape makes it great to base pentatonic riffs from.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    8 ай бұрын

    It certainly works more successfully in some styles than in others.

  • @ilninfeo
    @ilninfeo Жыл бұрын

    Congratulations, Maestro. Great explanation!!

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    Most kind

  • @mariar4431
    @mariar4431 Жыл бұрын

    Your teaching is brilliant. I never miss a lesson. Thank you very very much.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    That’s most kind. Much more at www.mmcourses.co.uk

  • @basslobster
    @basslobster Жыл бұрын

    Thank you. Very informative as always 🎼👍🎶🎵

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    You’re welcome

  • @jakes5425
    @jakes5425 Жыл бұрын

    Very helpful! Thank you :)

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad it’s useful. Much more at www.mmcourses.co.uk

  • @bryonharper7660
    @bryonharper7660 Жыл бұрын

    succinct! thank you for this video!

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    That’s most kind. Much more at www.mmcourses.co.uk

  • @ablacktable
    @ablacktable Жыл бұрын

    Such a god tier music channel.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    That’s most kind. Much more at www.mmcourses.co.uk

  • @ablacktable

    @ablacktable

    Жыл бұрын

    @@MusicMattersGB yes, MORE

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    Go for it!

  • @cl9826
    @cl98266 ай бұрын

    I'm not a great musician and I can't sight read. I just want to sit down at the piano and string some chords together and make it sound good. I think this might be the ticket.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    6 ай бұрын

    That’s a great ambition. Go for it. You would find our keyboard harmony course useful at www.mmcourses.co.uk

  • @639dida
    @639dida Жыл бұрын

    Amazing video! 20:58 "See there, see there, be there". P.S. I'm a very pun guy.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    😀

  • @martinbennett2228
    @martinbennett2228 Жыл бұрын

    I have tried working out a bit of figured bass realisation to prepare an accompaniment (e.g. Corelli), but found how easy it is to find parallel fifths in what otherwise looks like a promising line. It makes me wonder how accompanists manage to avoid parallels when improvising at sight.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    It’s tricky but one gets better at dealing with the challenges

  • @martinbennett2228

    @martinbennett2228

    Жыл бұрын

    @@MusicMattersGB Sorry about the double post, I thought my comment had disappeared. I found that I can avoid parallel fifths, but at the expense of an interesting or a smooth line in the accompaniment. Sometimes it seems as if the composer has set a cryptic puzzle: there is an elusive, amazing counterpoint waiting to be discovered.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    Keep at it and you’ll discover the counterpoint

  • @martinbennett2228
    @martinbennett2228 Жыл бұрын

    I have tried a bit of realisation of figured bass (worked out rather than improvised at the keyboard), but have found it all too easy to find parallel fifths in what seemed like a promising line. I don't know how people manage to avoid parallels when they are improvising at sight.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    Keep at it and you’ll solve it.

  • @lawrencetaylor4101
    @lawrencetaylor4101 Жыл бұрын

    You automatically used the flat 7, or the dominant 7 in the G chord which was the fifth. Did they mostly use seventh chords on the dominant? How would they notate a Major seventh? Would they put a sharp sign on the 7? I think that could be confused with sharpening the third though. I've started in a music theory book but it's in French and I haven't reached that level yet. I've only watched your videos on figured bass and it's new to me.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    In Baroque music it’s mainly V7 and II7, with other 7ths more occasionally. The figures only need accidentals if you’re contradicting the key signature.

  • @lawrencetaylor4101

    @lawrencetaylor4101

    10 ай бұрын

    I see I watched this 3 months ago, but I learned even more today. You had a video on the 6-5 4-3 chord progression, and it was really a lightbulb moment for me. I played that piece for my music teacher. Last week he said he hadn't learned the rule of the octave. Today he asked me to play it in different keys in different positions, and noticed I only had made one mistake. I'm practicing your sequences in all keys, and my fingers are starting to know where to move. But my goodness, it's hard to keep track of all those notes surrounding the one being realized. But it's so much easier than 3 months ago, and I have you to thank for that.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    10 ай бұрын

    @lawrencetaylor4101 you’re doing brilliantly. Keep going!

  • @corrinneloudon525
    @corrinneloudon525 Жыл бұрын

    It's a bit of a struggle to get my dyslexic head around this... You're very clear in definition but recognising what's actually going on on the page is defeating me. Any tips? Also, you have a habit of playing clearly right up to a resolution and then play the resolution so softly that I can't hear what's happening! Pretty please, may I have consistent volume...? Thank you very much.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    The great thing about the video format is that one can pause and think through each move/ replay the video. Hopefully that will help consolidate the knowledge. Not sure why you’re finding the resolutions so soft…

  • @jameslockhart2223
    @jameslockhart2223 Жыл бұрын

    A sight-reading nightmare!

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    Жыл бұрын

    It’s great fun!

  • @cl9826

    @cl9826

    6 ай бұрын

    really? I think it might be easier. One stave instead of two and you can make up the other parts.

  • @MusicMattersGB

    @MusicMattersGB

    6 ай бұрын

    @cl9826 There’s certainly truth in that once you get used to working with it.