figured bass

American  

[beys] / beɪs /

noun

Music.

1. a bass part in which the notes have numbers under them indicating the chords to be played.

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figured bass British  

/ beɪs /

noun

1. a shorthand method of indicating a thorough-bass part in which each bass note is accompanied by figures indicating the intervals to be played in the chord above it in the realization

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Etymology

Origin of figured bass

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Not fatigued by his radicalisation of both musical texture and technique, Corelli added another flourish to his work: a musical shorthand called figured bass, or thorough bass, inherited from Monteverdi and universally adopted after him.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Not content with merely taking part in her husband's works, she learned from him to play the clavier and read figured bass, and rendered him valuable aid by copying music for him.

From Woman's Work in Music by Elson, Arthur

An example of a figured bass is given in Fig.

From Music Notation and Terminology by Gehrkens, Karl Wilson

The conductor at the harpsichord, playing from a figured bass, filled in chords according to his own judgment of the effect required.

From A Popular History of the Art of Music From the Earliest Times Until the Present by Mathews, W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock)

A part performed by instruments, accompanying another part or parts performed by voices; the subordinate part, or parts, accompanying the voice or a principal instrument; also, the harmony of a figured bass.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah