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

Instead of the national game the class was wrestling with figured bass and the art of descant, and again it groaned aloud.

From Old Fogy His Musical Opinions and Grotesques by Huneker, James

An example of a figured bass is given in Fig.

From Music Notation and Terminology by Gehrkens, Karl Wilson

During the seventeenth century, sonatas were written for various instruments, with a figured bass for the cembalo.

From The Pianoforte Sonata Its Origin and Development by Shedlock, J. S. (John South)