thorough bass

American  

[beys] / beɪs /

noun

Music.

1. figured bass.

2. continuo.

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thorough bass British  

/ beɪs /

noun

1. 1. Also called: basso continuo.   continuo.  (esp during the baroque period) a bass part underlying a piece of concerted music. It is played on a keyboard instrument, usually supported by a cello, viola da gamba, etc See also figured bass

   2. ( as modifier )

      a thorough-bass part

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Etymology

Origin of thorough bass

First recorded in 1655–65

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

"Yes, yes, then they are amazed and put their heads together because they never found it in any book on thorough bass."

From Beethoven, the Man and the Artist, as Revealed in His Own Words by Krehbiel, Henry Edward

Some, if not all of the Psalms of David, had vocal compositions set to them by William and Henry Lawes, with a thorough bass, for an Organ, in four large books or volumes in 4to.

From The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753) Volume I. by Cibber, Theophilus

"Look here," said Beth, "if you'll do my sums, I'll do your theme now, and your thorough bass on Thursday."

From The Beth Book Being a Study of the Life of Elizabeth Caldwell Maclure, a Woman of Genius by Grand, Sarah

Who would do so better than his old professor of thorough bass and composition, Carl Zelter, the director of the Berlin Singakademie.

From The World's Great Men of Music Story-Lives of Master Musicians by Brower, Harriette