Figured Bass Summary #1 Rule of Figured Bass: Figured bass doesn’t care about chords, roots, or functions, only intervals. Figured bass symbols are not inversion symbols; when paired with Roman Numerals (i.e., root analysis), they often seem to be inversion symbols, but also often do not agree with each other. Figured bass is also often used to show significant upper-voice movement against the Roman Numerals, but it is not designed for that either. The one and only thing that Figured Bass cares about is the intervals that are present above the lowest note (usually listed in numerical order). Anytime you find yourself asking, “how do I write this in figured bass”, the answer is always, “list all of the intervals above the bass”.
Common Symbols – Complete and Abbreviated Chord
Complete
Root Position Triad
First Inversion Triad
Second Inversion Triad
Root Position Seventh
First Inversion Seventh
Second Inversion Seventh
Third Inversion Seventh
!
Îá ^
$
ÛÌé &
ÛÌá %
ÔÌá #
áÔÈ
Abbrev.
$ Ô
@ Ê
null () () Don’t forget: these are the symbols that will usually be used for the specified inversion, but they are not “inversion symbols”. These same symbols can sometimes mean other things.
Principles of Abbreviation
!
A standard root-position triad ( ) is implied, and need not ever be notated – the space beneath the bass note can simply be left blank. Any odd number implies all the odd numbers below it. Any even number implies all the even numbers above it (up to 8), and the lowest even number also implies all the odd numbers beneath it except the one most immediately beneath it. Put another way, 5 and 3 are implied; 6 usually replaces 5, so if both are present, both must be written; likewise, 4 usually replaces 3, so if both are present, both must be written. In another way: The lowest even number is the root of the chord. For a triad, this is all you need; for a seventh chord, we may also need to seventh itself (except when the seventh is the bass note, since we don’t notate bass notes). Note, however, that the symbols 2 and 4, by themselves, are often used to represent suspensions; therefore, when they represent chords, we usually add the next higher even number above them. Numbers 8 and above are only ever used to specify significant upper-voice movement or root position extended chords (extended chords rarely appear in inversion anyway, but when they occur, the figured bass is written within a single octave).
Alterations Simple numbers always indicates notes present in the diatonic scale (i.e., in the key signature). Any notes outside the key signature must be indicated by accidentals – the same accidentals that appear in the notes on the staff. They may also be indicated by a plus or a minus to show that it has been raised or lowered.
âÿ
A number with a slash through it (generally a forward slash, like ) also represents a note that has been raised. Some numbers also have special forms with a short tick-mark through them, that behave exactly
âō
Ôē
the same way, raising the pitch (like and ). (In special circumstances, a backslash can cause the note to be lowered, but this is rare). Additionally, an accidental appearing by itself, without a number, indicates an alternation to the third above the bass note – not the third of the chord! Remember that the bass note itself is not notated in the Figured Bass symbol, because the bass note is written directly on the staff – hence, alterations to the bass note are also not figured. And remember, also, that diminished chords do not need an alteration if they are part of the key signature. Hence, the first-inversion leading-tone triad does not need a slash through the 6 in major, because it is part of the key signature (but the slash is needed in the minor key, because the leading tone is not part of the key signature).
A Final Reminder The chords symbols in the chart above are for the most common chord types, but any chord can be expressed in Figured Bass. All other chord types, including non-standard chord types, are indicated by noting all the intervals above the bass in numerical order.
