A bass note E appears with the figure '6' written below it. What does this indicate?
APlay an E major chord in root position — the '6' identifies the sixth scale degree
BPlay a chord containing a 6th and an implied 3rd above E, making E the bass of a first-inversion triad
CPlay a chord where E functions as the sixth of the chord
DPlay six ascending notes above E
Figured bass numbers indicate intervals above the bass note, not scale degrees. A '6' (shorthand for 6/3) means the chord contains a 6th and a 3rd measured upward from the bass. This describes a first-inversion triad, where the third of the chord sits in the bass. The '6' does not name E as the sixth of anything — it measures the intervallic distance up from E. Intervals above the bass versus scale degrees is the core conceptual distinction in reading figured bass.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
A bass note in a figured bass passage has no figures written beneath it. What does the continuo player realize?
AThe player improvises freely since no chord is specified
BA first-inversion chord, the most common default in Baroque practice
CA root-position triad (5/3): the bass note is the root, with a third and a fifth above it
DA dominant seventh chord, the default when no figure appears
An unfigured bass is a convention meaning 5/3 — a root-position triad with the bass note as the root, a third above, and a fifth above. This is the default realization; no figure does not mean free improvisation. Students often assume silence about figures means freedom, but the system has a specific convention: no numbers = root-position triad.
Question 3 True / False
The figure '6/4' written below a bass note indicates a second-inversion chord.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
6/4 specifies a chord with a 6th and a 4th above the bass. Since the fifth of the chord sits in the bass, this describes a second-inversion triad (also called a 'six-four chord'). For example, in C major, bass note G with '6/4' indicates the second-inversion C major chord (G–C–E). This contrasts with '6' alone (or 6/3), which indicates first inversion.
Question 4 True / False
An accidental attached to a figure in figured bass raises or lowers most of the intervals in the chord, not just the one it accompanies.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
An accidental in figured bass modifies only the specific interval it directly accompanies. For example, a sharp next to '6' raises only the 6th above the bass, leaving the 3rd unchanged. Each figure is independent; an accidental applies to exactly one interval. Misapplying an accidental to the whole chord produces incorrect realizations — a common error for students new to the notation.
Question 5 Short Answer
Explain why figured bass numbers cannot represent scale degrees, and what they actually indicate about the chord to be played.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Scale degrees are fixed positions in a key and do not change with the bass note. Figured bass numbers measure intervals — staff-step distances — upward from the current bass note. The same figure '6' above different bass notes produces entirely different pitches and chords; only the intervallic relationship to the bass stays constant. This interval-above-bass interpretation is what makes figured bass a compact, key-independent notation: the numbers always describe the chord's structure relative to wherever the bass happens to be.
If the numbers meant scale degrees, the notation would break every time the bass moved. The interval interpretation is universal: given any bass note and the figures above it, the continuo player can immediately construct the correct chord in any key or register.