Figured Bass
Numbers under the bass note tell which intervals should sound above it
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Figured bass writes numbers under a bass note to show which intervals should sound above it: no figure means 5/3, 6 means first inversion, 6/4 second inversion, and 7 a seventh chord.
The figures abbreviate intervals, not chord symbols. They fix the pitch structure above the bass, while spacing, doubling and voice leading are supplied by the player from contrapuntal rules. A sharp or flat beside a figure alters that interval, not the bass note.
The numbers are neither fingerings nor beats. They say nothing about rhythm or which finger to use, only about harmony, and one progression can be realised in very different textures.
Sources
- 数字低音的数字含义与实现惯例，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Figured bass"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.