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Topic: Learning to sightread figured bass (Read 2331 times)

kalirren

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Posts: 146

Learning to sightread figured bass

on: December 10, 2013, 11:05:46 PM

This is a technique my teacher never taught me, and I'm interested in learning it.

Any tips, from those who have learned the skill successfully? Any favorite books/methods? Prerequisite/preparatory exercises?

I'm all ears.

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Beethoven: An die Ferne Geliebte
Franck: Sonata in A Major
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faulty_damper

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Posts: 3929

Re: Learning to sightread figured bass

Reply #1 on: December 11, 2013, 01:26:45 AM

It's like reading noteheads, except with numbers. As long as you understand what inversion/chord it refers to, you'll be fine. You'll have to spend time familiarizing yourself with common progressions so you'll know which keys to depress to avoid parallels in voicing, which is a common problem for beginners. I hope you know what parallels mean.

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momopi

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Posts: 298

Re: Learning to sightread figured bass

Reply #2 on: February 21, 2014, 03:56:36 PM

I got myself an introductory book to the works of Scarlatti and it has figured bass on it. I don;t understand anything. $:-\$ Welp!

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momopi

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Posts: 298

Re: Learning to sightread figured bass

Reply #3 on: March 04, 2020, 02:25:08 AM

I did not bother with figured bass years ago due to hyper busy work schedule.

But now, I'm looking at it again. Figured bass still escapes me. I will highly appreciate links, suggestions, and explanations so I can play Scarlatti with joy!

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