Grade 7 Theory - Question 1 - Quick Help Options

[mysteryd]

Grade 7 Theory - Question 1:

Here's a quick question:... If the music is in a minor key, and has NO accidentals in the melody or bass at all, when i write in the figured bass, shall i just assume that the 7th note of the key is sharpened???

Because the indication is to complete figured bass, and "remember accidentals (even in 5/3 chords)...."


(By the way - i am looking at Grade 7 Theory Workbook (ABRSM) - page 14 top....)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[YetAnotherPianist]

7ths are explicitly sharpened in figured basses; for instance, a 5 3 position chord on the dominant with a sharpened 7th would be notated with:

5
#3

or just

#

[mrbouffant]

... in minor keys

[YetAnotherPianist]

... in minor keys

Is my answer restricted solely to minor keys? The notation for having a sharpened 7th would be the same in a major key, surely....

[bourdon16]

I had to read YetAnotherPianist's answer a few times before I realised s/he was correct. In a 5-3 chord built on the dominant in A minor the 3rd of the chord is the 7th of the key and you would need to sharpen it to obtain a G#. If you had an E in the bass and a B (say) in the melody and wanted (for some *bizarre* reason) to use a 7th chord, then #7 [5 3 not needed] would mean E, G, B, D#.

If you have an E in the bass and a D in the melody then it is possible you could still only see #3 or just # to tell the player to bung a dominant triad under the note, though I suspect in exams they might use a 7 to help you.

Which page did you say you were on? Are you looking at example 29a?

The 'joy' of figured bass is that, once you have obeyed the keysignature, the figures tell you every other accidental you need. You just have to know what to take for granted as numbers are left out if they are superfluous.

[mrbouffant]

My apologies. In C major, I don't consider the B to be "sharpened" to make the 7th, whereas in C minor I would... it's a matter of semantics I guess (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)