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Double Bass interesting numbers on a score that I've never run into before

Vince Waldon

Vince Waldon

Jan 25, 2011
139
87
Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA
www.vincewaldon.com
#1
Hi all... working on Hayden's Concerto Grosso #9, and the score we are using has some numbers under some of the notes that I've not seen before:

Screenshot%202017-01-07%2013.51.40_zpswcflaxbc.gif


They aren't fingerings... sometimes there's two or three numbers under a single note, and they sometime's contain sharp/flat/natural symbols.

If I was to guess I'd say they are some clues as to the underlying tonal structure of the piece at that point... but that's just a guess, and not sure why the bassist would care, since they are not improvising at that point.

Thanks in advance, hive mind!
 
#3
Vince Waldon said:
Hi all... working on Hayden's Concerto Grosso #9, and the score we are using has some numbers under some of the notes that I've not seen before:

Screenshot%202017-01-07%2013.51.40_zpswcflaxbc.gif


They aren't fingerings... sometimes there's two or three numbers under a single note, and they sometime's contain sharp/flat/natural symbols.

If I was to guess I'd say they are some clues as to the underlying tonal structure of the piece at that point... but that's just a guess, and not sure why the bassist would care, since they are not improvising at that point.

Thanks in advance, hive mind!
Click to expand...

"Figured Bass", is the common name for this, I believe.
It is a type of Harmonic Analysis/Directive, indicating what is occurring, or should occur, above the written bass note. There are usually Roman Numerals accompanying the numbers.
A (traditional/Classical) Music Theory textbook will usually cover this method of analysis and nomenclature.
My III cents.
 
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#4
Don Kasper said:
"Figured Bass", is the common name for this, I believe.
It is a type of Harmonic Analysis/Directive, indicating what is occurring, or should occur, above the written bass note. There are usually Roman Numerals accompanying the numbers.
A (traditional/Classical) Music Theory textbook will usually cover this method of analysis and nomenclature.
My III cents.
Click to expand...

You're right that the numbers are figured bass, but they aren't analytical in nature (thus the lack of Roman numerals).

They're the figured bass performance instructions for the continuo performer, usually harpsichord, thus the term "basso continuo." The keyboardist (or even lutenist) would read from the bass line and the figured bass numerals would guide them in realizing the harmony and voice leading above it.
 
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#9
A while back I inquired about keyboard players who could realize a figured bass part; apparently it's part of the standard tool kit for professional keyboard players who specialize in Baroque and pre-Baroque repertoire. I would inquire among university music professors and I bet you could get some information pretty easily.
 
#10
I can go deeper into the meaning of those numbers if you can't find the info online, but I'd like to note that the accidentals under some notes affect to the third of the chord that the keyboardist is going to build. For example: the one under the 6 beneath the first note means that you have to play a natural B instead of a flat B. The sharp over the A note (third note on the first bar) means that you have to use a C# (mayor third).

Let me know if you need help with any particular passage.
 
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#17
The concept is simple: you play the bass note, then follow the figures up from the bottom. The very first note of the example is G#. The first thing you play above that is a natural 3rd above the bass, then the 6th above the bass. Therefore, that's an E major chord in first inversion. There's quite a bit of shorthand too, so, for instance, you'll rarely see a 1st inversion chord written as 3-6, but just a 6.
 

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