Following the Bass

Bass lines are strongly associated with chord progressions. In popular music and mainstream jazz, root-position chords (at least on downbeats) are by far the most common, so figuring out the bass scale degrees translates fairly directly into the identification of chords. Even within classical music, the relationships between bass and chords are fairly constrained, with root-position chords remaining common—along with a fair number of first-inversion chords, particularly over certain scale degrees, and a small number of very constrained second-inversion chords and third-inversion seventh chords.

We encourage you to revisit two earlier sections of this textbook to review listening to bass lines:

Once you have a bass line figured out, it’s worth knowing what chord is most likely to accompany each bass scale degree. These are not rules, but rather “most-likely” defaults. They give us something to listen for. Because popular music and mainstream jazz often feature root-position triads and seventh chords, the table below focuses on norms for classical music.

Bass Scale Degree Likely Chords in a Major Key Likely Chords in a Minor Key
1/do A capital Roman numeral 1 A lower-case Roman numeral 1
2/re A lower-case Roman numeral 2 or A lower-case Roman numeral 7, a superscript circle, and a superscript Arabic numeral 6. or A capital Roman numeral 5 followed by the Arabic numerals superscript 4 and subscript 3. A lower-case Roman numeral 7, a superscript circle, and a superscript Arabic numeral 6. or A capital Roman numeral 5 followed by the Arabic numerals superscript 4 and subscript 3.
3/mi or me A capital Roman numeral 1 followed by a superscript Arabic numeral 6. A lower-case Roman numeral 1 followed by a superscript Arabic numeral 6. or A capital Roman numeral 3.
4/fa A capital Roman numeral 4. or A lower-case Roman numeral 2 followed by a superscript Arabic numeral 6. or A capital Roman numeral 5 followed by the Arabic numerals 6 over 4. A lower-case Roman numeral 4. or A lower-case Roman numeral 2 followed by a superscript circle and Arabic numeral 6. or A capital Roman numeral 5 followed by the Arabic numerals 6 over 4.
5/sol A capital Roman numeral 5. or The symbols for a "cadential six-four" chord followed by a major "five" chord. A capital Roman numeral 5. or The symbols for a "cadential six-four" chord followed by a major "five" chord.
6/la or le A lower-case Roman numeral 6. or A Roman numeral 4 followed by a superscript Arabic numeral 6. A capital Roman numeral 6. or A lower-case Roman numeral 4 followed by a superscript Arabic numeral 6.
7/ti A capital Roman numeral 5 followed by a superscript Arabic numeral 6. or A lower-case Roman numeral 7 followed by a superscript circle and Arabic numeral 7. A capital Roman numeral 5 followed by a superscript Arabic numeral 6. or A lower-case Roman numeral 7 followed by a superscript circle and Arabic numeral 7.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Foundations of Aural Skills Copyright © 2022 by Timothy Chenette is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book