Generalbass-Übungen

This book cuts through the mystique of basso continuo by grounding it in actual music rather than abstract rules. Lemacher and Schroeder anchor every exercise in classical repertoire, so your students aren't solving theoretical puzzles in isolation—they're learning to recognize and realize the harmonic language they'll encounter in Bach, Handel, and their contemporaries.

Systematic yet musical. Each exercise unfolds logically from the one before it, building confidence with chord vocabulary and voice-leading patterns drawn directly from the classical masters. The work feels anchored in something real—not an invented pedagogy, but a distilled codification of how musicians actually solved these problems for centuries.

Advanced pianists preparing for continuo playing in early music ensembles, harpsichordists seeking a methodical approach to figured bass, and music theory students who want to move beyond written exercises into practical keyboard realization. This book serves serious students ready to integrate harmonic knowledge with instrumental skill.

• Start with the figured bass notation before adding the left hand; fluency with symbols comes before fluency with execution.
• Play through exercises hands separately until the left-hand realization becomes automatic; this frees your ears to listen to voice leading and spacing.
• Listen to orchestral or chamber recordings of the classical works excerpted in these exercises; the aural model informs your interpretation of the figured bass skeleton.

Assign it to students pursuing continuo on harpsichord or piano in your early music ensemble or chamber program. Use selected exercises in music theory courses that bridge written analysis and keyboard application, or have intermediate pianists work through sections to deepen their understanding of harmonic function before tackling solo repertoire from the Baroque and Classical periods.

• Reading and interpreting figured bass notation across multiple stylistic conventions
• Realizing basso continuo with appropriate voice leading and spacing
• Identifying harmonic progressions and functional harmony in classical contexts
• Coordinating both hands independently while listening to the harmonic whole
• Recognizing and applying period-appropriate keyboard idioms from the Baroque and Classical eras