thorough bass

[ beys ]

noun

, Music.

1. figured bass.
2. continuo.

thorough bass

/ beɪs /

noun

1. 1. Also calledbasso continuocontinuo (esp during the baroque period) a bass part underlying a piece of concerted music. It is played on a keyboard instrument, usually supported by a cello, viola da gamba, etc See also figured bass
   2. ( as modifier )

      a thorough-bass part

Word History and Origins

Origin of thorough bass¹

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

Not fatigued by his radicalisation of both musical texture and technique, Corelli added another flourish to his work: a musical shorthand called figured bass, or thorough bass, inherited from Monteverdi and universally adopted after him.

From Literature

The gentlemen, you see, will laugh the tenor; the ladies will play the counter-tenor; the beaux will squeak the treble; and our jolly friends in the gallery a thorough bass, ho, ho, ho!

From Project Gutenberg

"Well, she's not a duffer at thorough bass anyway," Rosa put in.

From Project Gutenberg

The thorough bass of the dear master has simplified all that.

From Project Gutenberg

The innovations of the Florentine reformers included also the invention of thorough bass, or the basso continuo, as the Italians call it.

From Project Gutenberg