Partimento Theory

The best-known version of the rule of the octave is undoubtedly the one taught by Fedele Fenaroli and reinterpreted by Emmanuele Imbimbo, a version with a first-choice sonority for each scale step. (For more information on that type of rule of the octave see my essays The Rule of the Octave in Major According to […]

The best-known version of the rule of the octave is undoubtedly the one taught by Fedele Fenaroli and reinterpreted by Emmanuele Imbimbo, a version that is based on a four-part realization. (For more information on that type of rule of the octave see my essays The Rule of the Octave in Major According to Fenaroli

An important early topic within partimento training is what is nowadays usually called the rule of the octave. The rule of the octave gives one specific, first-choice chord for each note of a major and minor scale in the bass, both ascending and descending. While different versions of the rule of the octave exist, I

Another early topic within partimento training is what is commonly known today as the rule of the octave. The rule of the octave suggests one specific, first-choice chord for each note of a major and minor scale in the bass, both ascending and descending. While different versions of the rule of the octave exist, I

One of the first things a partimento student in the Neapolitan tradition had to study were three types of cadences: the simple cadence (cadenza semplice), the compound cadence (cadenza composta) and the double cadence (cadenza doppia). Those cadences are based in the sources on a ①–⑤–① bass progression. The type of cadence largely depends on