Equivalent patterns in 4 4 and 3 4[1]Play 4 4ⓘ and Play 3 4ⓘAlberti bass patterns on V7Alberti bass in the opening of Thomas Attwood's (1765–1838) Sonatina in G Major[2]PlayⓘAlberti bass in the opening of Muzio Clementi's Sonatina in G, Op. 36, No. 2 (1797)[3]PlayⓘThe opening of the 5th of Beethoven's Seven Variations on "God Save the King" WoO 78 (1804) introduces Alberti bass patterns[4]Playⓘ
Alberti bass is a kind of broken chord or arpeggiated accompaniment, where the notes of the chord are presented in the order lowest, highest, middle, highest. This pattern is then repeated several times throughout the music.[5] The broken chord pattern helps to create a smooth, sustained, flowing sound on the piano. "Chords of harmony broken up into short patterns. Steady bass patterns in orchestral music which give the rhythmic drive to Classical music, compensating for the energetic drive of the Baroque basso continuo line."[6]
Alberti bass is usually found in the left hand of pieces for keyboard instruments, especially for Mozart's piano pieces. However, it is also found in pieces for other instruments. It has been described as "a true tolerable monotony,"[7] and as "perhaps the most overworked fixture of eighteenth-century music."[8]
^ abGoldman, Richard Franko (1965). Harmony in Western Music, p.20-1 & 174. Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN0-214-66680-8. "Examples of the Alberti bass...will be found...in the well-known C-major Sonata of Mozart (K. 545)."
^Benward, Bruce and Saker, Marylin (2009). Music in Theory and Practice, Vol. II, p.122-3. McGraw Hill. 8th edition. ISBN978-0-07-310188-0.
^ ab"Alberti Bass." Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music. Ed. Laura Kuhn. Schirmer-Thomson Gale, 1999. ISBN9780028654157.
^Rink, John (1984). Musical Performance: A Guide to Understanding. Cambridge University Press. p. 40. ISBN9780521788625. The first two bars of Mozart's Piano Sonata in C major K. 545... The passage consists of an Alberti-bass accompaniment supporting...[a] melody.
^ abOverly, Mike (March 25, 2015). "Surfin’ With Mozart", 12ToneMusic.WordPress.com. Accessed: 21 July 2019.
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