FiguredBass

The following is a summary of the TallMetricFonts' characters, their use and positioning within text strings in FINALE. Click on any (low-resolution) example on this page to link to a PostScript rendering of the example, which may be viewed by dowloading the rendering to any PostScript printer.

This font was designed to facilitate the notation of figured bass in both text blocks and notation examples. The font includes a set of numerals representing basic intervals and characters for indicating chromatic alterations of these intervals and their progression. Each figuration may consist of four numerals, the middle two of which lie comfortably within the ascent and descent of most text fonts. 24pt. size is recommended for adding figured bass to musical examples.

Character Set

The basis of this font is a numeric character set replicated at four vertical displacements. The numeral one is included for use with the Schenkerian caret (see below).

Supplementary Characters

Chromatic alterations may be indicated by accidental characters preceding scale degrees. Additionally, accidentals may be used to represent the third above the bass and its chromatic alterations, without the use of numerals. Supplementary characters are provided for this purpose also.
The solidus ( / ), reverse solidus ( \ ), and plus sign may be used in conjunction with the numerals to indicate chromatically altered chord members. Horizontal lines, indicating progression, are provided also. Spaces should be used to separate adjacent figurations --two spaces are required to span the horizontal (progression) indications. A non-breaking space may be used to offset the plus sign from the column of numbers in the event that the space is too wide. The caret ( ^ ) aligns with the second row of numbers, and may precede or follow the numeral to which it applies.
Upper and lower case letters ("v"'s and "i"'s) allow for the creation of roman numerals alongside of the figures to create a comprehensive library of chord symbols.

The FiguredBass font has been designed to assist in integrating figurations into text blocks. To do so, simply change fonts and type the appropriate characters -- no other adjustments are required to place a figuration into the text of an essay or editorial indication.

An additional font, FiguredBassLite, is included for use with word-processors which do not support uniform leading of fonts with differing heights, such as MS-Word. It contains only the middle two strata of figures. Otherwise, the Lite version of FiguredBass is identical to its parent font.