Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Alberti bass pattern was a common piano figuration found in classical period music. Because composers tended to be keyboard players, it also has a huge impact on classical composition regardless of the instrumental arrangement. Keep reading to learn what the Alberti bass pattern is and how it works.
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Who Created the Alberti Bass Pattern?
Domenico Alberti lived from 1710 to 1740 and was an early Classical period composer. Even though he’s not one of the major composers, his bass pattern had an outsized influence on the music of the classical period.
What Is the Alberti Bass Pattern?
- The pattern consisted of arpeggios (broken chords).
- In an arpeggio, you’ll play the notes of the chord one after the other, like a melody, rather than playing the notes simultaneously.
- It’s played in the background to support the melody and commonly appears in the left hand of classical piano music.
The New Harvard Dictionary of Music says this of the Alberti bass pattern:
An accompaniment figure, found frequently in the left hand of 18th-century keyboard music in which pitches of the three-pitch chords are played successively in the order lowest, highest, middle, highest… (28)
This example shows what the Alberti bass pattern looks like when used in the left hand (bass staff) on the piano:
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, rotate your screen 90o to the right.
Video: Sonata in C Major, mvt 1
While Mozart’s famous Sonata in C Major does use other left hand patterns, the Alberti bass is a featured figuration.
Here is a copy of the score for Mozart’s Sonant in C Major:
Final Thoughts on “What Is the Alberti Bass Pattern?”
Takeaway points:
- Domenico Alberti lived from 1710 to 1740 and was an early Classical period composer.
- His pattern was played in the background to support the melody and commonly appeared in the left hand of classical piano music.
- It consisted of arpeggios, or broken chords, in the pattern: lowest note, highest note, middle note, highest note.
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