We begin with an at-a-glance summary of some important schemas, then proceed to set out each of the schemas listed one by one.

Overall Short Summary

Musical notation

Here are files in musical notation with all the schemas listed on this page:

• • With chordal realizations: .mscz, .mxl, .pdf
  • Without chords (outer voices only): .mscz, .mxl, .pdf

These files provide a set of schemas, with the constituent parts set out as prototypically as is possible in musical notation: that is, with melody and figured bass lines, along with (in the first file’s case) chords in a middle part realizing those figures. Musical notation is obviously useful, though really, schemas are prototypes that exist apart from any specific realization, so the more abstract representations in tables and the like are better in some ways. That’s why you’ll see them set out in this fashion here and in other literature on this topic.

Summarizing table

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Itemized List

Opening Gambits

Romanesca

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	S	W	S	W
Melody	do	sol	do	do
Bass	do	ti	la	mi
Figures	5	6	5	6
Roman numerals	I	V	vi	I

Do–Re–Mi

Stage	1	2	3
Meter	S	W	S
Melody	do	re	mi
Bass	do	ti	do
Figures	5	6	5
Roman numerals	I	V	I

Many of the schemas involve two steps that can be considered schemas on their own. These often take the form of question-answer pairs.
Here, we have the Do–Re opening part as the opening question:

Stage	1	2
Meter	S	W
Melody	do	re
Bass	do	ti
Figures	5	6
Roman numerals	I	V

That Do–Re is answered by the Re–Mi:

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	re	mi
Bass	ti	do
Figures	6	5
Roman numerals	V	I

The Do–Re–Mi may also appear in a four-stage version by putting those constituent parts back together. This basically involves doubling up the central stage of the three-stage version.

Sol–Fa–Mi

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	sol	fa	fa	mi
Bass	do	re	ti	do
Figures	5	5	6/5	5
Roman numerals	I	ii	V	I

Again, this comprises two parts.

Opening part (Sol–Fa):

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	sol	fa
Bass	do	re
Figures	5	5
Roman numerals	I	ii

Answering part (Fa–Mi):

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	fa	mi
Bass	ti	do
Figures	6	5
Roman numerals	V	I

This schema may also appear with the harmony slightly altered, as follows:

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	sol	fa	fa	mi
Bass	do	re	ti	do
Figures	5	6	6/5	5
Roman numerals	I	vii	V	I

Meyer

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	do	ti	fa	mi
Bass	do	re	ti	do
Figures	5	6/4/3	6/5	5
Roman numerals	I	V	V	I

Opening part:

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	do	ti
Bass	do	re
Figures	5	6,4,3
Roman numerals	I	V

Closing part:

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	fa	mi
Bass	ti	do
Figures	6,5	5
Roman numerals	V	I

Aprile

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	S	W	S	W
Melody	do	ti	re	do
Bass	do	re	ti	do
Figures	5	6,4,3	6,5	5
Roman numerals	I	V	V	I

Jupiter

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	S	W	S	W
Melody	do	re	fa	mi
Bass	do	ti	sol	do
Figures	5	6	5	5
Roman numerals	I	V	V	I

Pastorella

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	S	W	S	W
Melody	mi	re	fa	mi
Bass	do	sol	sol	do
Figures	5	5	7	5
Roman numerals	I	V	V	I

Answer/Process/Transition

Prinner and Modulating Prinner

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	S	W	S	W
Melody	la	sol	fa	mi
Bass	fa	mi	re	do
Figures	5	6	7-6	I
Roman numerals	IV	I	vii	I

A slight variant on this inserts a root-position dominant before the final stage:

Stage	1	2	3	4	5
Meter	S	W	S	W	S
Melody	la	sol	fa	fa	mi
Bass	fa	mi	re	sol	do
Figures	5	6	7–6	7	5
Roman numerals	IV	I	vii	V	I

The Prinner can also be used to modulate from the tonic to the dominant. This variant is called the Modulating Prinner:

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	S	W	S	W
Melody	mi	re	do	ti
Bass	do	ti	la	sol
Figures	5	6	7-♯6	5
Roman numerals	I	V	vii/V	V

Again, this can come with an additional root-position dominant:

Stage	1	2	3	4	5
Meter	S	W	S	W	S
Melody	mi	re	do	do	ti
Bass	do	ti	la	re	sol
Figures	5	6	7–♯6	7/♯	5
Roman numerals	I	V	vii/V	V/V	V

Fonte

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	sol	fa	fa	mi
Bass	di	re	ti	do
Figures	6/5	5	6/5	5
Roman numerals	V/ii	ii	V	I

The Fonte has a strong relation to the Meyer and indeed to the cycle of fifths. This effectively tonicizes the A minor key (e.g., the supertonic minor) and then a major key a tone below (the overall tonic). The modular part is just one of those tonicizations:

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	fa	mi
Bass	ti	do
Figures	6/5	5/3
Roman numerals	V	I

Monte

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	do-te	la	re-do	ti
Bass	mi	fa	fi	sol
Figures	6/5	5	6/5	5
Roman numerals	V/IV	V	V/V	V

Like the Fonte, the Monte also goes through two tonicizations with a sequential treatment of a modular half:

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	sol-fa	mi
Bass	ti	do
Figures	6/5	5
Roman numerals	V	I

Ponte

Stage	1	2	3
Meter	S	W	S
Melody	sol	ti	re
Bass	sol	sol	sol
Figures	5	7	7
Roman numerals	V	V	V

Pre-Cadential / Incomplete Cadences

Fenaroli

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	S	W	S	W
Melody	fa	mi	ti	do
Bass	ti	do	re	mi
Figures	6/5	5	6/5	6
Roman numerals	V	I	V	I

Indugio

Stage	1	2	3	4	5
Meter	S	W	S	W	S
Melody	re	fa	la	do	ti
Bass	fa	fa	fa	fi	sol
Figures	6/5	6/5	6/5	6/5	5
Roman numerals	IV	IV	IV	V/V	V

Deceptive Cadence

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	do	re	re	do
Bass	mi	fa	sol	la
Figures	6	6/5	5	5
Roman numerals	I	ii	V	vi

Evaded Cadence

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	do	re	re	do
Bass	mi	fa	sol	mi
Figures	6	6/5	5	6
Roman numerals	I	ii	V	I

Passo Indietro

Stage	1	2
Meter	S	W
Melody	ti	do
Bass	fa	mi
Figures	6/4/2	6
Roman numerals	V	I

The Passo Indietro is essentially the first two stages of a Prinner. Literally a “stepping back,” the Passo Indietro often precedes a significant cadence.

Comma

Stage	1	2
Meter	W	S
Melody	fa	mi
Bass	ti	do
Figures	6/5	5
Roman numerals	V	I

Converging Cadence

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	mi	re	do	ti
Bass	mi	fa	fi	sol
Figures	6	6/5	6/5	5
Roman numerals	I	ii	V/V	V

This cadence is also known as the fa–fi–sol half cadence after the definitive bass line: . Note the correspondence between this schema and the Indugio.

Cadences and Post-Cadential

Cadenza Semplice

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	do	re	re	do
Bass	mi	fa	sol	do
Figures	6	6/5	5	5
Roman numerals	I	ii	V	I

Cadenza Composta

Stage	1	2	3	4	5
Meter	W	S	S	W	S
Melody	do	re	mi	re	do
Bass	mi	fa	sol	sol	do
Figures	6	6/5	6/4	7	5
Roman numerals	I	ii	Cad.	V	I

Cadenza Doppia

Stage	1	2	3	4	5
Meter	S	W	S	W	S
Melody	fa	mi	re	re	do
Bass	sol	sol	sol	sol	do
Figures	5	6/4	4	3	5
Roman numerals	V	V	V	V	I

Quiescenza

Stage	1	2	3	4
Meter	W	S	W	S
Melody	te	la	ti	do
Bass	do	do	do	do
Figures	♭7	6/4	7/4/2	5
Roman numerals	V/IV	V	V	I

The Quiescenza is a post-cadential schema.