Alberti bass
Alberti bass is a particular kind of accompaniment figure in music, often used in the Classical era, and sometimes the Romantic era. It was named after Domenico Alberti (1710–1740/46), who used it extensively, although he was not the first to use it.<ref name="baker">"Alberti Bass." Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music. Ed. Laura Kuhn. Schirmer-Thomson Gale, 1999. Template:ISBN.</ref>
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.<ref name="baker"/> 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."<ref>Hurry, Pam; Phillips, Mark; and Richards, Mark (2001). Heinemann Advanced Music, p.48. Heinemann. Template:ISBN.</ref>
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,"<ref>Aschenbrenner, L. (2012). The Concept of Coherence in Art, p.200. Springer Science & Business Media. Template:ISBN.</ref> and as "perhaps the most overworked fixture of eighteenth-century music."<ref name="Bernstein">Bernstein, Leonard (2007). The Infinite Variety of Music, p.51. Amadeus Press. Template:ISBN. "But over and over again we can find Mozart using this figuration in such a way that it is transformed by the sheer beauty of his melodic invention above it."</ref>
Well-known examples of Alberti bass include the beginning of Mozart's Piano Sonata, K 545, and the third movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.Template:Efn A famous example from 20th-century American popular music is the bass guitar part of the 1962 surf rock standard "Pipeline", by The Chantays.<ref name="Overly">Overly, Mike (March 25, 2015). "Surfin’ With Mozart", 12ToneMusic.WordPress.com. Accessed: 21 July 2019.</ref><ref>Abjorensen, Norman (2017). Basslines with broken chords are also important in Boogie Woogie piano music. For instance Yancey Special by Meade Lux Lewis uses a typical Alberti bass. id=6ZyrDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA93&dq=the+chantays+pipeline+%22alberti+bass%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhr5mvl8fjAhUOB3wKHeMFA4MQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=the%20chantays%20pipeline%20%22alberti%20bass%22&f=false Historical Dictionary of Popular Music, p.93. Rowman & Littlefield. Template:ISBN.</ref> Alberti bass is also used in the ending theme of Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. 2. <ref>"Ending"</ref><ref>"Ending Theme - Super Mario Bros. 2"</ref>