continuo

In music, the bass line on which a keyboard player, accompanied by a bass stringed instrument, builds up a harmonic accompaniment. In 17th-century baroque music, composers wrote figures under a bass part to indicate the chords to be played (also called figured bass) rather than write out each chord in detail. This continuo part was played as a single bass line by a bass stringed instrument, such as a cello or double bass. At the same time, another continuo player filled in the harmonies by playing the chords (broken into patterns) on lute or a keyboard instrument, such as a harpsichord or organ. The role of continuo is similar to the traditional role of the bass and piano or guitar in jazz music.