In musical terminology, a repeating bass line across sections is called what?

• A. Ground bass
• B. Ostinato
• C. Arpeggiation
• D. Blocked chords

Answer: (A)

A repeating bass line that stays constant across sections is called ground bass. This technique provides a steady foundation that underpins the music as other voices or melodies move and develop above it, creating a sense of continuity from one section to the next. The defining idea is the bass pattern’s persistent return, which anchors the form even as harmony and texture evolve.

An ostinato is a repeating figure, but it doesn’t have to stay in the bass or serve as the long-form underpinning across sections; it can be a rhythmic or melodic fragment anywhere in the texture. Arpeggiation describes playing the notes of a chord in sequence rather than simultaneously, and blocked chords refer to chords played as solid, vertical blocks; neither describes a persistent bass line that unifies multiple sections.