(Italian: 'continuous bass'). A form of bass line used in music from the Baroque period. It is usually notated with numbers indicating what chords can be used, so the continuo player can embellish the lines. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos are a fine example of this.

Thorough-bass (really through-bass), a prominent feature of Baroque music. It was first associated with the operatic recitative style, it quickly came to be used for nearly all Baroque musical repertory. It is called (through) continuo because it is a continuous, independent part, which continues or goes through the whole piece as opposed to basso seguente which is not independent. In orchestral music, the disappearance of the basso continuo began about 1760, by the end of the century it was obsolete. In accompanying recitatives, it was used till 1820 by some composers.