Cadence (Composition)

General

– Cadence is a Resolution Occurring at the End of a Section or a Song (Kind a “Final”)

• i.e. the Way a Phrase or Sequence of Chords Comes to an End 

• Typically a Harmonic Progression of 2 or 3 Chords that come to an More or Less Obvious Conclusion

– a Cadence is Like “Musical Punctuation” and is Defined as a Progression of 2 Chords that Expresses some Degree of Finality

– What Happens Harmonically at the Resting of a Phrase 

– Usually a 2-Chord Progression that Happens at the End of a Phrase

– a Cadence can be at Any Point in a Piece of Music that Feels Like an Ending Point, Even if it is Only Temporary (or in the Middle)

– a Type of “Resolution”, e.g. Getting back to the I Chord

– in Jazz Called “the Turnaround”

– Compare it with Grammatical Punctuation like Periods, Commas, Question Marks etc.

– there are 4 Types of Cadences

Authentic Cadence

– the Resting of a Musical Phrase when the Chord Progression is V to I (Dominant to Tonic)

– V to I or V7 to I

– “Strong Cadence” with a Resolution from the V Chord to the I Chord 

– Like “Period” in Grammatical Punctuation, it Stands for a Very Definitive Type of Ending

– the Leading Tone in the V Chord Gives the Strong Feel of Resolution by following to I Chord (in C Major this would be the B in G Major to the C in C Major)

– in a C Major Dominant 7 Chord, the F as the 7th also “Cries” to Cadence Strongly to E

– Notice that in Classical Music Rules are More Strictly (Perfect & Imperfect)

Perfect 

– Dominant and Tonic Must be in Root Position

– the Top Voice Ends on a Tonic Note

Imperfect

– Dominant and Tonic can be Inversions

– the Top Voice can End on a Any Note

– and you can also Use the 7 Dim Chord Instead of the V Chord Going to the I

Half Cadence

– the Resting of a Musical Phrase when the Chord Progression Ends on a V Chord (Ends on Dominant Chord)

– Sounds “Incomplete”, Usually in the Middle of a Longer Section of Music (Impression you are Not Quite at the End yet)

– I to V (sometimes ii, vi or IV is used in Place of I)

– Called a “Weak Cadence” & Ends on the V Chord

– Like a “Comma” in Grammatical Punctuations, it Stands for a Pause before a Authentic (or Ultimate) Resolving

Plagal Cadence

– the Resting of a Musical Phrase when the Chord Progression Ends on the Subdominant Going to the Tonic Chord (Subdominant to Tonic)

– IV to I

– Plagal Builds the Resolution from IV to the I Chord Called the “Amen” Cadence

– Derives from the Fact that it´s used a lot in Church Music as the Finish “Amen”

– Feels “Softer” and More Subtle that Authentic but has a Similar Function for Finality

Deceptive Cadence

– the Resting of a Musical Phrase when the Chord Progression Ends on Something Other than the I Chord 

– e.g. in Major Often a Dominant Chord Going to the VI Chord (as the VI Chord is its Relative Chord and a Nice Substitute for the I Chord)

– V to a Chord other than I (most often it is V to vi)

– Traditionally V Chord Moves to the vi Chord and known as “Surprise Cadence” (cause V Does Not Resolve to I Chord)

– this Works Good because the C and Am (I and vi in Major C) have 2 Notes in Common with C & E

– Kind a “Question or Exclamation Mark” in Grammatical Punctuations, it stands for a Pause before a Authentic (or Ultimate) Resolving