A cadence is the point where a musical phrase feels like it pauses, stops, or asks for continuation. It works like punctuation in language, helping listeners hear where one idea ends and another begins. Cadences matter because they organize melody, harmony, and rhythm into understandable phrases.
In tonal music, they often use specific chord patterns that create different levels of rest or tension.
Key Facts
- A cadence is a harmonic and melodic ending point in a musical phrase.
- Authentic cadence: V to I, often the strongest sense of arrival.
- Half cadence: any chord to V, creates an unfinished or questioning sound.
- Plagal cadence: IV to I, often called the amen cadence.
- Deceptive cadence: V to vi, avoids the expected I chord and delays resolution.
- In C major, V to I is G or G7 moving to C.
Vocabulary
- Cadence
- A cadence is a musical ending or pause that gives a phrase a sense of rest, continuation, or surprise.
- Phrase
- A phrase is a short musical idea that feels like a complete thought or part of a thought.
- Tonic
- The tonic is the home chord or home pitch of a key, usually labeled I.
- Dominant
- The dominant is the fifth scale degree or V chord, which strongly points back to the tonic.
- Resolution
- Resolution is the movement from musical tension to a more stable or restful sound.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Calling every pause a cadence is wrong because a cadence usually depends on harmony and melodic arrival, not just silence.
- Confusing a half cadence with a weak ending is wrong because a half cadence is intentionally unfinished and often sets up the next phrase.
- Assuming all V to I cadences sound equally final is wrong because melody, rhythm, chord inversion, and phrase placement change the strength of the arrival.
- Ignoring the key is wrong because Roman numerals such as V and I only make sense when you know the tonal center.
Practice Questions
- 1 In C major, identify the cadence type for the chord progression G7 to C. Then name the Roman numerals.
- 2 A four-measure phrase in G major ends with the chords D to G. What cadence type is this, and what are the Roman numerals?
- 3 A phrase ends on the dominant chord and feels like it needs another phrase to answer it. Explain why this sounds unfinished and name the likely cadence type.