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Cadences
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Chapter 5 · Lesson 05
A cadence is how a musical phrase ends: two chords in a row that make it feel finished, or still going. The four basic ones are the perfect (V-I), the plagal (IV-I), the half (ending on V) and the deceptive (V-vi).
Lesson Notes
You know which chords belong to a scale, and that the dominant "asks" to resolve to the tonic. Cadences are exactly that: the ways a phrase closes, or pretends to.
01The punctuation of music
A text without full stops and commas cannot be read. Music is the same: every phrase needs a point where it breathes or stops. That point is the cadence, the last two chords of the phrase.
Some cadences work like a full stop, because they land on the tonic (I), the "home" of the scale. Others work like a comma or a question mark, because they stop on a chord that leaves the phrase open. Which chord comes before and which comes after is the whole story.
02Perfect cadence: V-I
The strongest full stop. The dominant (V) goes to the tonic (I): in C major, G and then C. The tension of V, and above all its leading note (B, which wants to rise to C), is fully released. This is how most songs end.
Use a seventh chord (G7) instead of a plain V and the pull towards the tonic gets even stronger. That is why G7 → C sounds so "finished".
03Plagal cadence: IV-I
The subdominant (IV) goes to the tonic: F and then C. Still a full stop, but a softer one, without the tension of the dominant. You know it from the "Amen" at the end of hymns, and it often follows a perfect cadence as a confirmation: V-I and then IV-I.
04Half cadence: ending on V
Here the phrase does not end, it stops on the dominant (V): for example C and then G (I-V), or F and then G (IV-V). It is the comma or the question mark of music. The listener feels something is left open and waits for what comes next, usually a second phrase with a perfect cadence.
05Deceptive cadence: V-vi
Everything prepares the full stop: you hear the dominant and expect the tonic. Instead of C, though, comes A minor (vi), the relative minor. The vi shares two notes with the I (C and E), so the resolution "almost" happens, but the colour changes. It is the way to extend a phrase when the listener thinks it is over.
06On the bouzouki
Recap
- A cadence is the last two chords of a phrase: the punctuation of music.
- Perfect V-I: the strongest close. With V7 even stronger.
- Plagal IV-I: a softer close, the "Amen".
- Half, ending on V: the phrase stays open and asks for more.
- Deceptive V-vi: promises the tonic and gives the relative minor.
- The degrees are the same in every key; only the chord names change.
Keep learning with your teacher
Bring what you have been practicing to your next lesson. We can work on the sound, technique and musical questions together.
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