Cadences

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.

The four cadences in C major

At a glance

CadenceDegreesIn C major · feeling

PerfectV-IG → C · full stop, the strongest close

PlagalIV-IF → C · full stop, softer

HalfI-V or IV-VC → G · comma, stays open

DeceptiveV-viG → A minor · surprise, the phrase goes on

06On the bouzouki

Take the three basic chords of C (C, F, G) and A minor from the Chords tab on the 4-course or the 3-course page, and play the four pairs in the figure. Listen to where your ear "settles" and where it stays in the air: that difference is the whole theory of cadences.