Theory & harmony
Cadence
A cadence is the harmonic formula that ends a musical phrase, functioning like punctuation to signal a full stop, a comma, or a surprise.
The four standard types are the authentic cadence, dominant to tonic, which sounds conclusive; the plagal cadence, subdominant to tonic, the "amen" ending; the half cadence, which stops on the dominant and sounds unfinished; and the deceptive cadence, where the dominant resolves somewhere other than the tonic, usually the submediant.
Recognising cadences is what turns a page of notes into phrases, and phrases are what a listener actually hears. For a performer this is directly practical: knowing where a phrase closes tells you where to relax the bow, where to breathe with the ensemble, and where not to.
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Identify the chords at a phrase ending
In C major, chord I is C–E–G, chord IV is F–A–C, chord V is G–B–D and chord vi is A–C–E. Roman numerals name each chord by its scale degree.
V → I: G major → C major IV → I: F major → C major V → vi: G major → A minor
At phrase endings, V–I is called perfect in common British exam terminology, or authentic in American terminology. IV–I is plagal. V–vi is interrupted (deceptive). An ending on V is imperfect (half). In American theory, a perfect authentic cadence has additional bass and melody requirements; a chord pair alone does not establish those.
Check your understanding
A phrase in C major ends with G–B–D followed by A–C–E. Which cadence does this chord progression suggest?
Show answer and explanation
An interrupted, or deceptive, cadence: V moves to vi instead of the expected tonic chord I. The final A minor chord is vi in C major, not a change to an A minor key by itself.
A common mix-up
Two adjacent chords are not automatically a cadence: their place at a phrase ending matters. Use the key and all chord tones rather than only the final melody note to identify the harmony.
Related terms
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