Cadence (music)

Updated on Oct 11, 2024

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In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin cadentia, "a falling") is "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of (at least) two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music. A rhythmic cadence is a characteristic rhythmic pattern that indicates the end of a phrase. A cadence is labeled more or less "weak" or "strong" depending on its sense of finality. While cadences are usually classified by specific chord or melodic progressions, the use of such progressions does not necessarily constitute a cadence—there must be a sense of closure, as at the end of a phrase. Harmonic rhythm plays an important part in determining where a cadence occurs.

Cadences are strong indicators of the tonic or central pitch of a passage or piece. Edward Lowinsky proposed that the cadence was the "cradle of tonality."

Classification of cadences in common practice tonality with examples

In music of the common practice period, cadences are divided into four types according to their harmonic progression: authentic, plagal, half, and deceptive. Typically, phrases end on authentic or half cadences, and the terms plagal and deceptive refer to motion that avoids or follows a phrase-ending cadence. Each cadence can be described using the Roman numeral system of naming chords:

Authentic cadence

Authentic (also closed, standard or perfect) cadence: V to I (or V–I). A seventh above the root is often added to create V⁷. The The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians says, "This cadence is a microcosm of the tonal system, and is the most direct means of establishing a pitch as tonic. It is virtually obligatory as the final structural cadence of a tonal work." The phrase perfect cadence is sometimes used as a synonym for authentic cadence, but can also have a more precise meaning depending on the chord voicing:

Perfect authentic cadence: The chords are in root position; that is, the roots of both chords are in the bass, and the tonic (the same pitch as root of the final chord) is in the highest voice of the final chord. A perfect cadence is a progression from V to I in major keys, and V to i in minor keys. This is generally the strongest type of cadence and often found at structurally defining moments. "This strong cadence achieves complete harmonic and melodic closure." It has to be noted that Beethoven in particular gets so much mileage out of this cadence as for it to become one of his most characteristic and recognizable musical thumbprints. The Diabelli Variations and the C major climax of the slow movement of the Opus 132 String Quartet - even though it is described as being in Lydian mode on F - are two powerful examples.

Imperfect authentic cadence (IAC), best divided into three separate categories:

1. Root position IAC: similar to a PAC, but the highest voice is not the tonic ("do" or the root of the tonic chord).

2. Inverted IAC: similar to a PAC, but one or both chords is inverted.

3. Leading tone IAC: the V chord is replaced with the vii^o/subV chord (but the cadence still ends on I).

Evaded cadence: V4
2 to I6
. Because the seventh must fall step wise, it forces the cadence to resolve to the less stable first inversion chord. Usually to achieve this a root position V changes to a V4
2 right before resolution, thereby "evading" the cadence.

Half cadence

Half cadence (imperfect cadence or semicadence): any cadence ending on V, whether preceded by V of V, ii, vi, IV, or I—or any other chord. Because it sounds incomplete or suspended, the half cadence is considered a weak cadence that calls for continuation.

Phrygian half-cadence: a half cadence iv⁶–V in minor, so named because the semitonal motion in the bass (sixth degree to fifth degree) resembles the semitone heard in the ii–I of the 15th-century cadence in the Phrygian mode. Due to its being a survival from modal Renaissance harmony this cadence gives an archaic sound, especially when preceded by v (v–iv6–V). A characteristic gesture in Baroque music, the Phrygian cadence often concluded a slow movement immediately followed by a faster one. With the addition of motion in the upper part to the sixth degree, it becomes the Landini cadence.

Lydian cadence: The Lydian half-cadence is similar to the Phrygian-half, involving iv⁶-V in the minor, the difference is that in the Lydian-half, the whole iv⁶ is raised by a half-step. In other words, the Phrygian-half begins with the first chord built on scale degree P4 and the Lydian-half is built on the scale-degree 4+ (augmented 4th). The Phrygian cadence ends with the movement from iv⁶ → V of bass (3rd of the chord/scale degree 6m) down by semi-tone → bass (the root of the chord/scale degree P5), fifth (scale-degree P1) up by whole-tone → fifth (scale-degree 2M), and the root (scale degree P4) up by whole-step → octave (scale-degree P5); the Lydian half-cadence ends with the movement from a iv⁶ (raised by half step) → V of bass (3rd of the chord/scale-degree 6M) down by whole-tone → bass (the root of the chord/scale-degree P5), fifth (scale degree 1+) up by half-step → fifth (scale-degree 2M), and the root (scale degree 4+) up by half-step → octave (scale-degree P5).

Burgundian cadences: Became popular in Burgundian music. Note the parallel fourths between the upper voices.

Plagal half-cadence: The rare plagal half-cadence involves a I–IV progression. Like an authentic cadence (V–I), the plagal half-cadence involves a descending fifth (or, by inversion, an ascending fourth). The plagal half-cadence is a weak cadence, ordinarily at the ending of an antecedent phrase, after which a consequent phrase commences. One example of this use is in Auld Lang Syne. But in one very unusual occurrence – the end of the exposition of the first movement of Brahms' Clarinet Trio, Op. 114—it is used to complete not just a musical phrase but an entire section of a movement.

Plagal cadence

Plagal cadence: IV to I, also known as the "Amen Cadence" because of its frequent setting to the text "Amen" in hymns. William Caplin disputes the existence of plagal cadences in music of the classical era: "An examination of the classical repertory reveals that such a cadence rarely exists. ... Inasmuch as the progression IV–I cannot confirm a tonality (it lacks any leading-tone resolution), it cannot articulate formal closure .... Rather, this progression is normally part of a tonic prolongation serving a variety of formal functions – not, however a cadential one. Most examples of plagal cadences given in textbooks actually represent a postcadential codetta function: that is, the IV–I progression follows an authentic cadence but does not itself create genuine cadential closure." It may be noticed that the plagal cadence, "leaves open the possibility of interpretation as V–I–V" rather than I–IV–I. The term "minor plagal cadence" is used to refer to the iv–I progression. Sometimes a combination of major and minor plagal cadence is used (IV–iv–I).

Interrupted (deceptive) cadence

Interrupted cadence: V to vi. The most important irregular resolution, most commonly V⁷–vi (or V⁷–♭VI) in major or V⁷–VI in minor. This is considered a weak cadence because of the "hanging" (suspended) feel it invokes. One of the most famous examples is in the coda of the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 by Johann Sebastian Bach: Bach repeats a chord sequence ending with V over and over, leading the listener to expect resolution to I—only to be thrown off completely with a fermata on a striking, D-flat major chord in first inversion (♭II, which is the Neapolitan chord). After a pregnant pause, the "real" ending commences. At the beginning of the final movement of Gustav Mahler's 9th Symphony, the listener hears a string of many deceptive cadences progressing from V to IV⁶.

One of the most striking uses of this cadence is in the A minor section at the end of the exposition in the First Movement of Brahms' Third Symphony. The music progresses to an implied E minor dominant (B7) with a rapid chromatic scale upwards, but suddenly sidesteps to C major. The same device is used again in the recapitulation; this time the sidestep is—as one would expect—to F major, the tonic key of the whole Symphony.

Inverted cadence

An inverted cadence (also called a medial cadence) inverts the last chord. It may be restricted only to the perfect and imperfect cadence, or only to the perfect cadence, or it may apply to cadences of all types. To distinguish them from this form, the other, more common forms of cadences listed above are known as "radical cadences."

Upper leading-tone cadence

For example, in the image (right), the final three written notes in the upper voice are B–C–D, in which case a trill on C produces D. However, convention implied a C♯, and a cadential trill of a whole tone on the second to last note produces D♯/E♭, the upper leading-tone of D♮. Presumably the debate was over whether to use C♯–D♯ or C♯–D for the trill.

Rhythmic classifications

Cadences can also be classified by their rhythmic position. A "metrically accented cadence" occurs on a strong position, typically the downbeat of a measure. A "metrically unaccented cadence" occurs in a metrically weak position, for instance, after a long appoggiatura. Metrically accented cadences are considered stronger and are generally of greater structural significance. In the past the terms "masculine" and "feminine" were sometimes used to describe rhythmically "strong" or "weak" cadences, but this terminology is no longer acceptable to some. Susan McClary has written extensively on the gendered terminology of music and music theory in her book Feminine Endings.

Likewise, cadences can be classified as either transient (a pause, like a comma in a linguistic sentence, that implies the piece will continue after a brief lift in the voice) or terminal (more conclusive, like a period, that indicates the sentence is done). Most transient cadences are half cadences (which stop momentarily on a dominant chord), though IAC or deceptive cadences are also usually transient, as well as Phrygian cadences. Terminal cadences are normally perfect, and rarely plagal.

Picardy Cadence

A picardy cadence is a harmonic device that originated in Western music in the Renaissance era. It refers to the use of a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key.

In medieval and Renaissance polyphony

Medieval and Renaissance cadences are based upon dyads rather than chords. The first theoretical mention of cadences comes from Guido of Arezzo's description of the occursus in his Micrologus, where he uses the term to mean where the two lines of a two-part polyphonic phrase end in a unison.

A clausula or clausula vera ("true close") is a dyadic or intervallic, rather than chordal or harmonic, cadence. In a clausula vera two voices approach an octave or unison through stepwise motion. This is also in contrary motion. In three voices the third voice often adds a falling fifth creating a cadence similar to the authentic cadence in tonal music.

According to Carl Dahlhaus, "as late as the 13th century the half step was experienced as a problematic interval not easily understood, as the remainder between the perfect fourth and the ditone:

4 3 ( 9 8 ) 2 = 256 243

In a melodic half step, listeners of the time perceived no tendency of the lower tone toward the upper, or the upper toward the lower. The second tone was not the 'goal' of the first. Instead, musicians avoided the half step in clausulas because, to their ears, it lacked clarity as an interval. Beginning in the 13th century cadences begin to require motion in one voice by half step and the other a whole step in contrary motion. In the 14th century, an ornamentation of this, with an escape tone, became known as the Landini cadence, after the composer, who used them prodigiously.

A plagal cadence was found occasionally as an interior cadence, with the lower voice in two-part writing moving up a perfect fifth or down a perfect fourth. A pause in one voice may also be used as a weak interior cadence.

In counterpoint an evaded cadence is one where one of the voices in a suspension does not resolve as expected, and the voices together resolved to a consonance other than an octave or unison (a perfect fifth, a sixth, or a third).

Classical cadential trill

In the Classical period, composers often drew out the authentic cadences at the ends of sections; the cadence's dominant chord might take up a measure or two, especially if it contained the resolution of a suspension remaining from the chord preceding the dominant. During these two measures, the solo instrument (in a concerto) often played a trill on the supertonic (the fifth of the dominant chord); although supertonic and subtonic trills had been common in the Baroque era, they usually lasted only a half measure (e.g., the supertonic trill in the final cadence from Bach's Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140). Play Extended cadential trills were by far most frequent in Mozart's music, and although they were also found in early Romantic music, their use was restricted chiefly to piano concerti (and to a lesser extent, violin concerti) because they were most easily played and most effective on the piano and violin; the cadential trill and resolution would be generally followed by an orchestral coda. Beethoven was a good example of this, limiting it almost entirely to his concerti, and most other Romantic composers including Chopin and Schumann followed suit; Schubert, who never wrote concerti, hardly used it at all (the Adagio and Rondo Concertante D. 487, a chamber work, being one prominent exception). At the other end of the spectrum, even Mozart rarely used the trill in symphonies. Because the music generally became louder and more dramatic leading up to it, a cadence was used for climactic effect, and was often embellished by Romantic composers. Later on in the Romantic era, however, other dramatic virtuosic movements were often used to close sections instead.

Jazz

In jazz a cadence is often referred to as a turnaround, chord progressions that lead back and resolve to the tonic (for example, the ii-V-I turnaround). Turnarounds may be used at any point and not solely before the tonic.

Half-step cadences are common in jazz if not cliché. For example, the ascending diminished seventh chord half-step cadence, which—using a secondary diminished seventh chord—creates momentum between two chords a major second apart (with the diminished seventh in between). The descending diminished seventh chord half-step cadence is assisted by two common tones.

Popular music

Popular music uses the cadences of the common practice period and jazz, with the same or different voice leading.

Rhythmic cadence

Rhythmic cadences often feature a final note longer than the prevailing note values and this often follows a characteristic rhythmic pattern repeated at the end of the phrase, both demonstrated in the Bach example pictured.

References

Cadence (music) Wikipedia

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