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Mr. Jackson AP Music Theory. Unit 9 - CADENCES. What is a cadence?. A cadence is the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic conclusion to a phrase. It also helps to establish the tonal center. It is the proof we need to confidently determine what key we are in.
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Mr. Jackson AP Music Theory Unit 9 - CADENCES
What is a cadence? • A cadence is the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic conclusion to a phrase. It also helps to establish the tonal center. It is the proof we need to confidently determine what key we are in. • Think of cadences as musical punctuation. Let’s construct some sentences: • Sentence 1: Construct a sentence that is thorough and ends with a predictable, complete thought. • Sentence 2:Construct a sentence that you think will end predictable, but leaves you wondering… • Sentence 3:Construct a sentence that is incomplete and leaves you hanging…
History of Cadences • Composers have always had an intuitive sense of how music “ends” or concludes. • Early cadences were simple, quaint, and to some – unfulfilling. • Prior to the baroque period and the establishment of functional harmony, cadences were considered simply a manipulation of melodic lines that converged or diverged to a point of rest, usually the final (the first degree of a mode). Here are some early types of cadences:
The baroque period brought about the familiar cadence types: • The standard cadences (authentic, half, plagal, and deceptive) continued with little change from the baroque period throughout the classical period.
Cadences for Ap Exam • Authentic Cadence – The most common phrase-ending chord progression uses the dominant chord (V) to set up the tension and the tonic (I or i) for the release. • Perfect Authentic (PAC) – Requires both dominant and tonic chords to be in ROOT POSITION. Also, the SOPRANO VOICE must have tonic! • Imperfect Authentic (IAC) – Weaker authentic (V – I) cadence that has either chord INVERTED, or has a chord member other than the root in the soprano of the tonic chord. Could also contain the viio or viio6 to tonic. • Plagal Cadence (PC) – Slightly weaker progression using subdominant to tonic (IV to I) Nicknamed the “Amen Cadence,” and is traditionally used when singing “Amen” at the end of hymns. • Deceptive Cadence (DC) – An ending progression where the dominant chord is unexpectedly resolved to the submediant instead of the tonic. (V to vi) All other chord tones resolve correct, except the bass. • Half Cadence (HC) – Ends on the dominant (V). It’s unresolved tension is used in the middle of a melody, an inconclusive cadence that typically ends on a root position V. This cadence acts like a “comma” in a sentence and must be followed by another phrase that completes the musical thought. • Phrygian Half Cadence (PHC) – A specific kind of half cadence that occurs in harmonic minor. (iv6 to V) The descending bass line (LetoSol) is approached from above by a half step and is characteristic of the Phrygian mode with its half step.
Authentic Cadences The IAC example could also include inversions.
