From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: The Fundamentals

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Authentic cadences

Authentic cadences

From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: The Fundamentals

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Authentic cadences

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- A cadence is the most fundamental of all chord progressions. Its purpose is to create a sense of resolution, a finality, or at least a pause. They are typically found at the end of a phrase or song to create a sense of closure. The harmonic motion of the cadence is so ingrained in our ears that it lends a gravity or truth to a musical phrase. Cadences are essential tools for songwriters. I like to think of a cadence as a musical terminal punctuation mark, like a period. And just how we end a written sentence with a period, we end a musical phrase with a cadence. And like how the way we read a sentence as altered by our choice of a period, question mark, or exclamation point, a cadence shades the musical phrase that proceeds it. Cadences can be used to ask musical questions or even surprise us. Or the lack of a cadence can leave us with a sense of unresolved tension. There are four commonly recognized types of…

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