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Harmony

Cadence

A cadence is a fixed chord progression at the end of a phrase that creates a certain degree of closure, from the final full stop to the open comma. It is the harmonic punctuation of music. Its engine is the course of tension through the three functions tonic, subdominant and dominant.

The basic movement

The basic harmonic arc is tonic → subdominant → dominant → tonic, in degrees I–IV–V–I. The dominant builds up tension, the tonic releases it. The four standard cadences are derived from this arc. What counts each time is the last step: does it fulfil the expectation or deliberately disappoint it?

CTFSGDCT

The four standard cadences

CadenceProgression in majorEffect
Authentic cadenceV–Istrongest, most final close
Plagal cadenceIV–Isofter, solemn (“Amen”)
Half cadence…–Vopen, like a question mark
Deceptive cadenceV–vidisappointed expectation

The authentic cadence goes from the dominant to the tonic. The leading tone of the dominant is drawn compellingly into the tonic note. A perfect authentic cadence requires both chords to be in root position and the root of the tonic to be on top in the soprano. The plagal cadence has no pressing leading tone and sounds softer. Because it is so often used at the end of chorales, it is called the “Amen cadence”. The half cadence ends on the dominant; it closes nothing. In the deceptive cadence the dominant is followed, instead of the tonic, by the tonic's substitute, the relative chord. In minor that is V–VI, and the sixth degree there is a major chord.

In minor

In minor the tonic and subdominant are numbered in lowercase (i, iv). For an effective close the dominant is raised from v to V, namely with the leading tone of harmonic minor. How this looks in A minor is shown on the page A minor. If a minor piece ends on a major chord, this is called the Picardy third. That is how the closing phrase on “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” ends, which the page Cadences analyses.

Practice: When listening to songs, consciously notice when it “pulls” (dominant) and when it “arrives” (tonic). In Identify Chords you train the chords on which cadences are built. Once you reliably hear the tension–resolution feeling, you recognise it in countless pieces.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing up authentic and plagal cadence: The authentic cadence comes from V and has the leading tone, the plagal cadence comes from IV.
  • Leading the leading tone downwards: It goes upwards.
  • Treating a half cadence as an ending: It leaves the phrase open.

Continue on Maikstrings

Cadences

All four standard cadences in major and minor with audio examples and the analysis of a chorale closing phrase.

Diatonic chords

The chords from which cadences are built.

The leading tone

Why the cadence G7–C is so inevitable.

Related terms

TonicSubdominantDominantFull close (authentic cadence)Plagal cadenceHalf cadenceDeceptive cadencePicardy thirdDiatonic chord

Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026

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