Ear Training - Cadences

Cadences

You are likely already familiar with some of the most familiar types of chord progressions: cadences.

A cadence is composed of the two final chords in the harmonic progression that ends a musical phrase.

Commit the following table to memory:

Cadence Type	Perfect Authentic Cadence	Imperfect Authentic Cadence	Plagal Cadence	Deceptive Cadence	Half Cadence
Chords	V-I	V-I	IV-I	V-vi	I-V
Features	soprano must resolve to tonic; root position V must resolve to root position I; often found at the end of a piece	Soprano doesn’t have to resolve to tonic; dominant function doesn’t have to be in root position; dominant function may be V7 or vii0(7)	Also known as “Amen Cadence”; often appears in traditional church music; relatively rare in Classical-era music	Called “deceptive” because it comes as a surprise instead of a PAC	Often appears at mid-point of a phrase

All of the above cadences appear in this four-part setting of Psalm 100 from the Geneva Psalter (1551):