Cadence
A short chord movement that marks the end of a phrase or a section and creates a sense of pause or conclusion.
Cadences are the punctuation of harmony: the strongest one moves from the dominant chord to the tonic, which sounds final, while a movement from the dominant to the relative minor sounds like a question rather than an answer. Players use the weaker cadences to end verses and the stronger ones to end choruses and songs. Recognising cadences by ear is one of the quickest ways to learn a song's structure without a chart.
Example: A progression that ends with the five chord falling to the one chord, sounding concluded, closes on a cadence.
See also
Related
- PageChord progression
- PageDominant
- PageTonic
- PageAugmented chord
- PageBlue note
- PageBlues scale
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley