A cadence is a phrase or section that comes towards the end to act as a punctuation mark. It is a group of chords or notes that make a piece or section of music sound finished or complete. Some cadences feel like a full stop, others may feel like a comma, while others just leave you hanging.
- Perfect/Authentic Cadence: is the strongest type of cadence which feel like a full stop.
- Plagal Cadence: Gives us a a softer ending.
- Half Cadence: Feels incomplete, like a comma in a sentence, leaves you expecting more.
- Deceptive Cadence: Sounds like it is going to end but leads in a different direction.
Cadences help structure the music, breaking things into phrases and creating moments of rest or suspense.