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.

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