Welcome to the penultimate lesson of our free four-part songwriting course. In part one, we covered the circle of fifths and gave you some additional reading on triads and the chordal harmonic theory. In the second lesson, we covered the modes, and how they’re constructed. In this lesson, we take a look at what cadences are, how to use them, and the rules of chord progressions in classical music.
If you haven’t worked through part one of this lesson series, we suggest you start there. But if already know everything about the circle of fifths and modes, then this lesson will be self-contained.
What are Cadences?
If we look at Wikipedia, we will see that a cadence is defined as:
“In Western musical theory, a cadence is “a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution [finality or pause].” A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music.” [sic]
That description is perfect, but also meaningless without context. Let’s break down the definition and provide a few examples to help you get a better understanding of the concept.
Type of Cadence
A cadence is a type of harmonic progression that creates either a sense of finality or a sense of progression. In simple terms, a cadence the tonal effect created when moving from one chord to another chord.
If you speak to most musicians, they will say that writing music is a form of expression. It’s a way to put your emotions into song. By understanding how different chords and notes interact with each other, you will be better equipped to put what you feel into song.
There are four cadences in western music, broken down into two categories: Resolution and Progression.
Resolution
As the name implies, a resolution cadence makes a song or phrase feel “finished”. As you play the last chord in the progression, the song or the phrase feels like it has a nice bow tied to it.
Progression
A progression cadence, on the other hand, creates the feeling that more is coming. The best way to think about it is a pizza; if you have one slice, you can’t help but want another. A progression cadence is the musical equivalent of wanting that extra slice of pizza.
Using the Cadences
How and when you use the cadences is up to you. Sure, later on in this lesson we’re going to look at some of the rules for classical progressions and cadences, but if everyone followed the “rules” of music, we wouldn’t have some of the world’s most iconic music.
If you’ve written something, and you like it, that’s all that matters. But, if you want to create a specific feeling, then cadences are your best friend.
Ending a song or phrase: Sometimes we write a song, but it doesn’t feel finished. If you’re looking for a neat way to end a song add in a resolution cadence.
Creating tension: If you use a resolution cadence at the end of your chorus, and then go straight into the next verse, that can cause anxiety in your song. Similarly, if you end on a progression cadence, the listen leans in, and thinks – where’s the rest? That can cause a strong sense of stress and tension, which is perfect if you have another song in your set.
Flowing from section to section: Sometimes we can write a verse and a chorus that we love, the two don’t flow into each other. Now, you might be tempted to write a bridge to link the two, but you could use a cadence instead. If the first chord of the cadence is the last chord of your verse, and the second chord of the cadence is the first verse of your chorus, then you’ve created a natural progression between the two.
The Four Cadences
In western music, we have four cadences; Perfect, Imperfect, Plagal, Interrupted. If you haven’t already worked through the chordal harmonic theory lesson, we strongly suggest you do so now so that the chord numbers below make sense.
Perfect Cadence (Resolution): The perfect cadence is when we move from chord V to chord I.
Plagal Cadence (Resolution): The plagal cadence is when we move from chord IV to chord I.
Imperfect Cadence (Progression): The imperfect cadence is when we move from chord I to chord V.
Interrupted Cadence (Progression): The progression cadence is when we move from chord V to any chord except chord I.
Classical Music Progression Rules
Cadences create a specific feeling, but classical music has rules for every chord. The idea is that if you follow these rules to the letter, anything you write will be harmonically correct.
Now, there is a significant difference between harmonically correct and musically interesting. Following these rules will not mean that you write the next big hit. But just like you won’t write the next best novel of all time without understanding grammar, it’s unlikely that you’ll write a number one hit without understanding music theory.
The rules are simple:
I can move to any chord
II can move to any chord except I
III can move to any chord except I & VII
IV can move to any chord
V can move to any chord except II & VII
VI can move to any chord except I & VII
VII can move to any chord except II and IV
In Conclusion
Now that you have a strong understanding of how to construct chords, harmonic progressions, modes and scale construction, the circle of fifths, cadences, and the rules for cadences, you are just about ready to write your first song using nothing but music theory.
In part four of this series, we’ll tie it all together, and show you how to write your first song.
