A cadence is a place in a music composition where there is a sense of rest or finality. The word is derived from the Latin word “cadere” which means “to fall” or “to die”.
Cadences are considered closing gestures because they always end something. The most obvious place to find a cadence is at the end of a composition. In a large composition consisting of a few movements, a cadence occurs at the end of each movement. However, cadences also occur within single- movement compositions and within movements of multi-movement compositions.
Music achieves its emotional impact on a listener by continually building and releasing tension. A cadence releases tension. Depending on the type of a cadence, it can create a sense of a brief rest, such that we feel the music should continue after the rest (thus this is only a partial release of tension) or it can create the sense of resolution and finality (thus causing a full release of tension). In these aspects, the effect of a cadence on a listener can be compared to the effect of a comma and a full stop in the spoken sentence.
Music can release tension in many ways. Certain events suggest a possible occurrence of a cadence. Longer rhythmic values of notes may indicate that cadence occurs. Certain melodic patterns, like a movement to the tonic, mediant or dominant, may indicate that cadence occurs. Pauses may occur right after a cadence. In tonal music, cadences are recognized primarily by the usage of certain chord progressions that create a sense of rest or finality. These chord progressions are called cadential progressions and will be examined in the following chapters. In cadences, cadential chord progressions occur together with one or more of the other mentioned events. It is important to notice that not every occurrence of a cadential progression is a cadence. It is a cadence only if it feels like the ending of a complete thought.
After we learn more about cadences, we shall see why they are so important. In the chapters related to forms, we shall see that cadences are fundamental in determining the structure of compositions.