Download Tonal Harmony Chapter 10 Cadences Phrases Periods and

Chapter Ten
Cadences, Phrases, Periods, and Sentences
Introduction
 Understanding tonal harmony requires us to give consideration to musical form, the ways in
which a composition is shaped to create a meaningful music experience for the listener
Cadences
 The ultimate harmonic goal of a tonal composition is the final tonic triad
 Interior goals might be reached at a fairly regular rate (e.g. 4 measures phrase)
 Cadence: harmonic goal
 Some cadences sound more or less conclusive, or final, whereas others leave us off balance,
feeling a need for the music to continue
 Easier to do than it is to explain, listen for a “goal”, so there will often be a slowing down through
the use of longer note values
 Even piece that never slows down (perpetuum mobile) will contain cadences
 Authentic cadence consists of a tonic triad preceded by some form of V or viio

Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC)
 consists of V-I (or V7- I) progression
 both V and I in root position and 1st in the melody over the I chord
 most final sounding of all cadences
 YOU SHOULD END YOUR COMPOSITION with a V-I cadence

Imperfect Authentic Cadence (IAC)
 Root Position IAC
 Like a PAC, but 3rd and 5th is in the melody over the I chord
 Inverted IAC
 V(7) – I, but with either or both of the chords inverted
 Leading-tone IAC
 viio – I, the viio substituting for a V chord
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The root position IAC is the most final sound of the three IAC types
Some compositions end with such a cadence
Not all the V-I progression constitutes an authentic cadence, only when the I chord seems
to serve as the goal of a longer passage

Deceptive Cadence (DC)
 The ear expects a V-I authentic cadence, BUT hear V-? instead
 Usually V-submediant
 V-other is possible
 Produces a very unstable feeling
 Never be used to end a tonal work
 V-vi involves special part-writing problems (review chapter six)
 Used to extend a phrase a few measure until it reaches the true cadence

Half Cadence (HC)
 Very common type of unstable or “progressive” cadence
 Ends with a V chord
 Can be preceded by an other chord

Phrygian Half Cadence (HC)
 Special name given to the iv6 –V HC in minor
 Found in the period of modal polyphony (before 1600)
 Does not imply that the music is in Phrygian mode

Plagal Cadence (PC)
 IV – I progression
 Not as important in tonal music as the authentic cadence
 Usually added on as a kind of tag following a PAC
 A familiar example is the “Amen” sung at the end of hymns
Cadence Type
Authentic
Plagal
Deceptive
Half

First Chord
Contains leading tone
Does not contain leading tone
Contains leading tone
Does not contain leading tone
Second Chord
Tonic
Tonic
Not tonic
Not tonic
A more general and useful method of classifying cadences
o Conclusive: authentic and plagal
o Progressive: half and deceptive
Cadences and Harmonic Rhythm
 The last chord of a cadence usually falls on a stronger beat than the chord precedes it assuming
the harmonic rhythm is faster than one chord per measure
 See page 149
Motives and Phrases
 A motive is a smallest identifiable music idea
 A motive can consist of a pitch pattern, a rhythmic pattern, or both
 Rhythm motives are easier to identify than pitch motives
 Best to use motive to refer only to those musical ideas that are “developed”
 A phrase is a relatively independent musical idea terminated by a cadence
 A sub-phrase is a distinct portion of a phrase , but it is NOT a phrase because it is not
terminated by a cadence
 Essentially, a subphrase is a melodic event, whereas a phrase is a harmonic event
 Phrases are usually labeled with lowercase letters (a, b, c and son on)
 There is a good deal of subjectivity involved in identifying phrases
 Phrases are often extended by means of a deceptive progression followed by an authentic
cadence, or they might be extended by repetition of the cadence
 The last note of one phrase sometimes serves as the first note of the next one, a process referred
to a elision
 Discuss example 10-11 (Mozart: An die Freude)
 composed by Mozart when he was eleven years old
 Cadences occur regularly every four measures in this song, each cadence marking the end
of a phrase
 Two part voicing: the chords are necessarily incomplete, but the implied harmonies at the
cadences are clear enough
 Many of the phrases in this song can be heard as consisting of two subphrases
 Contains rhythm motives
Period Forms
 Period: it is a patterns for organizing phrases or groups of phrases
 A period typically consists of two phrases in an antecedent consequent (or question-answer)
relationship, that relationship being established by means of a stronger cadence at the end of the
second phrase
[-----------------------------------Period----------------------------------------]
[------------phrase 1---------------][----------------phrase 2-----------------]
(HC)
(PAC or IAC)
[-----------------------------------Period----------------------------------------]
[------------phrase 1---------------][----------------phrase 2-----------------]
(IAC)
(PAC)
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The phrase endings in a period must be different, if both phrases are identical, the result is not a
period but a repeated phrase
Repetition is important but DOES NOT contribute to the growth of a musical form
Parallel period: both phrases begin with similar or identical material, even if the material is
embellished
[-----------------------Parallel Period------------------------------] What is the difference between
[------------------a---------------][----------------a’-----------------]
parallel and contrasting period?
(HC)
(PAC)
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Contrasting period: a period in which the phrase beginnings are not similar
A common way of expanding a two-phrase period is by repeating the antecedent phrase (as in
aab) of the consequent phrase (abb), which is not the same as a repeated period (abab)
Three-phrase period has three different phrases-two antecedents and a consequent of on
antecedent and two consequents, as determined by the cadences
A Double period
 consists typically of four phrases in two pairs
 cadence at the end of the second pair being stronger than the cadence at the end of the
first pair
[------------------------------------------------double period--------------------------------------------------]
[----------------antecedent--------------------][----------------------------consequent----------------------]
[--------phrase-------][------phrase----------][--------------phrase---------][----------phrase-----------]
(HC)
(PAC or IAC)
(IAC)
(PAC)
 double periods are called parallel or contrasting according to whether the melodic
material that begins the two halves of the double period is similar
[------------------------------------------parallel double period----------------------------------------------]
[----------------antecedent--------------------][----------------------------consequent----------------------]
[-----------a-----------][------------b----------][---------------a----------------][-------------b’---------------]
(HC)
(HC)
(HC)
(PAC)
The Sentence
 The most important distinguishing feature of the period is the weak-strong cadence pattern
formed by the endings of its two halves
 It is possible to employ musical features other than cadence patterns to create larger structure unit
 Sentence is characterized by the immediate repetition or variation of a musical idea followed by a
motion toward a cadence
 Sentence is typically, though not always, a SINGLE PHRASE in length
[-----------------------------sentence-----------------------------------------------------]
[----------x-------------][----------------x’--------------]
(HC or IAC or PAC)
 The relationship between the initial idea and its variant can take many forms
o Exact repetition
o Ornamented repetition
o Same harmony but transposition of the melody
o Contrast two harmonies (I and V, for example) or two parts of a complete progression
o Form a sequential progression
ALL WITH SAME MUSICAL IDEA!!!!!
o The second half of the sentence is less strictly defined
o It may be shorter or longer than the first part of the sentence
o It may continue to use motives from the initial idea
o It may introduce new material
o In most case,this material provides a sense of increased drive or momentum toward the
final cadence
o Because the length of the initial idea may vary in size, the sentence itself can be of
different lengths
o The second half of the sentence is less strictly defined
Clues to consider when analyzing a group of phrases for the first time
1. Look for the location of repetitions
a. If repetition occurs somewhere in the middle of passage, a parallel period (or some kind
of repeated form) is a likely possibility
b. If repetition occurs immediately after the initial measures, a sentence (for a sentence
nested inside a larger period) is possible
c. Repetitions in parallel periods are typically exact or very similar
d. Repetitions sentences may be exact or quite varied
2. Look for the location and number of very strong cadences(unambiguous PACs, HCs, or
root position IACs)
a. Periods tend to feature at least two of these strong cadences (four or more in the case of
some double periods)
b. Sentence often contain ONLY one-at or near the end
3. Look at the order and pattern of cadences
a. If the cadence patter repeats itself (such as HC-PAC-HC-PAC), a repeated period or
sentence is likely
b. If there is a single strong cadence, a sentence is likely
c. If there are many cadences, a double period is possible
d. Look for repetition of the initial measures to find the beginning of the consequent phrase