Cadences for the Rest Of Us

While studying theory and composition at university, one of the first things they talked to us about was voice leading. Voice leading is simply trying to find the best way of connecting the different voices in your harmony. You would start with a Cantus Firmus (fixed song) and work at writing counterpoint to that melody.

A big part of voice leading and counterpoint are cadences. Cadences are simply a way of ending musical phrases and ideas. There are a number of different cadences that happen in music. These are still just as relevant today although not used in exactly the same way. Today we're going to look at the different 'classical' cadences and see how they are used in today's music.


Following the Rules

When classical (i.e. classical, romantic, baroque etc.) musicians sat down to compose, there was a huge emphasis placed on voice leading and counterpoint. Classical musicians were preoccupied with the importance of the various independent lines, maintaining the voices and making sure there were no holes in their part writing (e.g. parallel 5ths and octaves). There were (still are) a whole set of rules that musicians would follow to make sure all of these things were taken care of. There were also other rules, like certain intervals (e.g. dim. 5th) and leaps that were to be avoided. Since the 20th century counterpoint has fallen out in place for more block and parallel lines. Most of the rules that were made for writing for band in the classical tradition were thrown out in the jazz era. Jazz musicians focused more on parallel lines, 'dissonant'* harmonies and swing. Voice leading though, is still an important part of writing and arranging in various styles.

*What at one time was considered dissonant (unpleasant, tense) may later be considered consonant (pleasing, no tension). It often happens that once people hear a dissonant interval or harmony often enough, it no longer is considered dissonant. Other general practices, (like always having to resolve suspended sonorities or ending on the I chord) no longer become particularly necessary. One of the trademarks of a innovator is someone who takes well known conventions and throws them out the window. Of course it helps if they do it in a musical and interesting way, instead of going against the grain just to be different.

The Perfect Cadence

With voice leading, it's important that the individual voices move in the proper way. There are predetermined ways to end phrases and pieces. For example classical musicians would always end a piece with a perfect cadence (i.e. a V-I progression in root position). This had an element of finality to it that was the norm and part of the style. When writing out a V-I, there are a number of ways to arrange the four voices*. If it was in the middle of a piece, the cadence had to be voiced a certain way, if it was the end of the piece, it had to be voiced another way. If you're wondering why most of the symphonies you hear end in the same way (the big repeating V to I), this is why. Beyond the theory with the individual voices, to most of us a perfect cadence is simply a V-I chord progression. This is considered the strongest progression in music simply because as soon as we hear that V chord, we immediately want to go back to the I.

*Classical musicians would often write out their voice leading in four voices (separate lines). This was a convention that started early in Western Music and is still done today, even though we often hear sonorities made up of more than 4 voices.

The Plagal Cadence

Beyond the V-I cadence, the other most used progression is the IV-I. This is referred to as the plagal cadence. Of course the voice leading rules that applied to the perfect cadence also applied to these. Whereas the perfect cadence had a finality to it, the IV-I progression isn't quite as strong. Where the perfect cadence felt more like a period, the plagal cadence was more like a comma. The IV almost feels like it could go anywhere; it doesn't have the strong desire to go back to the I. In this way the IV-I would often be used in the first part of a phrase letting the listener know that you weren't quite completely done.

The Imperfect Cadence


Whereas the perfect and plagal cadences both returned to the I, this cadence ends on the V. This cadence has much more of 'suspended' feeling. You are literally left hanging and seem to be waiting to hear the rest of the musical idea. It mostly stems from the strong urge of the V to return to the I. But in this case, it doesn't resolve.

Beyond the Basics

If you've studied music theory, you'll notice that these cadences are still the backbone of most of our music. There are books filled with 3 chord songs that use these progressions only. Don't be fooled by their simplicity, they're still very effective. If you're just beginning on your writing journey, don't be afraid to fully explore these basic progressions. They're effective because they work. Once you've gotten used to using these, you'll be able to use them in your own creations at will. Also, after using these for an extended period of time, you should be able to pick them out immediately in a song. Try listening to a song that has one of these basic progressions and see if you can tell what the chords are without your instrument.

So What??

So how can we use this in our writing? By knowing some of these conventions, we can use them (and go against them) at will. For example, try writing a short 4 bar phrase and end it with either a plagal or imperfect cadence. Notice how the music seems to begging for another phrase. Now write another phrase and this time end with a perfect cadence. See how the whole 8 bar phrase now seems like a logical sentence. Now that you know this, you can use this or go against convention on purpose. Try writing the piece but don't use any perfect cadences until your chorus. In fact try not to use the V chord at all. You'll notice that the cadence may have a different effect if it's only used once at a pivotal point (like at the end of the chorus) in the song.

How To Learn Music

As we went through school, we realized that there were good ways to learn and bad ways to learn. We discovered some shortcuts and methods that helped us through the rough spots. As we get older and leave school we forget some of these and the effectiveness in learning. We're going to look at the different ways we learn and how we use certain techniques to improve our progress.


Beginner's Mind

When growing up and learning new skills, most children just usually dive right in. They don't think too much about the whys or what-fors, and just get into absorbing the new skill. (They're also usually excited which is another great advantage). As adults we learn that not everything that is placed in front of us is great, so we question a lot. We have a lot more internal dialogue going on. And, most of all, we have more bad habits and well defined patterns of thinking. These are useful in most situations but when learning something completely new, it's better to have what's called a 'beginner's mind'. A beginner's mind is to start with a completely open and empty mind; which is a lot harder than it seems. First of all, you have to be willing to make mistakes. You have to have the mindset that you know nothing. Even though you may want to build on your current knowledge, it's better to come into each learning session with an open, empty mind. It also means to be relaxed and pliable. For example when you learn a new music style, just try to absorb as much as you can without making too many judgements or evaluations. Just try to listen and absorb. There many be part of the style that doesn't make sense to you and having an open mind will help alleviate that.

There's a story about 2 martial artists that we taking part in learning a completely new form of martial art. They both we champions in their own style but this was something completely new. One of the martial artists was quite proud of his accomplishments and made no secret of his skill. The other martial artist was the opposite; in fact most of the other students didn't know that he was a champion at all. The first martial artist had a hard time learning the new style and eventually dropped out. The other martial artist became quite skilled at the new art. It wasn't until graduation that the martial artist let the others know about his other skills by going through an impressive set. The first martial artist relied on his previous training and when it became obvious that it was getting in the way, he couldn't 'drop it' to learn the new skill.

Patience

When you first started learning, you had an incredible amount of patience with yourself. When I teach children I'm always amazed at how much they'll work at it and not get discouraged. As adults we learn that if we don't get something within a reasonable amount of time, we probably won't get it at all. When students come in to me and want to learn certain skills, I already know how much time that will take. I know that if a student wants to learn skill 'x' it may take a year or so. Most things in music take longer to master than we usually think. I also know that it will take that amount of time if the student practices and sticks to the program. You're going to have to have patience when learning. It's not only good to have patience in the long run but in the short too. When I teach a new strumming pattern or a new finger exercise, I tell the student to have patience and practice slowly. I know that this rarely happens but I can't stress enough how important this is. If you learn a new exercise and practice it slowly until you can do it without mistakes, your progress will be much, much quicker.

Be Engaging

One of the things that you will notice when learning, that small details usually make a huge difference. This is just as true in music. When learning new skills you will find that there are always small details that come up. It can get to the point where you may feel that you're getting nit-picky. It's not really being picky as it is being thoughtful and concise. That means that whenever you learn something new, try and engage the mind as much as possible. You will find that when you really get into the process, all other thoughts will drift away. You'll absorb much more than usual and the new ideas will be assimilated much easier. It's the same thing when practicing, really think about what you're doing.

Mimicking

This is the primary way we pretty much learned to do everything for the first part of our lives. It's effectiveness can not be understated. Yet as we age, we feel that we must do things our own way. We feel that mimicking or emulating somebody else is cheating or just wrong. This in fact, is a great way to learn any skill, not just music. If you want to learn a new style, a new move, or get a new sound, one of the best ways to start is by mimicking somebody else who already does what you want to do. There are many advantages to this. First of all, they've probably done most of the homework for you. They've found what works for that particular situation. Second, by emulating them, you will automatically pick up subtle information and nuances that can't be gleaned from normal techniques. Most of all, your getting straight into what you want to learn and how you want to sound. If you want to get that blues sound, go right to the source. Then, once you have it, take it to the next level...


Taking It Too Far

For a lot of musicians, the last paragraph may be a big no-no because so often in music, musicians get so enamored with certain artists and styles that they become carbon copies. They exhibit no originality or creative thought. This is a familiar pattern to fall into but easy to avoid. The best way to avoid it is to do what I tell all of my students to do; I tell them; learn this stuff cold, then rip it apart. If you learn new techniques and go one step further and try to incorporate some creativity you end up with a musician who sort of sounds like this but still has something all their own. That way you impart the style and sound that you were looking for, but still have your own individual sound and voice. Not only do you develop you own sound, you may take the style to a whole new level. This is a long used tradition in blues and jazz, not to mention whole schools of music. The other way to avoid becoming a carbon copy is to learn the style of many different artists. Learn the styles of many artists in your genre but also include other related genres. Try to apply all of the different things you learned and develop them into your own style. Of course if you're a composer, an improviser and a gigging musician, you're going to have to be able to do both. You'll have to be able to fit into a certain category, make it sound authentic without straying too far, and still have your own voice.

One Day At A Time

Music is a huge and wonderful world. It takes a while to grasp all of it's subtleties but can be enjoyed the second you pick up the instrument. It takes constant and concentrated effort. It's not hard, it just doesn't happen overnight. Take your music lessons and practice sessions like a daily meditation. Forget the world and focus on what's in front of you. Use all of the tricks and things you learned when you were young and trying to get through school. Music is a life long learning experience, sit back and enjoy the ride.