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27 votes
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Why does Bach sometimes end with flat 7ths?

Well spotted! This is very common. Bach often uses a brief modulation to the subdominant key near the end of his fugues, preludes and inventions (presumably other pieces, too). Sometimes this is so ...
Bob Broadley's user avatar
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20 votes

The function of Gm G♭ B♭ chord progression in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"

The move from Gm to GbM is definitely not a standard “classical” progression, although it does start to happen more and more in the late Romantic era and in lots of Impressionist and other neo-tonal ...
Pat Muchmore's user avatar
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14 votes
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Why is a Cadence important in music?

Just see how many different sentences you used in these three lines you posted! 5 Different ones, which where separated by punctuation marks. Think of music as a language (which it basically is). It ...
Shevliaskovic's user avatar
14 votes

How to make a plagal cadence sound convincing as an ending?

Often the plagal "cadence" is best understood as post-cadential. In other words, the plagal motion really functions to confirm a tonic already clarified by a prior cadence. In fact, this is what ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
12 votes

Why is a Cadence important in music?

A cadence does at least two things. It makes a statement about what key you are in at the moment. It also indicates a completion of a thought and therefore the beginning of another, similar as you ...
L3B's user avatar
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12 votes
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cadence naming confusion

Not only are there inconsistencies between UK and American terminology, there are inconsistencies within just the American terminology! You're 100% correct that an "authentic cadence" is V–I, but it ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
12 votes

Why does Bach sometimes end with flat 7ths?

In addition to what's been mentioned above, the motion to the subdominant also has a plagal sound. What's more final than a big "aaaa-men" plagal cadence at the end of a hymn? Sometimes Bach's flat-7s ...
Caroline's user avatar
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10 votes
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Is coda the same thing as a cadence?

I've seen some websites define a coda as a sort of "extended cadence" Well, yes. But very 'sort of'. A cadence comes at the end of a musical phrase, a coda comes at the end of the whole ...
Laurence's user avatar
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9 votes

How do I analyze this altered dominant chord?

In this case, the dominant is just an augmented triad, so the Roman numeral would be V+. And since it's V moving to I, it's still going to be an authentic cadence. One of the reasons this progression ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
9 votes

The function of Gm G♭ B♭ chord progression in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"

I had some trouble finding the part of the "song" you asked about. I assume it is this part starting at 4:59: . The tonality is G minor (I suppose G aeolian if you ...
Michael Curtis's user avatar
9 votes

Can we have a perfect cadence in a minor key?

For starters, we can call this cadence an authentic cadence, since by definition that is understood to be a V–I motion. The highest note distinguishes between perfect and imperfect authentic cadences. ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
8 votes
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Cadences for Modes

It really depends on if you want to think more tonal while using modes or modal while using modes. Modal progressions themselves don't fall in line with the typical tonal progressions for example V-I ...
Dom's user avatar
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8 votes
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When was the Imperfect Authentic Cadence invented?

You've been asking a series of questions about when various musical devices were 'invented.' I think you should try to get out of this mind set. These things were not 'invented.' "How did they evolve'...
Michael Curtis's user avatar
7 votes

Modal Cadence Options

Our three major modes are Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian. The Roman numerals for these are: Ionian I ii iii IV V vi vii° Lydian I II iii ♯iv° V vi vii Mixolydian I ii iii° IV v vi ♭...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
7 votes

What is the name of the chord in this cadence?

It's a ii half diminished 7th (ii⌀7). This looks like it's borrowed from the tonic minor (E minor), which is likely why it's confusing you.
Dekkadeci's user avatar
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7 votes
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How do I write "piano style" cadences?

I believe the term you're looking for is keyboard style. To help your Internet searches, try "keyboard style voice leading." In keyboard style, you write three-voice chords in the upper staff and a ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
7 votes
Accepted

Is the sense of resolution of a harmonic cadence psychologically "intrinsic", or is it created through conditioning?

To test out whether certain musical features are commonly understood across musical cultures that haven't been exposed to each other, you need to take music containing that feature to a group of ...
Нет войне's user avatar
7 votes

The function of Gm G♭ B♭ chord progression in "Shine On You Crazy Diamond"

Although Michael Curtis said otherwise, I would argue that this is a borrowed chord. Basically the G♭ is used to give the move to from gm to its relative major B♭ the character of a proper ...
leftaroundabout's user avatar
7 votes

Understanding the concept of a "Cadence"

The word cadence comes from the Latin 'to fall', and originally the majority of music ended with a fall in notes - often the '3 Blind Mice' motif. It ended on the first beat of a bar, bringing the ...
Tim's user avatar
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7 votes

Can we have a perfect cadence in a minor key?

Americans seem to call a 'Perfect cadence' an 'Authentic cadence'. And there's this new thing a 'Perfect Authentic cadence'. OK, whatever. Dominant to tonic. Perfect (or Authentic) cadence. ...
Laurence's user avatar
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7 votes

Resolving to minmaj7

A minmaj7 chord can be the first degree (with the 7th) from the harmonic minor scale. So using progressions from that scale, you can have resolutions on minmaj7. Here is a simple V-i: Basically, ...
Shevliaskovic's user avatar
7 votes
Accepted

Csus4, Csus2, C is there a name?

The chord progression doesn't have a name, per se, but it is not unusual. A very common place to encounter it is in Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. The cadence at the end of the Halloween-famous ...
Aaron's user avatar
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6 votes
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What makes some intervals consonant while others dissonant?

The notion of consonance/dissonance depends on the tradition or style used. In European common practice perfect unions, octaves, fifths and major/minor thirds and sixths are consonant while seconds, ...
Michael Curtis's user avatar
6 votes

Are these inversions in a cadence correct?

Assuming the tonic is F, this does appear to be a V6–I progression, which likely doesn't match your definition of V–I necessary for an authentic cadence. It's possible that the person that gave this ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
6 votes

What type of cadence is this?

Note that these chords on the second and fourth beats are actually half diminished chords on account of the C♮s. Also note that they aren't leading-tone sevenths, because the root isn't D♯, but rather ...
Richard is stepping down's user avatar
6 votes

Different harmonic changes implied by a simple descending scale

There are two common ways to harmonize a step-wise, diatonic bass. The Rule of the Octave Example from Fenaroli... And harmonizing the scale with chord of the sixth (first inversion triads), some ...
Michael Curtis's user avatar

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