Music Theory Online

Cadences are chord patterns in music. Cadences are used to structure music, and are like punctuation marks. There are four main types of cadences.

Perfect Cadences



Perfect Cadences, in any key, are made up of the pattern V – I. Perfect cadences are used at the end of musical sections, and give the same effects of finality as a full stop in a sentence.

Plagal Cadences



Plagal Cadences are made up of the pattern IV – I. They are used at the end of musical sections, and give the same effects of finality as perfect cadences, but do not sound as harsh.

Interrupted Cadences



Interrupted Cadences are made up of the pattern V – VI. They are not frequently used, but often occur as the penultimate (second-last) cadence in a piece of music.

Imperfect Cadences

There are three types of Imperfect Cadences: I – V, II – V, and IV – V.







Imperfect Cadences do not sound finished. They sound like question marks.