When two or more chords in sequence have the tendency to resolve on the fundamental chord of the scale, we have a cadence. This is fundamental in harmonically connecting a succession of chords. Various types of cadences exist, which we will now look at in its various forms.
Full or authentic cadence
The connection from the V° to I°, which is from the dominant to the root, is called a simple or perfect cadence.
It is one of the more easily traceable sequences to the stillness of the song, in that the root chord is the one most commonly used for giving a sense of conclusion at a determined time in the song. It's true that there can be more than one cadence within a song. When found at the end of the song its called a finished cadence. Lets look at some examples in C major, the scale used for all the other examples.
Plagal cadence
Connecting the sub dominant to the root, the IV° to the I°, we obtain the plagal cadence. Also resolving on the root, we don't have an analogous sense of conclusion and stillness. This is also called the Amen cadence because it souds like someone saying the word Amen, and is frequently used in classical compositions.
Avoided cadence
This is a cadence that does not resolve on the root but on another degree, possibly the VI°.
We have the avoided cadence when we pass from the V° to the VI° chord in a composition.
Composed cadence
Combining the perfect and the suspended cadence, we get the composed cadence. In fact this type of cadence uses three chords, which have a very precise purpose. Lets analyze its various aspects.
The II° precedes and prepares the V°, which forms the cadence with the I°. The possible harmonizations refer to the major scale of C.
Minor composed cadence
The cadences can also be developed in the minor scale. In this case we will analyze the composed cadence in the minor scale. The two previous degrees of roots are used in the major composed cadence. What changes is the harmonization of the degree, by resolving on the fundamental minor chord. The natural minor scale (being relative minor) keeps the same chords as the corresponding major scale.
But if the scale is minor melodic or minor harmonica, obviously the chords will change. Lets look at the two cases in the scale of A minor.
For the minor melodic scale, we have to harmonize the steps like this:
You can easily see in the third and fourth measures that the II° and V° are the same. In the harmonization of five measures the difference is in the II°, which will have the ninth flat, while in the major scale the ninth was natural. It's obvious that there is practically no difference between the major and minor melodic scale, except in this case. Its possible that the first two steps of the composed cadence can resolve in either the major or minor scale. Obviously this is unsuitable when evaluating the difference between major and minor. For this reason it's better to use the minor harmonic scale, which has a larger quantity of harmonic variations. Here is the harmonization of the composed cadence in the minor scale:
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