Chords & Harmony

Half Cadence

Definition

A half cadence is a phrase ending that stops on the dominant chord (V), leaving the music open and unresolved, like a comma or a question. A later phrase usually answers it by ending on the tonic.

A half cadence is a phrase ending that stops on the dominant chord, V. The chord before it can be almost anything: I, IV, ii6 or a cadential six-four. Because V wants to move on to the tonic, a half cadence leaves the music open, like a comma or a question mark in a sentence. Something has to come next.

Question and answer

The half cadence is the "question" of a musical period. A first phrase ends on V; a second phrase, often starting the same way, ends on I with an authentic cadence. The pair sounds like a question and its answer.

Grand staff in 4/4, four bars. Right hand: G4 C5 E5 then A4 C5 F5; whole-note G4 B4 D5; G4 C5 E5 then A4 C5 F5; F4 B4 D5 then E4 G4 C5. Left hand: C3, F2, G2, C3, F2, G2, C3. Chord symbols C, F, G, C, F, G7, C; Roman numerals I IV V, I IV V7 I; bar 2 labeled half cadence and bar 4 authentic cadence. — Two phrases in C major. The first ends on G, a half cadence. The second starts the same way and ends G7 to C, an authentic cadence.

How to recognize one

At the end of a phrase, listen for the bass landing on the fifth degree of the key (G in C major) and the music pausing there, unresolved. In most half cadences V is a plain triad in root position. A seventh is less common at this point, because it makes the chord sound as if it must move on at once.

The Phrygian half cadence

In a minor key, iv6 moving to V makes a special half cadence. The bass falls a half step (F to E in A minor) while an upper voice rises a step to meet it on E, one or more octaves higher (D to E). Baroque composers often used it to close a slow movement or slow introduction just before a faster one. The name refers to the falling half step in the bass, which recalls the Phrygian mode.

Grand staff in 4/4, one bar of two half-note chords. Right hand: A4 D5, then G-sharp4 E5. Left hand: F3 D4, then E3 B3. Chord symbols Dm/F and E; Roman numerals iv6 and V. — iv6 to V in A minor: D minor with F in the bass, then E major. The bass falls a half step from F to E while the top voice rises from D to E.

Half cadence or imperfect cadence?

In British terminology, a cadence that ends on V is called an imperfect cadence. In American usage, "imperfect" usually refers to an imperfect authentic cadence, a weaker V–I. The two terms describe different things, so check which system a book is using.

Practice with Cadences, Identify the cadences and Phrase and period.

Common questions

Does a half cadence have to end on V?

Yes. Whatever chord comes before it, a half cadence is defined by ending on the dominant chord.

What is the difference between a half cadence and an imperfect cadence?

In British terminology they are the same thing. In American usage, an imperfect authentic cadence is a weaker V–I, which is a different cadence.