What is a cadence? An answer for kids

A cadence is the way a musical phrase ends. It is made of two chords, one after the other. Some cadences sound finished. Others leave the music hanging, so that the ear waits for more. Cadences do the work in music that commas and periods do in writing.

Finished or not finished?

Sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” and stop at the end of the first line. The tune hangs in the air. Sing the second line, and the tune comes home.

That is the main thing to hear. Before a child learns any names, they can sort endings into two piles: finished and not finished.

The two chords that matter most

Every key has a home chord, built on the first note of the scale. Musicians call it the tonic, or chord I.

The chord built on the fifth note pulls toward home. It is called the dominant, or chord V. Most cadences are made from these two chords, in one order or the other.

Read chords explained for kids.

The four kinds

Cadence	The chords	How it sounds	In writing, it is the
Authentic	V to I	Finished	Period
Half	Any chord to V	Not finished	Comma
Plagal	IV to I	Finished, in a calm way	“Amen”
Deceptive	V to a chord other than I	A surprise	“But then…”

Authentic. The pull and the arrival. This is the cadence at the end of most pieces.

Half. The phrase stops on the chord that pulls toward home, and it does not go home. A question ends this way.

Plagal. Chord IV, built on the fourth note of the scale, falls to the home chord. Many hymns end with the word “Amen” sung to these two chords, so it is often called the Amen cadence.

Deceptive. The music sets up the trip home and then steps somewhere else. Composers use it to keep a piece going when the ear expects the end.

Two sets of names

The names differ by country.

North America	Britain
Authentic cadence	Perfect cadence
Half cadence	Imperfect cadence
Plagal cadence	Plagal cadence
Deceptive cadence	Interrupted cadence

Hear them in songs

“Happy Birthday.” The first line ends not finished, on a half cadence. The second line ends at home. Read Happy Birthday on piano.

“Shave and a haircut.” Knock the first five knocks of this old rhythm, and stop. Everyone waits for the last two. Those two knocks are the cadence.

The end of a symphony. Composers of the Classical era often hammered the last cadence many times. The end of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 repeats its final chords again and again. Read the Symphony No. 5 listening guide.

Cadence and cadenza

The two words sound alike and mean different things. A cadence is the end of a phrase. A cadenza is a showy solo for one player, near the end of a movement in a concerto. Read what is a cadenza?

Cadences in exams

Older students name cadences on paper and by ear. In the Royal Conservatory theory exams, cadences begin around Level 6, and Level 8 asks for three kinds: authentic, half, and plagal. Read RCM Level 8 theory.

Things to do together

Finished or not? Sing one line of any song. Your child holds a thumb up for finished and a flat hand for not finished.

Play the Amen. On a piano, play F, A, and C together. Then play C, E, and G. That is a plagal cadence in the key of C.

Play the full stop. Play G, B, and D together. Then play C, E, and G. That is an authentic cadence.

Leave it hanging. Play the two chords the other way around, and stop on G, B, and D. Ask how long your child can stand it before playing the home chord.

Print and play

Print the piano keyboard chart. For how phrases build a piece, read musical form for kids. For more ear work, read ear training games for kids.