Ear training exercises

Cadence ear training

A short chord progression plays, you name the cadence. Cadences are the punctuation of music: hearing whether a phrase closes, pauses or surprises you is key to understanding form and harmony.

What you'll train

How the levels work

Level 1 asks you to tell an authentic cadence from a half cadence. Level 2 adds the plagal cadence and level 3 the deceptive cadence. From there the four cadences stay in play and the difficulty comes from telling them apart more reliably.

Questions

How do I tell an authentic cadence from a plagal one?

Both end on the tonic, so listen to the chord before it. The dominant (V) pulls strongly toward home, with a leading tone rising a semitone; the subdominant (IV) arrives more softly, the classic 'amen' sound.

What makes a deceptive cadence recognizable?

It sets up the same expectation as an authentic cadence, then lands on the minor sixth chord instead of the tonic. If a phrase sounds like it was about to close but slipped somewhere darker, that's the one.

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