Choosing chords to approach a perfect cadence

Change harmony on every crotchet beat (except on long pause notes) Don’t repeat the same chord from a weak to a strong beat

Here’s how to choose the chord immediately before a perfect cadence for some common melodic patterns.

Chord I as an approach

The first chord of a perfect cadence is Chord V. It is often approached directly from Ib or Ic, or possible Ia.

Some very common progressions are:

Ib-V-I Ic-V-I ic-V-I (t de p) vi-V-I I-V-I ic-V-i IV-V-I IV-viib-I

See below for some examples showing melodic movement, key, non-harmonic notes and cadential progressions. Use these ideas when harmonising. Ex.1.9.1

From the example above, note some familiar Bach features that you should be using:

The first three cadences each include a passing 7th in tenor, and most include at least one passing note

Cadence i, iv and vii have doubled major 3rds in chord Ib with the characteristic passing note in the bass between Ib and V.

Cadences ii, iii and x have chord Ic as the approach chord. Remember the 4th above the bass in Ic is considered dissonant with the bass. Bach normally requires this 4th to be prepared.

Cadences ii, iii and viii include falling leading notes in an inner part, all which leap directly to the 5th of Chord I without an intervening passing note

Cadence iii includes a lower auxiliary in the bass and finishes with a tierce de Picardie (as do perfect cadences at the end of most minor key cadences.

Chord ii7b as an approach

Sometimes the penultimate note of a phrase is a minim – usually as the middle note of the melodic pattern 3-2-1. This minim is often harmonised with two separate chords. The chord schemes for this pattern, shown in Ex1.9.2 below, also work for the similar four-crotchet pattern 3-2-2-1.

All these progressions use ii7b as the cadence approach chord. And in every case Bach follows what was his standard procedure: the 7th chords of ii7b is treated as a suspension that resolves to the leading note – which in turn falls to the 5th of the tonic chord. You can see this in the alto part of the first two cadences above.

This pattern also works well for melodies 8-8-7-8, in which the second 8 can be treated as a suspension in the soprano part. In the next example, as in iii above, Bach approaches ii7b from chord VI, so that each chord in the progression is a 5th

lower than the previous one.

Suspensions are also common where Bach decides to harmonise a minim on pitch with just a single chord V. Two full beats of plain chord V would be very dull, so he uses a 4-3 suspension to keep up the musical interest. In Ex.1.9.4 this occurs in the alto part in i and the tenor part in ii. Compare the treatment of these dissonances with the 7ths in example 1.9.2. In all five cases, the suspended note is the tonic, which resolves to the leading note before falling to the 5th of the tonic chord (You may find it useful to remember that the dissonant 4th of Ic is also the tonic, and it too resolves to the leading note in chord V).

Here are two more example of ii7b used as a cadence approach chord, this time in the melodic pattern 4-3-2-2-1. In Ex.1.9.5 i, you could regard the second quaver beat as consisting of three simultaneous passing notes, or as creating chord I in passing. In Ex.1.9.5 ii, the Ic seems more like a chord in its own right. However, because all of its notes either move by step or stay put, it could again be viewed as a 6-4 made up of passing notes.

This progression, and the cadential Ic-V-I, are the only uses of 6-4 chords normally found in chorales.

V7 of V as an approach

Occasionally Bach gives a perfect cadence a specially intense chromatic ‘twist’ by sharpening the 3rd (which is in the bass) of chord ii7b, which turns the chord into a secondary dominant, V7 of V. Remember that the 5th o this chord will also have to be raised if in a minor key. Cadence i in the next examples shows V7 of V used

to approach a perfect cadence in a major key – notice that this progression also includes a passing 6-4. V7 of V is more often used as an approach chord to perfect cadences in minor keys – an example is shown in cadence ii. If you decide to use this device, do so sparingly and remember to add the necessary accidentals.

Activity 1.9

Add bass parts and Roman numerals (but not inner parts) to harmonise the following melodic patterns, which should end with a perfect cadence.