Explain tonality, harmony, chords and cadences
Use tonal centre, chord function, cadence and harmonic colour to explain how harmony shapes direction and expectation.
Exam scope and assessment notes
Original StudyForA teaching aligned to Cambridge IGCSE Music 0410 and the otherwise-equivalent 9–1 Music 0978 syllabuses for exams in 2026–2028 and 2029–2031. Not Cambridge-authored material, official exam audio, an official mark scheme or an official grade. Practice questions and examples are original. Real aural discrimination requires listening to recordings; live performing, group rehearsal, composition portfolios, centre assessment and Cambridge moderation require a teacher and suitable equipment. Neither qualification is available to private candidates; 0978 is offered only in limited administrative zones. Confirm entry eligibility and the correct examination year with your centre.
Before you begin
- No prior Cambridge Music study is assumed here; start with the notation and listening vocabulary lessons, then follow the areas of study in any sequence that fits your course.
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
What makes a music-analysis answer reliable?
What you will learn
- Distinguish major/minor tonality from local chromatic or modal colour
- Recognise primary and secondary chords, seventh chords, pedals, suspensions and related-key modulation
- Identify perfect, imperfect and interrupted cadences and explain their effect
Find the tonal centre before naming the key
Tonality is the organisation of pitches around a tonal centre. Major and minor are common tonal modes; a passage can briefly use chromatic notes without changing its overall key. A piece can move between related keys such as the dominant, subdominant, relative major or relative minor; look for a sustained new centre, not just one altered note.
Tonic major and tonic minor describe major and minor modes based on the same tonic. A modulation establishes a new key. A phrase that touches a related key may point toward modulation, but an isolated accidental is not enough to prove it.
Harmony creates stability and expectation
Primary triads use scale degrees I, IV and V; secondary chords use other scale degrees. A dominant seventh adds a seventh above the dominant triad, while a diminished seventh has a distinctive stacked-minor-third structure.
A perfect cadence moves V–I and sounds conclusive in a major/minor tonal context. An imperfect cadence ends on V and sounds open; an interrupted cadence avoids the expected tonic after V. A suspension briefly holds a note from the prior chord before resolving; a pedal sustains or repeats tonic or dominant beneath changing harmony.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
Which habit best supports explain tonality, harmony, chords and cadences?
Worked example
In C major, a phrase moves G7 to C major at its end. Name the cadence and explain its effect.
Show the worked solution
- G7 is the dominant seventh in C major.
- It resolves to the tonic chord, C major.
- That is a perfect cadence and it gives a strong sense of closure.
Answer The progression V7–I is a perfect cadence in C major. Its dominant-to-tonic resolution gives stronger closure than an imperfect cadence ending on V.
Try a topic test
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Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
A phrase in G major ends D–G in the bass and the upper voices move from a dominant chord to tonic. Identify the cadence.
Give me a hint
Find scale degrees V and I in the stated key.
Compare my reasoning
- Name the key's tonic and dominant.
- Match the two chords to V and I.
- State the cadence and its typical effect.
D is the dominant of G, and G is its tonic. The progression is V–I, a perfect cadence that normally creates strong closure. The musical context can still affect the exact expressive effect.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies V and I
- Names perfect cadence
- Explains closure
A passage in D minor uses an F-natural but then returns to D minor. Is this enough to prove modulation to F major? Explain.
Give me a hint
One shared pitch can belong to both keys.
Compare my reasoning
- Check whether the passage establishes F as a new tonal centre.
- Look for a sustained change in harmonic function and cadence.
- Distinguish a local chord from a confirmed modulation.
No. F-natural is part of D minor as well as F major. A modulation needs evidence that F major becomes a new tonal centre, such as sustained harmonic movement and a cadence there; a single note or chord is insufficient.
Look for these in your work
- Rejects a single-note inference
- Names the shared pitch
- States what evidence would support modulation
A low G continues beneath changing chords in C major, then finally resolves to C. Explain one possible function of the G and one question about the ending.
Give me a hint
Ask whether the sustained note is functioning as a dominant pedal.
Compare my reasoning
- Compare the repeated bass pitch with the key.
- Name a possible pedal function.
- Inspect the final harmony before labelling the cadence.
The repeated G may be a dominant pedal in C major. If the final harmony moves from a dominant chord to tonic, the cadence may be perfect; the bass note alone cannot identify the full chord progression.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies dominant pedal
- Links it to C major
- Requests harmonic evidence for cadence
Common mistakes
- Calling any change of chord a modulation
- Naming a cadence from its mood without checking the final bass and chord
- Confusing a sustained pedal note with a suspension that resolves
What can you explain now?
Where does an imperfect cadence end?
Compare with the explanation
On the dominant chord
Ending on V leaves the phrase less settled than a V–I perfect cadence.
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Make it stick
What chord movement defines a perfect cadence in a major or minor key?
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.