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The problem it solves
Not every phrase has to end closed. Sometimes you want a pause mid-idea that leaves the music "hanging", waiting for the answer that will come in the next phrase. You need a way to end without resolving.
Detailed theory
Key idea
The half cadence ends on the dominant chord (V), not on the tonic.
It produces an open, question-like or suspended effect: it is a pause, not an ending.
Understand it
A half cadence is any phrase that stops on the dominant chord (V). Instead of closing on the tonic, it halts on the chord that generates tension, so the phrase stays open and eager to continue.
It can reach the V from various chords: I–IV–V, ii–V, or simply anything → V. What defines it is not how you get there, but where it stops: on the dominant. In C major, a phrase that ends on G major is a half cadence.
The contrast with the authentic cadence is direct: the authentic goes V→I and closes on the tonic with a sense of ending; the half cadence runs against the expectation, because it stays right on the dominant without taking the step to the tonic. That is why it sounds like a question without an answer.
A useful analogy: the half cadence is a comma, not a full stop. It marks a pause within the musical discourse and prepares the listener for the continuation, just as a comma signals that the sentence is not yet over.
Tension curve
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The tension curve of a half cadence: the phrase rises to the dominant (V) and stays high there, never falling to the tonic. The tension is left unresolved.
How to recognise it
How it's written
Look at the last chord of the phrase: if it is the fifth degree (V) and not the tonic (I), it is a half cadence. You will often see it written as … → V at the end of a first phrase member, before a second member resolves to I.
How it feels
Listen to how the phrase stops "in the air": the last chord does not rest, it asks for more. It is the feeling of leaving a question hanging, waiting for the answer.
Common mistake
Confusing the half cadence with the authentic cadence: the authentic ends on I (closure); the half cadence ends on V (openness).
Thinking that any appearance of the dominant is a half cadence: it only is one when the phrase stops on the V.
Try it
Play I–IV–V in C major (C–F–G) and stop on G: notice how the phrase is left open.
Then add the step to C (I) and compare: now the phrase closes. The difference is exactly ending on V or on I.
On the instrument
Chord progression
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A half cadence in C major: I – IV – V that stops on the dominant (G major) without resolving. The phrase is left open.
Where it's used
- Marking a pause
- Stopping a phrase mid-idea to leave the music open and awaiting continuation.
- Structuring form
- Ending the first member of a phrase on V so the second resolves to the tonic.
- Creating a musical question
- Generating expectation with a suspended ending that asks for an answer.
Examples
Chord progression
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Open phrase: I – ii – V ending on the dominant (G). It is left in suspense, like a comma.
Chord progression
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Compare: the same phrase now resolves to the tonic (I – ii – V – I). Ending on C closes the idea; that is the contrast with the half cadence.
Exercises
Is it a half cadence?
Decide whether the sequence is left suspended on the dominant (V).
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0/7 answeredQuestion 1/7
On which chord does a half cadence end?