Loading…
Loading…
A cadence moving from dominant to tonic (V–I). "Perfect" authentic cadence has root-position chords with the melody ending on the tonic.
The perfect authentic cadence (PAC) is the strongest possible conclusion. Use it at the end of sections and movements. Imperfect authentic cadences (IAC — with inversions or melody not on tonic) give a weaker sense of closure, useful for mid-phrase arrivals.
Every Classical symphony movement ends with a perfect authentic cadence — often multiple times in succession to confirm the tonic.
Authentic cadence is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
Browse the full dictionary →