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A cadence where the dominant resolves to an unexpected chord (usually vi instead of I), "deceiving" the listener's expectation.
The deceptive cadence is one of music's great dramatic tools. The listener expects resolution — and doesn't get it. Use it to extend phrases, build suspense, or create emotional surprise. After a deceptive cadence, you typically need to approach the real cadence again.
Bach uses deceptive cadences throughout his chorales to extend phrases and avoid premature closure.
Deceptive cadence is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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