A cadence is a movement in a chord progression that creates a break, a landing, or the expectation of something more to come. Like a period or a comma in writing, it organizes the flow of the music. It appears not only at the end of a song but also at the small divisions inside a verse or a chorus.
Where does a sense of closure come from?
A chord sounds like a resting place because of the pull back to the center of the key. In C major, moving from G to C is the classic example of returning from tension to stability. Knowing the relationship between tonic, dominant, and subdominant makes it easier to understand.
Common cadences
V→I, moving from dominant to tonic, creates the clearest sense of closure. IV→I is a softer ending, and stopping on V to keep the listener waiting is called a half cadence. Rather than memorizing the names, it matters more to hear where the music settles and where it wants to continue.
Using cadences inside a progression
Placing a cadence at the end of a chord progression makes the division between repetitions clear. You can also vary the sense of closure by section: land firmly at the end of the chorus, or leave the end of the verse slightly unresolved so that it moves on to the pre-chorus.
How to try it in a DAW
Loop C→F→G→C in C major and compare how it sounds when you replace the final C with other chords. Noticing where you feel that it has ended gives you a grip on what a cadence does.
Not only for the end of a song
A cadence is not a technique for the outro alone. You can use it to give a melody a breath, to punctuate a line of lyrics, or to build the entrance to the next section.
