I hope I'm in the right section to talk about that.

I wanted to express myself about how to use a cadence. We are talking theory of course here.

I don't know about you but I'm a bit tired of always using a perfect cadence in "normal" music. What I mean is using a V7 going to Imaj is so perfect that I like to explore some other avenues. Only a substitution like bII7 going to Imaj makes a nice difference.

Also...to start a song on a different chord thant the I chord is nice.

Well...what I really want to talk about is...Do you explore a bit other paths than the "normal" ones?

Thanks to read this and comment...good day.

You favor the harmony element and your music shows it. Here's one that I wish would never end. I call it the "eternal mode". Ending on the VI chord, the drummer loses the meter and solos on the pulse. It goes on and on - rock and roll ecstasy.

+1

IV I
Plagal cadence.......amen
see Let It Be

Alain,

Yes, changing the cadence can lead to unsettling proportions! and to really cool changes!

"Footprints" by Wayne Shorter which I posted has that in it- the D7 goes to a Db7 ( hence your bii Dominant 7th) instead of a G7 ( V dominant 7th) to turnaround to C, in this case Cm.

All depends on what the learned ear is used to hearing or IS WILLING TO GIVE A CHANCE TO HEAR!

very very cool post indeed!
thanks,
Dave Brosky

Thank you Emmett,

I really like to explore something different, even though it doesn't sound "commercial"...lol.

Thank you for your comments...I really like what I read...

You're right Steve talking about plagal cadence...IV to I...right...to play a substitution of IV we can also play IIm7 to I which is even weaker but it's nice.

Many songs end on the I chord but it's amazing the musical effect of a tango which ends on a V7...without resolving on I...I love it.

One of the most beautiful song (and melody) in music is Take Five. This first chord (Ebm7) is not really a Im chord...it's related to Gb and that is why there are 6 flats at the key...because Gb is the real one...but...at the end there is a minor II-V...Fm7, Bb7...while during the theme it's a Bbm7...the third degree of GB...In fact the whole song is in Gb but the last 2 bars in Ebm...on my side I like to play a Fm7b5 because this chord is the seventh degree of Gb and the second of Em...a "pivot" chord finally.

Sometimes I like to play a progression without going on the I chord...it gives a "suspended" feeling...and even at the end I play a I chord but including "extensions"...and one I like the most is Imaj7#11....(lydian mode feel)...

Thank you all...

I blew my punch line. I meant the IV chord for "the eternal mode". Roman numerals frustrate me and I wish there were some other alternative set of number symbols. At times, I've resorted to just spelling out the chord relationships, like a "four chord" or a "flatted sixth with its 3rd in the bass".

I agree with this frustration we have sometimes with this "system" of roman numerals...because it's a system. Like usual notation is another one...like tablature is also another one. What I like about this roman numeral system is the freedom for the interpretation. It's not always easy to express what you mean when you write a chart for another musician and we have to find a way he'll understand it the same path we were thinking about. A familiar situation is (for example) what to choose between Gm7, Bb/G, etc...it's always the same chord but in different chords progression context.

Another nice example is writing F/G instead of G7sus. The second one gives you many positions possibilities while with the first one you are sure to get (with this G bass) a dom7th, ninth and 11th in your chord structure...really interesting.

Music is fun to analyse...

I hear so much amateur music on the net starting on the I chord but much pop and rock music doesn't for one simple reason. It's the most important chord and is often reserved for the beginning or the end of the chorus.

I talked about this before in the music composition thread. If you already plan to start the chorus on the I chord then start the Verse on a different chord. Likewise, since the I chord has already been used, it's not such a good idea to end the verse or the chorus on a chord you've already used.

Can you find many examples in pop music where they start on the I chord and use the I chord again to start and end the chorus? Yes. But if that's all you got, the album is going to be BORING.

Also, those songwriter books always talk about how you can start the chorus on chords other than the one chord.