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The authentic cadence (V-I) is the most powerful harmonic closure and follows consistent voice leading patterns: the leading tone in the soprano resolves up to the tonic; the chordal fifth (scale degree 4) resolves down to the tonic; smooth voice leading between remaining notes completes the resolution. The strength of this cadence comes partly from these resolution tendencies combined with the harmonic function. Parallel vs inverted fifths and octaves in the V-I progression require careful management.
Write V-I progressions in various voicings, starting with root position both chords, then V in first inversion, ensuring the leading tone resolves upward in the soprano and hearing how different voicings affect the cadence strength.
The authentic cadence — V moving to I — is the most powerful harmonic arrival in tonal music. You already know from cadence types and function that this motion creates closure; voice leading is what determines whether that closure sounds smooth and inevitable or rough and unconvincing. The chord change alone is not enough. How the individual voices move between V and I shapes everything about how the cadence lands.
The key player is scale degree 7, the leading tone — the third of the dominant chord. It sits a half step below the tonic, and its entire harmonic identity is the drive upward to resolve. In four-voice writing, if the leading tone is in the soprano (the most exposed voice), it must resolve up to scale degree 1. This is not merely a rule of style but a reflection of what the listener expects: the leading tone in a prominent register creates an audible tension that demands resolution. Moving it down to scale degree 5 instead — a common shortcut when composers want to complete the tonic chord — sounds like the cadence flinched. The exception is in inner voices, where the leading tone may sometimes move down to preserve smooth voice leading in the overall texture.
Scale degree 4 (the seventh in a V7 chord) has the opposite pull: it resolves downward to scale degree 3. When you use the dominant seventh chord — which is the norm in strong cadences — you have two tendency tones resolving in opposite directions: scale degree 7 up to 1, scale degree 4 down to 3. Handling both correctly while also maintaining smooth voice leading in the alto and bass requires planning. The standard solution for root-position V7 to I leaves the tonic chord without a fifth — you get three roots and one third rather than a complete triad. This slight incompleteness is a standard trade-off: proper resolution of tendency tones takes priority over chord completeness.
Parallel fifths and octaves must be avoided between any two voices in V-I, as in all four-voice writing. The most common danger spot is in the bass and tenor or bass and alto when the bass leaps from scale degree 5 up to scale degree 1. Track each voice individually as you write the progression, then check each pair of voices for parallels. This analytical process — checking voice by voice, pair by pair — is slow at first but becomes automatic with practice, and it trains a voice-leading ear that you'll apply throughout tonal harmony.
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