The Deceptive Cadence
Everything sets up the landing, and then the music steps sideways. The V goes to the vi instead of the I, and the phrase keeps going when your ear was sure it was over. One chord, and a song gains another eight bars.
- 2 chords
- the surprise
- V to vi
same family
The progression
I - IV - V - vi
Why it works
The vi shares two of its three notes with the I, so it is close enough to feel like an arrival and different enough to feel wrong. Your ear accepts it as a landing and immediately notices it is the wrong one. That is the whole trick: it satisfies just enough that the song can carry on, and disappoints just enough that you want the real ending.
Hear it in context
Three of our own examples: the phrase resolving normally, the same phrase deceived, and the two back to back.
Make it yours
- Deceive once, then resolve
The second time round, land on the I. The listener has been waiting for it and it will feel earned.
- Try the bVI instead
Same trick, bigger step, borrowed from the parallel minor.
- Deceive at the end of a verse
It is the cheapest way to make a verse run into a chorus without a break.
When to reach for it
When a section ends too early. When you want a last chorus to feel extended. When a phrase needs one more line and the chords keep closing the door.
When to leave it alone
When the listener needs rest. Deceive twice in a row and the song starts to feel like it cannot commit.
Keep going
Everything in chord progressions
- The ii V I
- The Deceptive Cadence
- The Plagal Landing
- The Picardy Third
- The Gospel Sus