Cadential 6/4 Chords
Abigail Young
8 min read
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Study Guide Overview
This study guide covers 6/4 chord function, focusing on their role as embellishments rather than structural chords. It details four types: cadential, neighboring/pedal, passing, and arpeggiated 6/4 chords. The guide emphasizes cadential 6/4 chords, their resolution to the dominant (V or V7), and proper voice leading (especially doubling the bass). It also includes practice questions and an answer key.
#6/4 Chord Function: Your Ultimate Guide 🚀
Hey there, future AP Music Theory master! Let's break down 6/4 chords and make sure you're totally confident for the exam. It's crunch time, but don't worry, we've got this! 💪
#Understanding 6/4 Chords: More Than Just Inversions
Remember how we've been exploring chord functions? Well, 6/4 chords are a special case. They don't always act like their root position counterparts. A I6/4 doesn't sound very tonic, a V6/4 doesn't sound very dominant, and so on. Instead, they usually act as embellishments to existing harmonies. Think of them as musical decorations rather than structural pillars. We'll explore four types of 6/4 chords:
6/4 chords are primarily used to embellish the existing harmonic structure, not to add new harmonies. This is a crucial concept to remember!
#Cadential 6/4 Chords: The Dominant Imposter
#What is it?
The cadential 6/4 is a I6/4 chord that comes right before a root position V chord, usually at a cadence. It looks like a tonic chord, but it acts like a dominant chord, briefly expanding the dominant area. We notate it as V 6–5/4–3 to show it's part of the dominant function, not an independent tonic. 💡
Cadential 6/4 chords are written on a metrically stronger beat than the dominant chord that follows.
#How does it work?
- The upper voices of the 6/4 chord move down step-wise to the V chord.
- In A Major, a I6/4 with E-A-C# moves to E-G#-B (V chord) where A goes to G# and C# goes to B.
- Double the bass (the 5th scale degree) in the 6/4 chord to emphasize its dominant function. This is a MUST for the AP exam!
Caption: Example of a cadential 6/4 chord resolving to a V chord. Notice the stepwise descending motion in the upper voices.
Think of the cadential 6/4 as a 'dominant in disguise' – it looks like a tonic b...
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