The etymology of cadence refers us to the Italian word cadenza. The concept is used to name the rhythm or repetition of certain phenomena that occur on a regular basis. According to the dictionary of the DigoPaul, the cadence is also the number of cases that are repeated per time unit.
In the field of music, the idea of cadence refers to the melody or chords that coincide with the end of some fragment of the work.
Music theory recognizes more than one type of cadence, although all serve to end a phrase. The perfect authentic cadence is the most common and, so to speak, the basic one, since it consists of playing the dominant chord and then the tonic chord, that is, the fifth and the first degree of the tonality. The two chords must be played in their root state (the note that gives the name must be in the bass; if the chord is D major, the lowest note must be a D) and the highest note of the first degree must be the tonic itself.
The authentic imperfect cadence differs by not having all the chords in the fundamental state, or by not ending with the tonic in the highest voice. On the other hand, there is the dominant cadence, which consists of “resting” on the fifth-degree chord. The broken cadence goes from the dominant chord to the sixth or fourth degree, while the plagal consists of executing the fourth degree and then the tonic.
It can also refer to a solo part of a composition or the succession of sounds that make up a piece. In this context, the cadence is usually an ornamental passage, that is to say with a considerable amount of ornaments, which may or may not appear in the score. When it comes to a soloist creation, he usually aims to display his virtuosity in the performance of his instrument (which can be external or his own voice).
The opera is one of the areas in which singers make great vocal acrobatics deployments through complex and explosive cadences. Although agility is not naturally linked to women, men tend to educate their voices in a very rigid way, which prevents them from moving them lightly enough to interpret these difficult passages.
In addition to the freedom to improvise the melody, the cadence also allows you to alter the rhythm, and even blur it to the point where it is very difficult to analyze it, all in the pursuit of interpretation. When the moment of the cadence arrives, the orchestra falls silent so that the soloist can shine.
For dance, cadence is the measure of the sounds that determine how the dancer should move and the coincidence between the dancer’s steps and the measure indicated by the musical instrument.
The idea of cadence, on the other hand, appears in the field of literature and oratory. You can mention the pleasant distribution to the ear or the reading of the pauses and accents.
The rate of fire of a firearm refers to the number of projectiles it can fire in one minute. This capacity is linked to the cooling capacity, the feeding of the projectiles and the recoil system. The greater the ability to shoot in less time, the higher the rate of fire.
Eterna Cadencia, finally, is an Argentine publishing house that also functions as a bookstore and as a bar. Augusto Roa Bastos, Juan Carlos Onetti, Margo Glantz and James Joyce are some of the writers published by this label.
