Aural Analysis Skills · 4 min read
Harmony by Ear: Chords, Cadences, and Tonality
Harmony questions ask what chord quality you hear, how a phrase ends, whether the music is major, minor, modal, or atonal, and whether it changes key. The official sample item plays a short excerpt of a Romantic art song and asks which cadence ends it, so cadence recognition deserves the most practice.
Chord Quality
| Chord | Built from | How it sounds | Typical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major triad | M3 + m3 | Bright, stable | I, IV, V in major |
| Minor triad | m3 + M3 | Darker, stable | ii, iii, vi; i in minor |
| Diminished triad | m3 + m3 | Tight, unstable | vii° leading-tone chord |
| Augmented triad | M3 + M3 | Eerie, unresolved, symmetrical | Color chord; Romantic and film music |
| Major 7th | Major triad + M7 | Lush, mellow, jazzy | Imaj7 in jazz and pop ballads |
| Dominant 7th | Major triad + m7 | Strong pull to resolve | V7 to I; every blues chord |
| Minor 7th | Minor triad + m7 | Soft, cool | ii7 in ii–V–I |
| Half-diminished 7th | Diminished triad + m7 | Moody tension | viiø7 in major; iiø7 in minor |
| Fully diminished 7th | Stacked minor 3rds | Maximum suspense; silent-film villain | vii°7 in minor |
Inversions by ear: listen to the bass, not the top. Root position sounds grounded. First inversion (third in the bass) sounds lighter and often appears in moving bass lines. Second inversion (fifth in the bass) sounds unsettled; the cadential 6/4 sounds like a held-breath I chord that resolves to V.
Cadences
A cadence is the harmonic punctuation at the end of a phrase. Decide two things: does it end on tonic? and what chord came just before? Then check the melody's last note for perfect versus imperfect.
| Cadence | Chords | How it sounds | Ear clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect authentic (PAC) | V(7)–I, both root position | Final, a full stop | Bass leaps 5 to 1; melody ends on do |
| Imperfect authentic (IAC) | V–I with mi or sol on top, or inverted | Closed but lighter | Home, yet melody not on tonic |
| Half | Any chord to V | Comma; a question left open | Phrase stops on a chord that wants to move |
| Phrygian half | iv6–V in minor | Solemn, archaic half close | Bass descends a half step (6 to 5) |
| Plagal | IV–I | Gentle "Amen" close | Hymn endings; no leading tone in the last motion |
| Deceptive | V–vi (V–VI in minor) | A surprise; expected home is dodged | Bass rises a step to 6; minor-sounding chord |
Naming a Cadence
Last chord tonic?
▶
No: is it V? Half cadence
▶
Yes: preceded by V? Authentic
▶
Preceded by IV? Plagal
▶
V to vi? Deceptive
Watch For
A deceptive cadence and a half cadence both feel unfinished. The difference: a half cadence stops on V, while a deceptive cadence moves through V to a new chord, usually vi. Listen for the bass stepping up from sol to la.Progressions and Tonality
I–IV–V–I
The backbone of folk, hymns, and early rock; three chords, clear tonic pull.
ii–V–I
The standard jazz cadence; root motion by descending fifths sounds smooth and inevitable.
Twelve-bar blues
I for four measures, IV for two, I for two, then V, IV, I, and a turnaround.
Circle progression
Roots fall by fifths (vi–ii–V–I); heard in Baroque sequences and many standards.
| System | What you hear | Where it is common |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Bright tonic with leading tone pulling up | Most Classical and popular music |
| Minor | Darker tonic; raised 7th at cadences | Laments, dramatic movements |
| Modal | Centered on a tonic but with a color note; weak or absent leading tone | Chant, folk, modal jazz |
| Pentatonic | No half steps, open sound | Folk songs, East Asian and West African music |
| Atonal | No sense of home key; dissonance not resolved | Expressionism; Schoenberg, Berg, Webern |
| Bitonal/polytonal | Two keys at once, clashing layers | Milhaud, Ives, Stravinsky |
- Modulation: a new leading tone appears and the music settles on a fresh tonic; a pivot chord may make the change smooth, while a direct modulation jumps.
- Common destinations: dominant key (up a 5th) from major; relative major from minor.
- Picardy third: a minor-key piece ends on a major tonic chord, a sudden brightening on the final chord, typical of Baroque endings.
- Borrowed chords: a minor iv in a major key adds a wistful shadow just before the cadence.
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Non-Chord Tones by Ear
| Tone | Motion | What you hear |
|---|---|---|
| Passing tone | Step between two chord tones | Smooth filler in a scale-like line |
| Neighbor tone | Step away and back | Small wiggle around one pitch |
| Suspension | Held over into the next chord, resolves down by step | Ache of dissonance, then release; prepare-suspend-resolve |
| Appoggiatura | Leap to an accented dissonance, step to resolve | Expressive sigh, common in Classical and Romantic melody |
| Pedal point | Sustained bass while harmonies change above | Building tension before a return or ending |
Quick Facts
- An Alberti bass (broken-chord accompaniment such as low-high-middle-high) signals the Classical style.
- Walking bass lines that move on every beat outline jazz harmonies and also appear in Baroque continuo parts.
- A strong V7 to I resolution with the leading tone rising by half step is the clearest proof of a major or minor key.
Exam Tip
Hum the tonic during the excerpt. If the final chord matches your hummed pitch, the cadence is authentic or plagal; if it does not, you are choosing between half and deceptive. That one test cuts four choices to two.Finished reading?
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