Phrygian cadence

Phrygian cadence

A chord progression where the subdominant chord (in first inversion) is followed by the dominant chord (IV⁶ -V). The root of the final chord is approached from a half step above. The "IV⁶ " represents the chord based on the fourth step of the scale (in first inversion) and the "V" represents the chord based on the fifth step of the scale. In the tonality of "E" minor, a phrygian cadence would be the subdominant (IV⁶ ) A minor chord (C-E-A) moving to the dominant (V) B major chord (B-D-sharp-F-sharp). The Phrygian cadence is a special type of half cadence.

Play Phrygian cadence example (MIDI file format)