Many Many Cadences: String Quartets

Each quartet is a small, focused study in closure. You'll move through different harmonic territories and endings, sometimes landing with certainty, sometimes sidestepping expectations. The writing is clear and uncluttered, letting the harmonic skeleton show.

String quartet ensembles at the intermediate to advanced level who want to deepen their harmonic ear and understand cadential function from the inside out. It works equally well for quartets preparing for chamber music festivals or for music theory students who need to hear what the textbook describes.

• Listen across the ensemble to the arrival points. Cadences demand unified intonation in the final two chords; a moment of silence before the final resolution helps clarify the harmonic destination.
• Vary the character of each cadence by adjusting vibrato width and speed. A plagal cadence might call for warmer, wider vibrato than a crisp authentic cadence.
• Shape the approach to each cadence with phrase direction. Even a brief two-bar setup benefits from gentle dynamic rise toward the harmonic conclusion.

Use individual quartets as concert openers or closers, selecting ones that match the harmonic language of surrounding works. Alternatively, program several in sequence to highlight the variety of cadential approaches across a single rehearsal or educational concert.

• Recognizing authentic, plagal, half, and deceptive cadences by ear
• Playing decisive final chords with ensemble precision and unified intonation
• Understanding harmonic function through ensemble performance rather than analysis alone
• Shaping phrase endings with intentional dynamic and tonal color