Is there a cadence that supports ^3 ^2 ^1 in the phrygian mode?

Question

My harmony books all talk about the "phrygian half cadence" which is just a half cadence usually approached from iv6. I don't know why this is called a phrygian cadence because it is not a cadence in phrygian at all. This is not what I am talking about here. in the phrygian mode the intervals in the melody would be ^3 ^2 ^1 (so G, F, E in E phrygian) which chords would support such a cadence?

Answer 1

The danger of applying tonal concepts to modality is that, in modality, one generally avoids melodic or harmonic movement that suggests tonality. It is important in modality to prioritize the unique sound of the mode in contrast to major or minor.

With that said, I'll consider an answer in terms of triadic harmony.

The characteristic that separates phrygian (modality) from both major and minor (tonality) is the second scale degree, and to a lesser extent, the relationship between the third between scale degrees 1 and 3 when combined with scale degree 6 or 7. (Like the dorian scale, there is a minor third between scale degrees 1 and 3, but a "raised" 6 and 7.)

So, looking at just a melody of 2-1, the most characteristic sound would be II-i. vii-i could also be effective, since the 2-1 motion will help distinguish the cadence from the same chord progression in dorian. v^o-i is likely least effective, because it could too strongly suggest a deceptive cadence in C major.

Adding the 3 to the melody would allow for the III, i, and VI chords. All of these are risky: III because it so strongly suggests a tonal dominant chord; i because it undermines the cadence by arriving at i "early"; and VI, because it will tend to sound like a tonal I chord. Thus, III is probably the best choice, and perhaps VI if arrived at carefully.

Now we have four possible cadences:

• III - II - i
• VI - II - i
• III - vii - i
• VI - vii - i

Or, thinking in E phrygian:

• G - F - e
• C - F - e
• G - d - e
• C - d - e

Of these, III - II - i will sound distinctly phrygian, especially because the III - II setup is not an especially tonal sound (in C major, G-F would be "backwards", so using it in E phrygian is less likely to suggest C as the destination). Similarly VI - vii - i is reasonable, because the same progression doesn't apply in major and would be VI - VII - i in minor.

The other two, VI - II - i and III - vii - i are a little risky, because the first two chords suggest I - IV or I - iv relationships, again conjuring tonality.

Answer 2

The "phrygian" aspect of a phygian cadence is the half step movement of the bass from lowered ♭^6 down to ^5 which analogous to ♭^2 to ^1 in the actual phrygian mode.

The history you want for a cadence in phrygian is in the clausula vera which is when the two outer voices approach the final/tonic by steps in contrary motion - either expanding ^2 to ^1 and ^7 to ^1 or converging ^7 to ^1 and ^2 to ^1. So, ^3 ^2 ^1 in phrygian would be harmonized for a cadence as ? ^7 ^1 with the ? possibly being ^6.

Naturally, the next question is how to harmonize it with 3 or 4 parts. My cheatsheet guidelines come from Helmore, Plain-Song (pp.94-96)...

• The cadence in question then ends as ♭vii(min) to I(maj).
• The general style of those harmonizations is Renaissance rather than Medieval/chant
• Phrygian mode is not what many people expect, it isn't like the natural minor scale with a lowered ^2, in modern terms it's a lot more like harmonic minor ending on a half cadence, the important thing being an end on a major triad, if you were in C the authentic mode ending will be B♭m C(maj) and in plagal mode Fm C(maj)
• You can think of phygian mode having an "upside down leading tone" meaning that the characteristic half step move to the tonic/final is from above ♭^2 down to ^1 rather than below ^7 to ^1.

There is a reference given somewhere on this forum about the transition from the modal to major/minor system, which summarizes as three main tonalities eventually developed: major, minor, and... _phrygian. I really like that, because phrygian harmony is oddly and wonderfully different than major or minor. If it isn't clear, the point really is that the other modes like dorian, lydian, etc. really tend to just be "flavors" of major or minor, but phrygian is a uniquely separate tonality.

Answer 3

The phrygian half cadence is mostly a tonal concept I believe, rather than modal. If you want to know about traditional modal cadences, that would be described in terms of voice leading. For the most part, a modal cadence has the notes above and below the final note in the outer voices, moving to the final note.

The next step is avoiding tritones. That leaves the "chord" choices to be F major or D minor, as others have said. However, I don't think anyone has mentioned another crucial step, which is to use a suspension with those penultimate notes. One of the most idiomatic cadences is to have one voice on E, then another voice sings D or F, then the first voice moves to the other note, and finally they resolve together. That will give you a classic sound.

If you want examples, listen to vocal music by Johannes Ockeghem. I hear true phrygian cadences in his music all the time, and he frequently ends the entire piece with them.

Answer 4

My harmony books all talk about the "phrygian half cadence" which is just a half cadence usually approached from iv6. I don't know why this is called a phrygian cadence because it is not a cadence in phrygian at all.

I define a phrygian half cadence as a cadence into the key's dominant (therefore a half-cadence), where the root note of the targeted dominant is reached by a half-step downwards, a so-called phrygian second.

So in the key of A major, the dominant is E major, and you want to precede the e note of the E major chord by an f, leading to the e with a phyrgian second. The problem is now, that the f is not within the selected key of A major, but Bdim-E7 for example sounds great for harmonizing f-e in the melody or bass voice. It can also be interpreted as a resolving minor second suspension.

Answer 5

For a phrygian half cadence with the melody g-f-e you could use the chords C-F-C7, or Gm-F-C7, which is heard as a cadence to C7 as the dominant of F major key.