Stuck with the same cadences

I got a problem with cadences, they always turn out like (or very similar to) a cadence of the classical period (ii6, V6/4, V, I). I don't know how to get out of this. I have not studied much music in my uni other than that from the classical period or the early romantic era. I write tonal music but I would say my inspiration at the moment comes almost exclusively from romantic music, such as Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Bizet among others. When I try to change my chord progressions, ,using mediants for example, it just turns out worse and unchoherent from what I had at first.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a bit more "modern" cadences so to speak? The melody I'm currently working on, for example, somehow sounds fine until the end of the sentences comes, where the cadence doesn't really fit in with the style.

What kind of cadences do you use?

I know more cadences but I don't know if they will take you out of your style, (Latin progressions) ...

if you like Grieg and other romantics and you would like to write things like that, you could study their score and see what exact chords they have used to write their cadences .. in IMSLP you can find many, many scores, take a look at a particlar piece that gets your attention while listening like saying "wow what are those chords in that cadence ?" ... and find out by yourself.

No matter if you copy an exact progression, I think that's ok.

Hm, yeah a good start to get out of my usual chords could probably be copying a progression and try writing a melody based on it. Thanks for the idea, (I guess this is what most do, maybe I just hadn't figured it out yet heh). :)

There are no new cadances, as such, brought into use in the Romantic Era, although the extended harmonic language naturally provides possible harmonic decorations to the existing ones. You can pick out endless examples like the coda of Bruckner's 4th, 1st movement (IV-iv-I) and similarly the start of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream overture (I-V-iv-I), both using chords "borrowed" from the parallel minor.

However, I suspect that, having been taught how to write Classical music, you have yet to fully embraced the Romantic sensibility and frame of mind.

The cadance is indispensible in Classical Era music: it marks the end of "themes" and "subjects" while also confirming the current key, both of which were essential for the understability of Sonata Form and the like. It also breaks the flow of movement, tempering the effects of movement and modulation. So in essence: balance, tastefulness and beauty of form.

The Romantic Era of course chucks all this out (over time). You have long flowing melodies that seem never to end, or merge into other ones. You have long spells in one key, or sudden changes into unexpected keys. All of this means that the importance of the cadence is much diminished compared to Classical music. I don't want to make generaly statments since the change from Classical to Romantic was vey much an evolution, compared to the comparative revolutions of the arrivals of the Baroque and Classical Eras, but it's my belief that as the Romantic Era went on, the cadance declined in importance.

The quick answer, on my part, is to suggest you just listen and play through more Romantic music. It's difficult to make further suggestions for fear of pendant reprisals but I would suggest that the cadential 6/4 becomes much less common as the Romantic Era goes on (I presume you mean I 6/4 above?).

If you are looking for spicier cadences, you could bring out the Neopolitan 6th, Augmented Sixths, or diminished 7th chords. Though these are by no means to be considered 'Romantic Era' chords, but there are many famous examples by the romantic composers.

Copying is definitiely a good way to learn the style and idiom!

You don't really get better at writing cadences, you get better at making your cadences sound more pleasing. That comes with building up better to the cadences. There are only a few types of cadences, look them up if you want to but focus more on balancing the structure making your phrases, themes, and development that lead up to the cadences more adventurous. Check out the chords in the song God Only Knows.. learn them, play them on the piano. That's a perfectly balanced chord pattern with a cadence you're probably unfamiliar with.

God Only Knows:

4/4

each new line is a measure.

D/A

Bm6

F#m

F#m7

F#m6/A

E/B

Cdim

E/B

A#m5-/7

A

E/G#

F#m7

E

The Beach Boys cannot teach you to write like Tchaikovsky and Grieg :angry:

well you didn't even know that there are only like 4 or 5 possible cadences... it's about balance of melodies throughout all kinds of music.

I must agree that the melody is what really make a work stand out. All cadences have been used in infinite varieties already, but it's how you weave an interesting melody into a cadence that will give a composition "depth." Just to add a suggestion, you could try using a deceptive cadence and some phrase extensions on it to give your composition some variation.

That's Flint's avatar !!! ...... he seems to be gone anyway :mellow:

An instructor of mine once said, if you're stuck on something, play the scraggy out of it until you're done with it. You'll eventually find yourself twisting it into something new, or discovering something about it that wasn't apparent initially.

We were discussing improv at the time, but I think it applies to composing in general.

Also open your mind is very important, if you're always with the same chords, and you want more posibilities but keep using the same chords, always having as material the I, II, IV, V, :facepalm:

Dare to use things you used to consider as "non-usable" only then you will discovery what you're looking for.

but what I said about studing the scores looking for an especific material just to know how it was built, that's faster.

EDIT: This entire day I've having problems posting, now it posted twice, ... and I don't see how to delete, sorry, (I use IE8)

Thanks for everyone's insight. The melody I've written consists of two phrases, and when I think about it the ending cadence in the last phrase is actually the best part of it, the rest just sounds too copied. I am embarrassed by my stupidity; the antecedent of the phrases are built on the tonic and the consequent on the dominant. Obviously that alone makes it sound like the classical period.

I will have to try taking the rythmic motive I have built this melody on and try carve out a new melody using a more exciting chord progression which I'll borrow or take inspiration from something of the romantic era. :)

Next semester I will study a course called contemporary composition techniques, that will help me get out of the classical era style, I'm sure. :)

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