Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov · section 22 of 96

Cadence Formula of the Second Kind (with the Six-Four Chord of the First Degree)

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§ 22. — 1) By the cadence formula of the second kind is meant the succession of the chord of the fourth degree, the six-four chord of the first degree, and the triads of the fifth and first degrees.

2) The cadential six-four chord is connected harmonically with the triad that precedes it; thus the fourth of the six-four chord is a common note.

3) In the six-four chord, only the fifth of the root (the bass note) is doubled.

4) In duple time the cadential six-four chord is placed on the strong beat. In triple time it may also be placed on the second (weak) beat; the dominant chord then falls on the third beat.

Example: two cadences in C major, cut time — IV6 or IV, the six-four chord on the strong beat, V, I — Fig. 85 · See it in the reader

Example (continued), 3/2: two cadences in A minor and one in C major, the six-four chord on the first or the weak second beat — Fig. 86 · See it in the reader