Question and answer phrases

Two four-bar phrases can start with the same notes and still sound like a question and its reply, because of the last two notes.

Say "Are you coming?" and your voice rises at the end. Say "Yes, I am." and it falls. Melodies do something similar. A phrase is a stretch of music that feels like one complete thought and moves toward a goal, much like a sentence. Most phrases in songs and classical pieces are four bars long, and eight-bar tunes are very often made of two of them.

Cadences: how a phrase ends

The end of a phrase is called a cadence, from a Latin word for falling. Two kinds matter most here. A half cadence ends on the V chord. It sounds like a comma: the music pauses but clearly is not finished. An authentic cadence goes from V to I. It sounds like a full stop, especially when the melody lands on do over the I chord; theory books call that strongest version a perfect authentic cadence.

The melody notes help as much as the chords. In C major, ending on re (D), sol (G) or ti (B), the notes of the V chord, leaves the phrase open. Ending on do (C) closes it. Mi (E) is in between: it belongs to the I chord, so it sounds settled, but less final than do. The panel under the grid labels the last note of bar 4 and the last note of the song as open, closed or in between.

The period

Put a questioning phrase and an answering phrase together and you get what theory books call a period. The first phrase, the antecedent, is often four bars long and ends with a weaker cadence, most often a half cadence. The second phrase, the consequent, ends with a stronger one, most often an authentic cadence. In most periods the consequent starts the same way as the antecedent, so the listener recognises the reply. Only the ending changes.

If both phrases end the same way, the result is a repeated phrase rather than a period. That is why the copy button from the repetition unit is only half a solution: after copying bars 1 to 4 into 5 to 8, you still need to rewrite bars 7 and 8 so that the second phrase lands on do over V then I.

Call and response

The same idea appears in group singing all over the world as call and response: one singer sings a line and the group answers with another. Work songs, folk songs and many church traditions use it. In Korean folk song this is called megigo batgi, where a lead singer gives a line and everyone answers with a refrain. You can practise the habit with the sing tool below: sing the open ending, then the closed one, and feel the difference in your own voice.

Try it

The grid shows a period written for this lesson, with the two halves marked Question and Answer. Bar 4 ends on D over the G chord, a half cadence. Bars 5 and 6 repeat the opening, and bars 7 and 8 come down to C over G then C, an authentic cadence. Check the Endings line in the panel. Then experiment: end bar 8 on G instead, and the song stops without finishing; end bar 4 on C, and the question no longer asks anything.