Listen to the final two harmonies
A cadence is a harmonic and melodic event that helps articulate the end of a phrase. Begin with a simple G7 moving to C and listen to the arrival. Then stop on G7 instead and notice the more expectant effect in that context. These examples illustrate different degrees of closure, but the melody, rhythm, voicing, and key all influence what you hear. Do not identify a cadence solely by spotting two chord symbols without listening to whether they actually occur at a phrase boundary.
Compare two endings of your own
Create a short melody using a few notes in C major and accompany it with simple chords. End one version on C and another on G. Keep the phrase length and rhythm similar so the harmonic ending is easy to compare. Sing the final note and let it settle before judging the result. This exercise connects the chord movement to a lived sense of punctuation rather than a list of technical names. You can later explore more detailed terminology once the basic distinction between arrival and continuation is audible.
Write a question and answer in four bars
Create two two-bar phrases in C major. For the first, play C for four beats and G for four beats; sing E–D–C–D as four quarter notes over C, then hold D over G. For the second, play G7 for four beats and C for four beats; sing D–F–D–B over G7, then hold C over C. The first ending rests on the dominant and invites continuation; the second returns to the tonic. Take a breath between the phrases so their boundaries are audible.
Compare just the final B-to-C melody move with the bass G-to-C movement underneath it. Then substitute Am for the last C chord while retaining the final melodic C. This creates G7-to-Am, a familiar deceptive motion in this setting. The melody still finds a chord tone, but the bass has avoided the expected C. Play all three endings in the complete phrase rather than assigning emotional labels to isolated chords.
Use phrase endings to check a chart
Listen to the ends of verses, choruses, and the final section in a recording. Compare the detected AudioChords sequence with the sense of closure you hear, then test any questionable chord on your instrument. A surprising ending may be intentional, so investigate before replacing it with a familiar cadence. Mark whether each phrase should feel settled or lead onward in your arrangement notes. This can guide dynamics, sustain, and breathing. Understanding the punctuation helps you play a progression as connected phrases rather than a succession of equally weighted chord names that happen to fill the correct number of measures.
Do not name a cadence from two symbols alone
Be careful with the word perfect. A G-to-C chord pair is not enough to establish a perfect authentic cadence: the voicing, bass position, melodic ending, and phrase placement matter. You do not need that finer classification to mark a useful rehearsal instruction such as settled ending or leads onward. If a song loops G-to-C in the middle of a continuing phrase, that motion may not function as its cadence at all. Mark actual breathing points and arrivals first. In AudioChords, inspect the chord before the phrase ending as well as the final label. An ending that surprises you deserves comparison, not automatic correction into a textbook V–I.