BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
143 / 18210 · Module 5 — Harmonic Function: Tonic, Predominant, Dominant, and Why Chords “Want” to Go Somewhere← prev⊞ allnext →

5.21Deceptive cadence

Here is a very useful trick.

You expect:

G7 → C

but instead play:

G7 → Am

That is:

V7 → vi

This is called a deceptive cadence.

Why does it work?

Because G7 has B, which can still move to C.

Am contains C.

And other voices can move smoothly.

It delays the expected arrival.