BookatlasPiano Rabbit Hole: Improvisation Theory & Practice
170 / 18210 · Module 6 — Cadences, Phrase Structure, Harmonic Rhythm, and Hearing Musical “Punctuation”← prev⊞ allnext →

6.7Deceptive cadence = expected destination avoided

You expect:

G7 → C

but instead hear:

G7 → Am

That's:

V7 → vi

The dominant tension resolves somewhere plausible, but not home.

This is called a deceptive cadence.

Try:

C → F → G7 → Am

C → F → G7 → Am

Then continue:

Dm → G7 → C

Dm → G7 → C

The phrase got extended.