Cadence vs. Tone — What's the Difference?

In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin cadentia, "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of resolution. A harmonic cadence is a progression of two or more chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music.

A musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength

A modulation or inflection of the voice

The general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

A sequence of notes or chords comprising the close of a musical phrase

A basic interval in classical Western music, equal to two semitones and separating, for example, the first and second notes of an ordinary scale (such as C and D, or E and F sharp); a major second

Balanced, rhythmic flow, as of poetry or oratory.

The particular quality of brightness, deepness, or hue of a shade of a colour

The measure or beat of movement, as in dancing or marching.

(in some languages, such as Chinese) a particular pitch pattern on a syllable used to make semantic distinctions.

A rhythmic chant, often in call-and-response form, used by soldiers to keep in step when marching or running.

The normal level of firmness or slight contraction in a resting muscle

A falling inflection of the voice, as at the end of a sentence.

Give greater strength or firmness to (the body or a muscle)

General inflection or modulation of the voice.

Harmonize with (something) in terms of colour

(Music) A progression of chords moving to a harmonic close, point of rest, or sense of resolution.

Give (a monochrome picture) an altered colour in finishing by means of a chemical solution

The act or state of declining or sinking.

A sound of distinct pitch, quality, and duration; a note.

Balanced, rhythmic flow.

The interval of a major second in the diatonic scale; a whole step.

The measure or beat of movement.

A recitational melody in a Gregorian chant.

The general inflection or modulation of the voice, or of any sound.

The quality or character of sound.

(music) A progression of at least two chords which conclude a piece of music, section or musical phrases within it. Sometimes referred to analogously as musical punctuation.

The characteristic quality or timbre of a particular instrument or voice.

(music) A cadenza, or closing embellishment; a pause before the end of a strain, which the performer may fill with a flight of fancy.

The pitch of a word used to determine its meaning or to distinguish differences in meaning.

(speech) A fall in inflection of a speaker’s voice, such as at the end of a sentence.

The particular or relative pitch of a word, phrase, or sentence.

(dance) A dance move which ends a phrase.

Manner of expression in speech or writing

(fencing) The rhythm and sequence of a series of actions.

A general quality, effect, or atmosphere

(running) The number of steps per minute.

A color or shade of color

(cycling) The number of revolutions per minute of the cranks or pedals of a bicycle.

Quality of color

(military) A chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching; a jody call.

The general effect in painting of light, color, and shade.

(heraldry) cadency

The normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles.

(horse-riding) Harmony and proportion of movement, as in a well-managed horse.

Normal firmness of a tissue or an organ.

(horseracing) The number of strides per second of a racehorse, measured when the same foot/hoof strikes the ground

To give a particular tone or inflection to.

(software development) The frequency of regular product releases.

To soften or change the color of (a painting or photographic negative, for example).

To give a cadence to.

To sound monotonously; intone.

To give structure to.

To make firmer or stronger. Often used with up

The act or state of declining or sinking.

To assume a particular color quality.

A fall of the voice in reading or speaking, especially at the end of a sentence.

To harmonize in color.

A rhythmical modulation of the voice or of any sound; as, music of bells in cadence sweet.

(music) A specific pitch.

Rhythmical flow of language, in prose or verse.

(music) (in the diatonic scale) An interval of a major second.

See Cadency.

(music) (in a Gregorian chant) A recitational melody.

Harmony and proportion in motions, as of a well-managed horse.

The character of a sound, especially the timbre of an instrument or voice.

A uniform time and place in marching.

(linguistics) The pitch of a word that distinguishes a difference in meaning, for example in Chinese.

The close or fall of a strain; the point of rest, commonly reached by the immediate succession of the tonic to the dominant chord.

(dated) A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm and a regular rise and fall of the voice.

To regulate by musical measure.

(literature) The manner in which speech or writing is expressed.

(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse

(obsolete) State of mind; temper; mood.

The close of a musical section

The shade or quality of a colour.

A recurrent rhythmical series

The favourable effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, or of colours.

The definition and firmness of a muscle or organ; see also: tonus.

(biology) The state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.

(biology) Normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli.

A gun

(figuratively)

The general character, atmosphere, mood, or vibe (of a situation, place, etc.).

(Chiefly in the form lower/raise the tone of something) The quality of being respectable or admirable.

(transitive) to give a particular tone to

(transitive) to change the colour of

(transitive) to make (something) firmer

(transitive) to utter with an affected tone.

The one (of two)

Sound, or the character of a sound, or a sound considered as of this or that character; as, a low, high, loud, grave, acute, sweet, or harsh tone.

Accent, or inflection or modulation of the voice, as adapted to express emotion or passion.

A whining style of speaking; a kind of mournful or artificial strain of voice; an affected speaking with a measured rhythm ahd a regular rise and fall of the voice; as, children often read with a tone.

A sound considered as to pitch; as, the seven tones of the octave; she has good high tones.

That state of a body, or of any of its organs or parts, in which the animal functions are healthy and performed with due vigor.

Tonicity; as, arterial tone.

State of mind; temper; mood.

Tenor; character; spirit; drift; as, the tone of his remarks was commendatory.

General or prevailing character or style, as of morals, manners, or sentiment, in reference to a scale of high and low; as, a low tone of morals; a tone of elevated sentiment; a courtly tone of manners.

The general effect of a picture produced by the combination of light and shade, together with color in the case of a painting; - commonly used in a favorable sense; as, this picture has tone.

Quality, with respect to attendant feeling; the more or less variable complex of emotion accompanying and characterizing a sensation or a conceptual state; as, feeling tone; color tone.

Color quality proper; - called also hue. Also, a gradation of color, either a hue, or a tint or shade.

The condition of normal balance of a healthy plant in its relations to light, heat, and moisture.

To utter with an affected tone.

To bring, as a print, to a certain required shade of color, as by chemical treatment.

The quality of a person's voice;

(linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages;

(music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound);

The general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people;

A quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color;

A notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound;

A steady sound without overtones;

The elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli;

A musical interval of two semitones

The quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author;

Utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically;

Of one's speech, varying the pitch

Change the color or tone of;

Change to a color image;

Give a healthy elasticity to;