Backdoor progression
In
authentic cadence
) is, by inference, the "front door", a metaphor suggesting that this is the main route to the tonic.
The ♭VII7 chord, a
dominant seventh. Therefore, it can resolve to I; it is commonly preceded by IV going to iv, then ♭VII7, then I. In C major the dominant would be G7: (the notes GBDF), sharing two common tones with B♭7: (the notes B♭DFA♭). The notes A♭ and F serve as upper leading-tones
back to G and E (when the chord moves to the tonic, C major), respectively, rather than B♮ and F serving as the lower and upper leading-tones to C and E in a conventional G7-C major (V7-I) cadence.
A backdoor IV-V is also possible, moving from ♭VIM7 to ♭VII7 to I. This is also commonly known as "Mario Cadence".[3]
Alternative usage
The term "Backdoor" has been used by author Shelton Berg to refer to another entirely unrelated progression. The unexpected
deceptive cadence
.
See also
- ♭VII-V7 cadence
References
- ISBN 1-57623-875-X. "Back Door Progression As A Substitute For V7[:] The I chord, in a given progression, is often preceded by IV-7 to ♭VII7, instead of the usual V7 chord.".
- ISBN 9781495028540. "back-door cadence: A IVmi7 ♭VII7 I harmonic cadence."
- ^ Lavengood, Megan (July 1, 2021). "Open Music Theory: Modal Schemas" – via viva.pressbooks.pub.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ISBN 0-7390-3089-2.