Aeolian Cadence i-bVI-bVII-i
Piano sound loads on first tap. Resolved in the key of C — every chord links to its full analysis.
The natural-minor answer to the authentic cadence: instead of a raised leading tone, the flat submediant and flat subtonic (bVI–bVII) climb by whole steps straight into the tonic (i) — no borrowed major dominant needed, just the pure Aeolian (natural minor) scale.
What each degree does
Home, but in shadow — the minor tonic. The same rest as I, coloured dark and melancholic.
The flat sixth major — borrowed from the minor mode, a dramatic, epic colour. It falls over the key like a large shadow before the dominant.
The flat subtonic — a major chord borrowed from the minor/Mixolydian mode, a whole step below the tonic. It gives the classic rock turn and the 'backdoor' approach to I.
Home, but in shadow — the minor tonic. The same rest as I, coloured dark and melancholic.