Imperfect Cadence, Gloria

Music is like the written word: it's divided into phrases. Sometimes, phrases in music can sound finished, and other times, they sound unfinished. There are four types of cadences in music: authentic, plagal, deceptive, and imperfect. Imperfect cadences are harmonic progressions that end on the dominant chord. They create a sense of incompleteness; they sound like something that is not finished yet, something that will continue on. Imperfect cadences shape the melody and leave us wanting more. 

I've been reflecting this week on equating imperfection with incompleteness. I like the idea of reframing our imperfections as if we are simply not finished yet. We aren't a poorly done painting or a shitty novel. We are just in the preliminary stages—an early sketch or a rough draft. These early versions don't need to be good. They just need to exist. They bring a diffuse thought into existence so that we can continually work on it, refine it, and craft it into a more perfect version.  

When we allow ourselves to release any shame associated with imperfection, we give ourselves room for growth and revision. The version of who you are is still being written. It can be on wrinkled pages, with crossed-out sections and notes written in the margin with smudged ink. It can be one of twenty thumbnail sketches that will be revised so many times that they are unrecognizable in the final image. 

Imperfection is part of becoming who you are meant to be. Anything worth being takes time and revision. There is beauty in not being at the end yet, in not being finished, in allowing those imperfect cadences to shape the melody of your life. 

This theme worked well with the album Imperfect Cadence. This album also gives the impression of something unfinished; like a snapshot in time, it feels like tapping into something that will continue on. The nature sounds on this album add to this, as the natural world will never really be perfect or finished—but that doesn't mean it's not lovely. Our lives and ourselves are part of that imperfection and incompleteness. We are a small part of this weird little planet's story, but we help shape it into what it will become.