Is this cadence correctly written?
Sorry for the vague question title, I'm not sure how to phrase it more descriptively.
In the following image, I've written in an imperfect I-V cadence for a melody in D major. I've tried to follow these rules as much as possible:
The melodic note should be at the top of the chord.
The note which is common to both chords should remain the same pitch.
Other notes should transition as smoothly as possible.
I believe I have followed these rules as closely as possible, except the transition doesn't feel smooth, as (assuming I'm using piano), the right hand must completely lift every finger and assign new keys to each.
Question: Is there a better way to complete this exercise?
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That's fine for piano writing. Many of the 'rules' of harmony are about 4-part SATB writing. In that context we could complain about the voice leading I suppose!
Here's a version for SATB. Note that I've tried to give each voice some melodic interest. And that, as long as it ends on V, there are many ways of approaching an imperfect cadence, not just I, V.
On guitar, the best transition would be to use G (classical music admits 7th chords on V) as the bass note of the chord; which would make it the 3rd inversion but that would move the melodic note which is not what you want.
On piano, well, maybe the first inversion, seeing as C sharp is a half-step from D. I'd say C sharp in bass clef, A stays where it is in treble clef and D moves up to E.
I think your answer is fine.
Another possibility is to go to an open position for the V-chord:
The A keeps its place as a common note, and the F# goes down to the C# just above middle C.
The chord then has following notes from low to high: A C# A E
The A in treble clef gets played in both,(it's the only common note), so your penultimate paragraph isn't accurate. Yes, it's fine, you've gone from a D F# A triad (I) to A C# E (V) making an imperfect cadence.
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