Borrowed chord

A I chord, C major, followed by a ♭VII chord, B♭ major,

borrowed from the parallel minor, C minor. Shown first
in C major then minor.
 "A "A
'borrowed'...m 'substituted'
inor chord on minor chord
IV in the place on V in place
of the major of the major
chord."[1] chord."[1]
Play (help·in Play (help·in
fo) fo)

A borrowed chord (also called mode

mixture,[2] modal mixture,[3] substituted[4]
modal interchange[2]) is a chord borrowed
from the parallel key (minor or major scale
with the same tonic). Borrowed chords are
typically used as "color chords", providing
harmonic variety through contrasting scale
forms, which are major scales and the
three forms of minor scales.[3] Similarly,
chords may be borrowed from the parallel
modes, the various modes beginning on
the same tonic as a scale, for example
Dorian with D major.[2] Borrowed chords
are distinguished from modulation by
being brief enough that the tonic is not lost
or displaced, and may be considered brief
or transitory modulations,[4] and may be
distinguished from secondary chords,[5] as
well as altered chords.[2] "The borrowed
chord suggests the sound of its own mode
without actually switching to that mode."[2]

In the key of C major, the regular diatonic

chords are built as triads (or seventh
chords) on the roots of each of the seven
notes of the C major scale (the notes, C, D,
E, F, G, A, and B). The chords (triads in this
example) built on these scale degrees (i.e.,
notes) would be C major, D minor, E minor,
F major, G7, A minor and B diminished. In
the key of C minor, the regular diatonic
chords would be C minor, D half-
diminished, E♭ major, F minor, G minor (or
G7, as the leading tone is often
sharpened), A♭ major, B♭ major. Thus, a
song in C major could "borrow" chords
from C minor. For example, a simple song
chord progression in C major, such as I-IV-
V (C major-F major-G dominant 7) could
have chords from the tonic minor added
in. Thus a new chord progression could
add ♭VI (A♭ major) and ♭VII (B♭ major), thus
giving us I-♭VI-IV-♭VII-V or C major-A♭
major-F major-B♭ major-G major.

"Mixing of major and minor modes

developed in the baroque period and was
considered a part of the general style."[6]
"In theory, any chord from any mode of the
scale of the piece is a potential modal
interchange or borrowed chord. Some are
used more frequently than others, while
some almost never occur."[2] Six chords
borrowed from the parallel minor key are
commonly found in the Baroque, Classical
and Romantic eras (shown here in C
major):
 4
3 = BDFA♭) in Bach's Prelude no. 1
Borrowed chord (viio

in C Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I,

BWV 846, mm.13-15.[7] Play (help·info)

4
Borrowed chord (viio3 = G♯BDF♮) in Mozart's Piano
Sonata No. 18, K. 576, II: Adagio, mm.13-16.[7]
Play (help·info)
Diminished supertonic triad (iio) D–F–A♭
Half-diminished supertonic D–F–
seventh (iiø7) A♭–C
E♭–G–
"Flat three" (♭III)
B♭
Minor subdominant (iv) F–A♭–C
A♭–C–
"Flat six" (♭VI)
E♭
Fully diminished leading-tone B–D–
seventh (viio7) F–A♭

The first five chords occur in the natural,

harmonic, and descending melodic
minor scales. The first and second
chords are Aeolian. The third chord
occurs in Dorian, Phrygian, and Aeolian
 modes. The fourth and fifth chords
occur in Phrygian, Aeolian, and Locrian.
The fully diminished leading-tone
seventh chord is derived from the
harmonic minor scale.

The following three chords are also found

in Romantic era, albeit rarely:
Minor subdominant seventh
F–A♭–C–E♭
(iv♭7)
Subdominant flat seventh
F–A–C–E♭
(IV♭7)
G–B–D–F–
Dominant flat ninth (V♭9)
A♭

Natural, harmonic, and descending

melodic minor. Occurs in Phrygian,
Aeolian, and Locrian.
The Subdominant flat seventh, which
contains an A♮, is borrowed from the
parallel ascending melodic minor scale.
Occurs in Dorian.
Harmonic minor ninth chord.
If the root of the borrowed chord is not in
the original key, then the chord is named
by the accidental. For instance, in a major
key, a chord built on the parallel minor's
sixth degree is a "flat six chord" written ♭VI.

I–♭VII–♭VI–♭VII[2] in C Play (help·info).

Chord progressions may be constructed

with borrowed chords, including two
progressions common in rock music, I–
♭VII–♭VI–♭VII, common everywhere, and I–
♭VI–IV ( Play (help·info)), used a lot by
bands including Genesis, Yes and
Nirvana.[2] ♭VII is from Mixolydian and ♭VI
is found in both Aeolian and Phrygian.[2]
The ♭VII-I cadence with ♭VII substituting for
V is common, as well as ♭II–I, ♭III–I, and
♭VI–I.[8] In popular music, the major triad
on the lowered third scale degree (♭III), the
major triad on the lowered sixth scale
degree (♭VI) and the major triad on the
lowered seventh scale degree, or "flat
seven" (♭VII) are common. In C major,
these chords are E♭, A♭, and B♭
respectively.

A common borrowed chord from a parallel

major key is the Picardy third.
"Backdoor progression ii–V" in C: ii–♭VII7–I
Play (help·info). ♭VII7 is borrowed from the parallel
minor rather than Mixolydian as ♭VII may be.

In major the typical chords borrowed from

minor are iv, ♭VI, ♭VII, and in jazz, the iio.[9]
The ♭VII is also known as the subtonic. The
lowered-sixth occurs in many of the
chords borrowed from minor and is a,
"distinctive characteristic," of borrowed
chords.[3] Borrowed chords have typical
inversions or common positions, for
 6
example iio6 and ø
ii ,
5 and progress in the
same manner as the diatonic chords they
replace except for ♭VI, which progresses to
V(7).[3]

See also
Aeolian harmony
Diatonic function
Harmonic major

Sources
1. White, William Alfred (1911). Harmonic
Part-writing , p.45. Silver, Burdett, & Co.
[ISBN unspecified].
2. Romeo, Sheila (1999). Complete Rock
Keyboard Method: Mastering Rock
Keyboard, p.42. ISBN 0-88284-982-4.
Bouchard, Joe and Romeo, Sheila (2007).
The Total Rock Keyboardist, p.120. Alfred
Music. ISBN 9780739043127.
3. Benward & Saker (2009), p.71.
4. White (1911), p.42.
5. Sorce, Richard (1995). Music Theory for
the Music Professional, p.332. Scarecrow
Press. ISBN 9781461664208.
6. Benward & Saker (2009), p.74.
7. Benward & Saker (2009). Music in Theory
and Practice, Vol II, p.75. 8th edition.
McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-310188-0.
8. Romeo (1999), p.43.
9. Schonbrun, Marc (2006). The Everything
Music Theory Book, p.138. ISBN 1-59337-
652-9.

External links
"Modal Interchange in La Fille aux
Cheveux de lin by Claude Debussy" on
YouTube
"Modal Interchange in Pop Songs" on
YouTube
"Mode Mixture" , Robert J. Frank (2000),
Theory on the Web.
"Modal Interchange Examples in the
Music of Stevie Wonder" part 2 on
 YouTube and part 1 on YouTube
"Glossary: Terms Used in Writing Skills" ,
Berklee.
Mike Campese. Guest Column: "Modal
Interchange" , Guitar Nine Records.
"Altered Chords in Jazz: Modal
Interchange 0 –Altered Chords" , Taming
the Saxophone.

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