Chords & Harmony

Borrowed Chord (Modal Mixture)

Definition

A borrowed chord is a chord taken from the parallel key, usually from minor into major, such as F minor (iv) or A♭ major (♭VI) in C major. The home note stays the same, but the color darkens.

A borrowed chord is a chord taken from the parallel key, the key with the same tonic but the opposite mode. Most often a piece in a major key borrows from its parallel minor: a song in C major uses a chord from C minor, such as F minor or A♭ major. The home note stays the same, but for a moment the color turns darker. The technique is also called modal mixture or mode mixture; jazz and pop musicians often say modal interchange.

The common borrowed chords

From C minor into C major, the favorites are:

iv (F minor, F–A♭–C), often right after IV, so that A slides through A♭ to G.
♭VI (A♭ major, A♭–C–E♭).
♭VII (B♭ major, B♭–D–F).
♭III (E♭ major, E♭–G–B♭).
ii° and iiø7 (D–F–A♭ and D–F–A♭–C), darker versions of ii.
vii°7 (B–D–F–A♭), the fully diminished seventh on the leading tone.

All of them use the minor key's lowered notes: most often ♭6 (A♭), and also ♭3 (E♭) and ♭7 (B♭).

Grand staff in 4/4, two bars of half-note chords. Right hand: E4 G4 C5; F4 A4 C5; F4 A-flat4 C5; E4 G4 C5. Left hand: C3, F2, F2, C3. Chord symbols C, F, Fm, C; Roman numerals I, IV, iv, I. — C – F – Fm – C. The F minor chord comes from C minor; its A♭ lets the inner line slide A, A♭, G by half steps.

Why composers borrow

Mixture adds emotional color without leaving the key. A single minor iv can make a major-key ending sound bittersweet. Romantic composers, Schubert among them, loved to shift between major and minor on the same tonic, and film and pop music use mixture constantly.

♭VI – ♭VII – I

One borrowed progression is especially familiar from rock, film and video-game music: ♭VI – ♭VII – I, or A♭ – B♭ – C in C major. It reaches the tonic from a whole step below with a major chord instead of the dominant, a bright, heroic way to end.

Grand staff in 4/4, two bars of half-note chords. Right hand: E4 G4 C5; E-flat4 A-flat4 C5; D4 F4 B-flat4; C4 E4 G4. Left hand: C3, A-flat2, B-flat2, C3. Chord symbols C, A-flat, B-flat, C; Roman numerals I, flat VI, flat VII, I. — C – A♭ – B♭ – C. A♭ and B♭ major both come from C minor, and the progression reaches C from a whole step below instead of from the dominant.

Reading the symbols

In Roman numerals, a flat in front of the numeral lowers the root: ♭VI is a major chord on A♭ in C major. Chord symbols simply name the chords (Fm, A♭, B♭), and the accidentals in the music show that they come from outside the key.

Practice with Borrowed chords and Label the chromatic chords. Parallel vs Relative Minor explains which minor key the chords come from.

Common questions

What is the difference between a borrowed chord and a secondary dominant?

A borrowed chord comes from the parallel key (C minor chords in C major) and darkens the color. A secondary dominant is a dominant chord aimed at another chord of the key (D7 leading to G), usually with a raised note.

What is modal interchange?

Another name for borrowing chords, used mostly in jazz and pop. It can include chords from other modes on the same tonic, such as Dorian or Mixolydian, as well as from the parallel minor.