A borrowed chord (also called mode mixture,[1]modal mixture,[2]substituted chord,[3]modal interchange,[1] or mutation[4]) 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.[2] Chords may also be borrowed from other parallel modes besides the major and minor mode, for example D Dorian with D major.[1] The mixing of the major and minor modes developed in the Baroque period.[5]
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[3] and may be distinguished from secondary chords[6] as well as altered chords.[1] According to Sheila Romeo, "[t]he borrowed chord suggests the sound of its own mode without actually switching to that mode."[1]
Sheila Romeo explains that "[i]n 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."[1]
In the minor mode, a common borrowed chord from the parallel major key is the Picardy third.
In the major mode, the most common examples of borrowed chords are those involving the ♭, also known as the lowered sixth scale degree. These chords are shown below, in the key of C major.[8]
viio7: B–D–F–A♭
iio: D–F–A♭
iiø7: D–F–A♭–C
iv: F–A♭–C
The next most common involve the ♭ and ♭. These chords are shown below.[9]
Borrowed chords have typical inversions or common positions, for example iio6 and iiø6 5, and progress in the same manner as the diatonic chords they replace except for ♭VI, which progresses to V(7).[2]
See also
Aeolian harmony– Musical modePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Diatonic function– Musical termPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Harmonic major– Musical scalePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
Romeo, Sheila (1999). Complete Rock Keyboard Method: Mastering Rock Keyboard, p. 42. ISBN0-88284-982-4. Bouchard, Joe and Romeo, Sheila (2007). The Total Rock Keyboardist, p. 120. Alfred Music. ISBN9780739043127.
Cooper, Paul (1975). Perspectives in Music Theory, p. 216. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company. ISBN0-396-06752-2. Original with Roman numeral analysis only.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Borrowed_chord, and is written by contributors.
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