Borrowed chord

A chord taken from the parallel minor or major key and used in a progression where it does not diatonically belong.

Borrowed chords, sometimes called modal interchange, let a writer colour a major key with chords normally found in its minor version, which is where the flattened sixth and flattened seventh chords in rock come from. The effect is immediate and slightly unexpected without being confusing, since the notes are close to the key rather than foreign to it. It is one of the most common devices for making a plain four-chord progression sound less predictable.

Example: Using an F major chord inside a song in the key of C's parallel minor context, or a flattened seventh chord in a major key, is borrowing.

Borrowed chord

See also