Borrowed chord

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A borrowed chord is a chord borrowed from the parallel key. If the root of the borrowed chord is not in the original key, then they are named by the accidental. For instance, in major, a chord borrowed from the parallel minor's sixth degree is a "flat six chord" written \flatVI. Borrowed chords are an example of mode mixture.

Six chords borrowed from the parallel minor key are commonly found in the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras.

The Major Triad on the Lowered Third Scale Degree(\flatIII),The Major Triad on the Lowered Sixth Scale Degree(\flatVI) and The Major Triad on the lowered Seventh Scale Degree(\flatVII) are common in many types of Rock music.(\flatVII) is also common in pop music.

(shown here in C major):

Image:Borrowed_chords_1b.gif

  • Diminished Supertonic Triad (ii°): D, F, A flat
  • Half-Diminished Supertonic Seventh (iiØ7): D, F, A flat, C
  • Major Triad on the Lowered Third Scale Degree, or "Flat Three" (\flatIII): E flat, G, B flat
  • Minor Subdominant (iv): F, A flat, C
  • Major Triad on the Lowered Sixth Scale Degree, or "Flat Six" (\flatVI): A flat, C, E flat
  • Fully Diminished Leading-Tone Seventh (vii°7): B, D, F, A flat
  • Major Triad on the lowered Seventh Scale Degree,or "Flat Seventh" (\flatVII): B flat, D, F

The following three chords are also found in Romantic era, albeit rarely:

Image:Borrowed_chords_2.gif

  • Minor Subdominant Seventh (iv\flat7): F, A flat, C, E flat
  • Major-Minor Subdominant Seventh (IV\flat7): F, A, C, E flat
  • Dominant Flat Ninth (V\flat9): G, B, D, F, A flat

The Major-Minor Subdominant Seventh, which contains an A natural, is borrowed from the parallel ascending melodic minor scale.

Borrowing from a parallel major key is a common feature of grunge music,and can be occasionally be found in other styles of post-grunge Rock.Otherwise it is generally limited in western music to ending a minor piece on a major tonic triad, a chord which is then called a Picardy third, and use of the Major Dominant chord (in C minor: G, B, D). However, the latter of these could also be viewed as use of the Harmonic Minor scale.

Chords

By Type Triads Major · Minor · Augmented · Diminished

Sevenths Major · Minor · Dominant · Diminished · Half-diminished · Minor-Major · Augmented major · Augmented minor

Extended Ninth · Eleventh · Thirteenth

Other Sixth · Augmented sixth · Altered · Added tone · Polychord · Quartal and quintal · Tone cluster

By Function Diatonic Tonic · Dominant · Subdominant · Submediant

Altered Borrowed · Neapolitan chord · Secondary dominant · Secondary subdominant