Borrowed Chords and Modal Interchange Explained for Producers

What is a borrowed chord?

A borrowed chord is a chord from the parallel key used inside your current key. Wikipedia defines it as a chord borrowed from the parallel key, the minor or major scale with the same tonic, and calls these color chords.^[1]

The key word is parallel. C major and C minor share the tonic C, so they are parallel keys; C major and A minor share all their notes, so they are relative keys. Borrowing only works between parallel keys, because the whole point is to bring in notes your key does not have. If the difference is fuzzy, read relative vs parallel keys explained first.

You will see three names for the same idea. Modal mixture is the classical term; Open Music Theory defines it as borrowing notes from the parallel key.^[2] Modal interchange is the jazz and pop term, and it is often stretched to include borrowing from other modes such as Dorian or Mixolydian. Borrowed chord is the plain-English version.

Which chords can you borrow from the parallel minor?

In a major key the most common borrowed chords are iv, bVI, bVII, bIII and ii°, all taken from the parallel minor.^[1] Each one introduces at least one of three lowered notes: the flat 3rd, flat 6th or flat 7th.^[2]

A useful shortcut: every chord in the table contains Ab, Bb or Eb. If you know which of those notes you want, you know which chords to try. The circle of fifths shows why these three flats belong to C minor in the first place.

Why do borrowed chords sound so emotional?

Borrowed chords sound emotional because they swap one expected note for a note a semitone lower, and the ear notices that shading instantly. The major-key context stays, so the listener hears a familiar place with the light changed.

The minor iv is the clearest case. In C major, F major contains A. Fm replaces it with Ab, so a progression of C, F, Fm, C lets a single voice fall A, Ab, G by semitones. Wikipedia notes that this minor plagal cadence, iv to I, is often considered to evoke a nostalgic or bittersweet sound.^[3]

The major borrowed chords work differently. bVI and bVII are major triads built on roots that do not exist in the major scale, so they sound bright and heavy at the same time. That is why they show up at big moments: builds, final choruses, film cues.

Borrowing versus changing key

One borrowed chord does not change the key. The tonic stays C, the melody still resolves to C, and the next chord usually returns to the home scale. If the new notes stay long enough to establish a new tonic, you have modulated instead; that is covered in how to change key in a song.

Well-known uses of borrowed chords

Borrowed chords are everywhere once you listen for them, from 1990s alternative rock to video-game jingles. These examples are documented in sources you can check, and each one uses a different borrowed chord.

• Radiohead, "Creep" (1992) The song repeats G, B, C, Cm throughout.^[4] In G major, the final Cm is the borrowed iv, and its Eb is the note that makes the loop ache.
• The aeolian cadence, bVI-bVII-I Open Music Theory defines the aeolian cadence as bVI-bVII-i and notes it frequently ends on a major tonic, Ab-Bb-C. It cites the Fellowship theme from The Lord of the Rings as concluding phrases this way.^[5]
• The Mario cadence A seventh-chord version, bVImaj7 to bVII7 to I, named after the end-of-level music in Super Mario Bros.^[6]
• The backdoor progression iv7 to bVII7 to I, or Fm7, Bb7, C in C major. Wikipedia describes the Bb7 as borrowed from the parallel minor, giving an alternative route home instead of G7 to C.^[6]
• The subtonic shuttle, I-bVII Open Music Theory points to Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" (2011) and the Kinks' "Tired of Waiting for You" (1965), both rocking between I and bVII.^[5] The same source notes that bVII often acts as a substitute for V.

How to add a borrowed chord to a loop, step by step

Start with a plain major loop, swap one chord for its borrowed version, and fix the melody note that now clashes. The example below uses C major at any tempo, one chord per bar.

1. Write a four-bar major loop
   C, Am, F, G is fine. Voice it in the middle of the keyboard: C4 E4 G4, C4 E4 A4, C4 F4 A4, B3 D4 G4.
2. Double the F bar
   Change the loop to C, Am, F, Fm. Keep C4 and F4 in place and move only A4 down a semitone to Ab4 for the Fm bar.
3. Resolve by step
   Return to C with Ab4 falling to G4. The top line is now A, Ab, G across the last bar and the downbeat, which is the sound of a minor plagal cadence.
4. Try the heroic version
   On a second pass, replace Am and G with Ab and Bb: C, Ab, F, Bb. Put the borrowed roots in the bass so the listener hears the shift clearly.
5. Fix clashing notes
   Solo your melody and look for A, E or B sitting over the borrowed chords. Lower them to Ab, Eb or Bb, or move them to a shared chord tone.
6. Save it for a moment
   Keep the plain loop for the verse and use the borrowed version in the pre-chorus or the last hook. Contrast is what makes the borrowed chord land.

Your DAW's scale highlighting will mark Ab, Eb and Bb as out of key while you do this. That is expected: borrowed notes are, by definition, outside the major scale, so leave the scale lock off for those bars. For more loop templates to borrow into, see chord progressions for producers.

Borrowed chords in trap, R&B and house

Borrowing works in both directions. Major-key genres borrow from minor for depth; minor-key genres such as trap and drill borrow from major, or from other modes, for a lift.

The double plagal row comes from Open Music Theory's modal schemas chapter.^[5] The trap row uses the Picardy third, which Wikipedia lists as the common borrowed chord in the minor mode.^[1] For R&B voicings of the backdoor move, pair this with how to make R&B soul beats.

Common mistakes with modal interchange

Most borrowed-chord problems come from forgetting that the borrowed note changes the melody and bass too, not only the chord. These are the ones to check first.

• Melody still uses the major note An A in the lead over Fm clashes with the chord's Ab. Change the melody note for that bar, or the borrowed chord will sound like a wrong note.
• Borrowing so much the key disappears Three or four borrowed chords in a row stop sounding borrowed and start sounding like C minor. Keep one or two per phrase if you want the major key to survive.
• Borrowing notes you already have In C minor, Ab and Bb are already in the key, so bVI and bVII are not borrowed there. In minor keys, borrow from major instead.
• Samples that disagree A major-key sample playing A over your Fm will rub. Filter or chop the sample for that bar, or pitch the chop to a note that fits both.