Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize the theory and practice of “Borrowed Chords“… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…
Table of Contents
Prerequisites
Basic music reading… LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.
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The Concept of Borrowed Chords
One way to expand the harmonic possibilities of a chord progression beyond using just the diatonic triads of the prevailing scale is to “borrow” chords from a parallel scale (a parallel scale is any scale type that shares the same key center). This will be applied the keys of C Major and C Minor below…
Borrowed Chords in the Keys of C Major & C Minor
If, for example, you are playing in the key of C Major, you might “borrow” the equivalent chords from the key of C Minor and vice versa.
Notice that the borrowed chords always come in pairs that share the same letter names and serves a similar harmonic functions, but have different qualities (major, minor, diminished).
While it is theoretically possible to borrow any chord from any parallel key, only a small number are in common usage. Please let Frank know if you would like to see some of these commonly used “borrowings”. Don’t sweat the details right now. For the moment, it is enough to understand the notion of borrowing.
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learn more… Chords & Chord Progressions
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I shall try them tomorrow ..some of them .
I love your experimental attitude, Paula! Try them out and see which ones speak to you… and which ones you recognize from music you’ve heard before!
oh yea….sounded great! ..back to studying note and key recognition with the aid of your flashcards.
Yes I would like to hear which borrowed chords are commonly used ( and try some things out myself)
Thanks a bunch for asking, Rolf. Your request has inspired me to create a few well crafted articles with specific examples, but in the meantime I’m happy to share four that come to mind (since I’ve played them all before)…
The final three chords of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” (Elton John) in the key of C Major…
Ab-Bb-C
bVI-bVII-I
C is the I of C Major while the bVI and bVII are “borrowed” from C natural minor.
The final three chords of “Bridge Over Trouble Water” (Simon & Garfunkel) in the key of Eb Major…
Ab-Abm-Eb
IV-iv-I
Eb is the I of Eb Major, Ab is the IV, and Abm is the iv “borrowed” from Eb minor.
The Chorus of “For Your Love” (The Yardbirds) in the key of E Dorian…
Em-G-A-Am
i-bIII-IV-iv
Em is the i in E Dorian, G is the bIII, A is the IV, and Am is the iv “borrowed” from E minor.
Last four bars of the A Section of “The Entertainer” (Scott Joplin) in the key of C Major…
C-C7/Bb-F/A-Fm/Ab-G/C-G7-C
I-I7/b7-IV/3-iv/b3-I/5-V7-I
Fm is the iv “borrowed” from C Minor.
Does that make sense?