Borrowed chord

A borrowed chord (also called chord borrowing, mode mixture, modal mixture, modal interchange,) 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. Chords may also be borrowed from other parallel modes besides the major and minor mode, for example D Dorian with D major.

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 as well as altered chords.

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."

vii: B–D–F–A
ii: D–F–A
ii: D–F–A–C
iv: F–A–C

|<score sound="1"> {

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble

\time 4/4

<b d f aes>1_\markup { \translate #'(-7.5 . 0) { \concat { \small "C Maj.:" \hspace #1 \normalsize "vii" \raise #1 \small "o7" \hspace #3.5 "ii" \raise #1 \small "o" \hspace #5.5 "ii" \raise #1 \small "ø7" \hspace #5 "iv" } } }

<d f aes> <d f aes c> <f aes c> \bar "||"

} }

</score>

The next most common involve the and . These chords are shown below.

i: C–E–G
VI: A–C–E
iv: F–A–C–E
III: E–G–B
VII: B–D–F