Borrowed chord

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 ♭VI (or bVI if the flat is not available in the font). Borrowed chords are an example of mode mixture.

Related Topics:
Chord - Parallel key - Root - Accidental - Major - Mode mixture

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In the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras, six chords borrowed from the parallel minor key are most commonly found (shown here in C major):

Related Topics:
Baroque - Classical - Romantic

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• Diminished Supertonic Triad (ii°): D, F, A flat
• Half-Diminished Supertonic Seventh (ii^Ø7): D, F, A flat, C
• Major Triad on the Lowered Third Scale Degree, or "Flat Three" (♭III): E flat, G, B flat
• Minor Subdominant (iv): F, A flat, C
• Major Triad on the Lowered Sixth Scale Degree, or "Flat Six" (♭VI): A flat, C, E flat
• Fully Diminished Leading-Tone Seventh (vii°⁷): B, D, F, A flat

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

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• Minor Subdominant Seventh (iv^♭7): F, A flat, C, E flat
• Major-Minor Subdominant Seventh (IV^♭7): F, A, C, E flat
• Minor Dominant Ninth (V^♭9): 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.

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Borrowing from a parallel major key 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.

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