Borrowed Chords Explained: Give Your Loop More Emotion

You have a four-chord loop in a major key. It works, but it sounds a little too clean, a little too "nursery rhyme". One chord change is often all it takes to give it some emotion: a borrowed chord.

Borrowed chords are one of the easiest bits of music theory to actually use in a beat. Below you will learn what they are, which ones to try first and how to drop them into FL Studio, Logic Pro or Ableton in a few minutes.

What is a borrowed chord?

A borrowed chord is a chord you take from the parallel key: the key with the same root note but the opposite mode. C major and C minor are parallel keys. So are A minor and A major.

When you are in C major and suddenly play a chord that belongs to C minor, you have borrowed it. You do not change key. The loop still feels like C major, it just gets a flash of minor color. That is also why you will see three names for the same idea: borrowed chords, modal mixture and modal interchange.

Not sure what parallel keys are or how major and minor differ? Read major vs minor explained first. It takes two minutes.

The chords in C major and C minor side by side

Write out the chords of both keys and you can see exactly what you can borrow. Lowercase Roman numerals are minor chords, uppercase are major, and ° means diminished.

• C major: C (I), Dm (ii), Em (iii), F (IV), G (V), Am (vi), B° (vii°)
• C minor: Cm (i), D° (ii°), E♭ (♭III), Fm (iv), Gm (v), A♭ (♭VI), B♭ (♭VII)

Every chord in the second line that is not in the first is a candidate. In practice producers mostly reach for four of them. Want these chords in any other key? Use the chords by key chart.

4 borrowed chords to try first (in a major key)

1. The minor iv (Fm in C major)

Swap the normal IV chord (F major) for F minor. Only one note changes: A becomes A♭. The result is that bittersweet, nostalgic sound you hear in a lot of ballads and R&B. Going from the minor iv straight back to I (Fm to C) is a classic way to end a section softly.

Try: C → Am → F → Fm

2. The ♭VI (A♭ in C major)

According to Wikipedia's overview of borrowed chords, ♭VI is the most common borrowed chord in a major key. It sounds big and a little dramatic, great for the last bar before a hook. It often moves on to V (G) or straight back home to I.

Try: C → G → A♭ → G

3. The ♭VII (B♭ in C major)

♭VII is the rock and pop favorite. It also exists in the Mixolydian mode, which is why it sounds bright and open instead of sad. You can use it instead of V to lead back to I, which feels less "resolved" and more laid back.

Try: C → B♭ → F → C

4. The ♭III (E♭ in C major)

♭III is the boldest of the four. It pulls the listener out of the key for a moment, which works well in a pre-chorus or a bridge. Use it once, not in every bar.

Try: C → E♭ → F → C

Bonus: chords that work well together

Borrowed chords sound even better combined. Two moves to try in C major:

• ♭VI → ♭VII → I (A♭ → B♭ → C): a triumphant, lift-off ending.
• I → ♭VII → ♭VI → ♭VII (C → B♭ → A♭ → B♭): a loop that Wikipedia lists as common in rock. Slow it down and it fits melodic rap just as well.

Borrowing in a minor key

It works the other way around too. In a minor key you can borrow from the parallel major.

• Major IV (D in A minor). Swap D minor for D major and the loop gets a warmer, hopeful lift. This is the same chord you get from the Dorian mode. More on that in music modes explained.
• Major I at the end (A major in A minor). Ending a minor-key piece on a major tonic chord is called a Picardy third. It sounds like light at the end of a dark tunnel. Use it at the very end of a beat or outro.

How to add a borrowed chord to your beat (step by step)

1. Find the key of your beat. Do not know it? Drop the file into our free BPM and key finder and you get an estimate in seconds.
2. Get a base progression. Open the free chord progression generator, choose major, pick your key and click until you hear a loop you like. Download the MIDI. You get two tracks: the chords and a bass line on the root notes.
3. Pick one chord to replace. The last chord of the loop is usually the best spot, because a surprise right before the loop restarts keeps things moving.
4. Lower the right notes in your piano roll. For the minor iv in C, move the A down to A♭. For ♭VI, ♭VII or ♭III, move the whole chord down to the new root (A♭, B♭ or E♭) and play a major chord there.
5. Fix the bass and 808. If the root of the chord changes, your bass line and 808 have to follow. A bass note that still plays A under an A♭ chord will clash hard.
6. Check the melody and vocal. Notes in your melody, or in the hook a singer already wrote, can clash with the borrowed chord. Usually you only need to lower the same note there as well (A to A♭, for example).

Common mistakes

• Borrowing too much. If half of your chords come from the minor key, you are not borrowing anymore, you are just in minor. One borrowed chord per loop is often enough.
• Forgetting the 808. The chords change but the 808 stays on the old note. This is the number one reason a borrowed chord "sounds wrong".
• Autotune set to the wrong scale. If a vocal runs through pitch correction set to C major, a note like A♭ will get pulled to a different pitch. Set the scale to chromatic or adjust the notes for that bar.

FAQ

Is a borrowed chord the same as a key change?

No. A borrowed chord is a short visit. The home key stays the same. With a key change (modulation) the music settles into a new home key.

What is the difference between modal interchange and modal mixture?

For producers there is no practical difference. Both terms describe taking chords from a parallel key or mode. Jazz musicians tend to say modal interchange, classical theory books often say modal mixture.

Which borrowed chord sounds the saddest?

Many people hear the minor iv as the most emotional, because it is the smallest change with the biggest mood shift. For more ideas, check our sad chord progressions.

Can I borrow from other modes too?

Yes. You can borrow from any parallel mode, like Dorian or Mixolydian. The ♭VII from Mixolydian is the best-known example.

Ready to try it? Generate a loop in the chord progression generator, swap one chord and hear the difference. Rather write over something that is already finished? Browse our beats.