The art of borrowing chords

Here’s a topic I’ve never talked about before.

And it’s powerful.

It’s the idea of “borrowing” chords.

But in order to understand it, let me teach you what the term “parallel key” means.

Parallel major and parallel minor keys basically share the same tonic… or same “home base.”

Get it? The “C” is the same but they are totally different scales… totally different worlds — but they do have the “C” in common.

Sort of like all the other people named “Jermaine” out there (including Jermaine Jackson, Jermaine O’neal, Jermaine Dupri). Just because we have the same name doesn’t mean we’re related or similar… but we do share the name.

Now, of course, parallel keys are little deeper than that but this will hold you for the purposes of this lesson.

So back to “borrowing” chords…

Let’s say you were in the key of C major. The chords most associated with the C major scale are shown below:

1st Tone: C / Chord = C major 7 (C E G B)
2nd Tone: D / Chord = D minor 7 (D F A C)
3rd Tone: E / Chord = E minor 7 (E G B D)
4th Tone: F / Chord = F major 7 (F A C E)
5th Tone: G / Chord = G dominant 7 (G B D F)
6th Tone: A / Chord = A minor 7 (A C E G)
7th Tone: B / Chord = B half diminished (B D F A)

If you don’t know where I got these chords from, you’ll probably want to read this past lesson.

Now, let’s go to the parallel minor, which is _____?????______?

C minor

(To understand where I get the following chords associated with the C minor scale, click here to view this past lesson). But here’s a hint… if you know the key of Eb major, the chords of C minor are the same).

1st Tone: C / Chord = C minor 7 (C Eb G Bb)
2nd Tone: D / Chord = D half diminished 7 (D F Ab C)
3rd Tone: Eb / Chord = Eb major 7 (Eb G Bb D)
4th Tone: F / Chord = F minor 7 (F Ab C Eb)
5th Tone: G / Chord = G minor 7 (G Bb D F)
6th Tone: Ab / Chord = Ab major 7 (Ab C Eb G)
7th Tone: Bb / Chord = Bb dominant 7 (Bb D F Ab)

So the idea of “borrowing” chords is just like it sounds.

It’s when you borrow chords from the parallel major or minor key.

Here’s one of my favorite examples (especially if you like gospel music).

You can play this at the end of “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

It’s basically a “2-5-1″ chord progression.

That is, a chord based on the 2nd tone of the scale going to a chord on the 5th — and finally ending on a chord on the 1st tone of the scale.

Normally, you’d use the chords from the first chart above. The 2nd degree in C major would usually be a “D minor 7″ chord. The 5th degree, a “G dominant 7″ chord, and the 1st degree, a “C major 7″ chord.

But what I’m going to do is borrow a chord from the 2nd tone of the parallel minor key.

So instead of playing a usual “D minor 7″ on the 2nd tone, I’m going to borrow the “D half diminished 7″ chord from C minor.

Check out the results:

Left hand: D /// Right hand: D F Ab C
Left hand: G /// Right hand: E G C
Left hand: G /// Right hand: D G B
Left hand: C /// Right hand: E G C

(This is a simple 2-5-1 chord progression with some suspended action on the “G”).

I personally like to invert the “D half diminished 7″ chord. I think it sounds better. And since I’m inverting it, I have to change the other chords (…I don’t “have” to but it sounds much better and flows more harmoniously):

Left hand: D /// Right hand: Ab C D F
Left hand: G /// Right hand: G C E
Left hand: G /// Right hand: F A D *
Left hand: G /// Right hand: E G C

*I switched the second “G” chord a little bit.

So the moral of this lesson is that you don’t have to play the chords as they’re written in the “textbook.” You can “borrow” chords. You can experiment with chords from other keys. You can alter chords.

Until next time —

Related posts:

1. The secret to playing minor chords quickly
2. Have you learned these harmonic minor seventh chords yet?
3. Who else wants to know the secret behind primary and secondary chords?
4. These melodic minor chords will have you sounding like a pro…
5. Warning: Play these harmonic minor chords at your own risk
6. Don’t be “skerrrrred” of diminished chords
7. Seventh Chords

Tagged as: borrowed chords, borrowing chord, borrowing chords, parallel keys, parallel major, parallel minor