Here is the reduced Circle of Fifths showing the chords of F major (our key) and F minor (the parallel minor key).
Challenge 3.
Can you complete the chord chart using Roman numerals?
Here is the progression fully completed with the borrowed chords emboldened and all Roman numerals added.
How was that?
A fairly simple, routine exercise now that a greater depth of understanding has been gained?
Was it a mental workout or did you pick up your guitar and try to play along, to work out the chords by ear?
Comments?
Once again, here is the full range of files for this example. There is only one of each as we started out using borrowed chords, we did not create a diatonic progression and then substitute / swap.
Wait a moment – we may be thinking to ourselves. That is all well and good. But everything we have seen has been built around major key progressions borrowing a chord (or two) from a parallel minor key. What if the actual progressions itself is in a minor key? After all – some of us are drawn to the minor key like galactic matter is drawn to a black hole.
Well.
It’s simples.
If a progression is in a minor key, chords can be borrowed from the parallel major key. On the Circle of Fifths, rather than looking anticlockwise for an adjacent cluster of six chords, we look clockwise and find the root note of the parallel major on the outer wheel.
One small note.
In general, it is generally commented that placing borrowed chords in to a minor key is perhaps a bit less common than the other way round. And of the six (seven if we do include diminished) potential chords to borrow from a parallel major, there are some which do get used more often.
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We will look at two examples.
In the first we will again revert to the technique of starting with a diatonic progression and replacing one or more chords with something borrowed. This will use the time-honoured device of borrowing a major V from a parallel major key to provide a strong resolution to the tonic.
This is very, very, very, very, very common in minor key progressions.
Very, very, very common.
So common that it barely stands out as something that is actually non-diatonic.
Then, later on, a further example, will be a progression written from the outset with borrowed chords within its fundamental structure. One in which we are introduced to a concept with its own name. We meet a resolution with a Picardy third.
Sounds nice - can’t wait!
Example 9. A progression in the key of B minor.
We start with a wholly diatonic progression, mostly two chords per bar until the end, where we have a minor v resolving to the tonic.
Thoughts?
From our Circle of Fifths we can look to the relative major key of B major and choose something to borrow.
Keeping it simple, we will use the F# major, playing it as a dominant 7th (F#7).
Just one borrowed one, one difference. Let’s hear how it changes things.
Do you feel that propulsion from the V7 chord back to the tonic i chord both in starting the next round of the progression and in ending the overall progression?
Do you sense the strength of that resolution?
Now that you are aware of it - if you were not already - I am sure you will stumble in to it many times as you learn songs.
As ever, here is the full collection of resources.
You know what to do!
Have at it.
Do something creative for your own fun and explorations.
We round off our batch of examples with another progression in a minor key.
This time, as with example 8, we have a progression that is built from the ground up to include borrowed chords. This is no diatonic progression followed by some swapping around. This has been composed by considering the whole palette of chords from the minor key itself and those from the parallel major key.
Example 10. A progression in the key of E minor.
This progression is:
The ambiguous nature of sus4 chords means that even it could be thought of as borrowed given that it leads directly to one that is borrowed.
But, it is ambiguous, not major nor minor, so it is considered as diatonic here.
If we took the alternative view and viewed the sus chord as an alteration of the E major, therefore borrwed, we would write the chord progression like this:
Whichever way it is viewed … holy macaroni. That’s a lot of borrowed chords.
Crikey.
Were you expecting that much seasoning in your soup?
And … wait a moment … what on earth is the story with that E major chord. We’re in the key of E minor and there’s a major chord built on the tonic note! Huh?
Well, some questions and confusion but perhaps the best thing to do is to taste it and see how we like the flavour and texture.
Listen here:
Ah, for me it tastes savoury, and spicy, and sweet, and bitter, and warm.
For me it has a little je ne sais quo, and a little exoticism, and a little homely familiarity.
For me it is wrought, and emotional, and dark, and bright.
For me it is a contrary, shifting, will-o-the-wisp kind of a thing.
And for you?
Let’s dive in deep and devour.
The progression is in the key of E minor. We make liberal use of the parallel E major chords. Let’s view those on the Circle of Fifths.
The tonic E minor and the D major snuggle nicely together within the diatonic cluster. The A major and B major are sitting there ripe for the picking on the outer wheel of the parallel major.
As previously alluded to, the Esus4 can simply be taken as a suspension of the tonic chord E minor.
BUT
BUT
BUT
The progression closes out with E major.
E major for goodness sake.
We were in the key of E minor.
What the heck is that imposter doing muscling in on the action?
Not just muscling in but actually stealing the limelight by closing the show with its own finale.
Blooming heck eh!
Mmh, well, yeah. A weird one isn’t it.
Before exploring the strangeness of a major chord built on the tonic note of a minor key, let us listen to the progression once again, but this time with the closing chord being the true tonic, finishing on an actual E minor chord.
The progression would sound like this:
Blech.
Yeuch.
I’m gagging on my soup.
Help!
Cough, splutter, choke, choke, blargh!
That tastes vile.
Oh my god … water … get me a glass of water … quick!
Have you ever had that experience? Eaten something tasty, some delicious meal or a crisp apple or a rich, moist slice of cake etc? Only for the last mouthful to contain some gristly meat, or a soft bruise or a mouldy currant? The entire pleasure of eating is stolen from you and the nasty taste has ruined the memory of what came before?
That is how I react to the ending when it is the tonic E minor chord.
It just tastes rotten.
Okay, I may be exaggerating somewhat to make a point.
But do you grasp some truth in it?
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Now compare, one after the other, the ‘diatonic’ ending and the ‘non-diatonic’ ending.
The E minor vs the E major.
What do you make of the two?
I dare to suggest that most will prefer the E major ending.
And we now must delve further. For taking a progression in a minor key and closing it on the major of the tonic note has a name. It is a phenomenon that has been observed, discussed, analysed and classified for centuries. It is known as a Picardy third or Picardy cadence.
The origins of the use of the word Picardy are obscure and unknown. What is known is that the phrase was first used by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 18th century. The use of this device dates back centuries earlier, especially in church music.
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and many other such notables employed it frequently.
So, we are in good company.
The Picardy third basically takes the minor triad of the tonic chord and alters the 3rd to become a major triad. In the closing bar of a piece of music. Or in the closing bar of a section within a larger piece of music.
In our progression the minor triad is:
E minor = E, G, B = 1, b3, 5
The minor 3rd (b3) is raised a semitone to become a major 3rd.
E major = E, G#, B = 1, 3, 5
And that, in a nutshell, or, more fittingly, in a soup-spoon, is the Picardy third, the Picardy cadence.
Take a minor key progression, give it an of uplifting end of satisfying delight by finishing on the tonic major chord
The I … not the i.
Okay folks. It’s time to get cooking.
Select some goodies from the shelves … base your choice around a minor chord on the inner wheel and its clustered family of diatonic chords.
Mix them up in quantities to suit your taste buds.
Add a dash or two of seasoning from the adjacent parallel major.
Remember, look immediately clockwise where the major tonic chord sits on the outer wheel.
Bring to the boil, then simmer for several minutes.
When ready, ladle a healthy portion into the a large bowl and sprinkle a finishing garnish of major I on top.
Wine is optional!
Enjoy.
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Good stuff, Richard. The more you start paying attention to borrowed chords, the more you notice they are indeed all over the place. Moreover, purely diatonic progressions can sound a bit dull when there’s nothing else to bring excitement, like lyrically or rhythmically.
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Thanks for following along Jeff. They are indeed everywhere. And I have offered what is really a simplified and slimmed down version of the topic. I have not gone into the full aspect of ‘modal mixture’. Nor have I raised other related concepts such as secondary dominant chords etc. And I have not yet gone near to the use of borrowed chords as pathways to key changes.
Nice work Richard. Can I ask with multiple borrowed chords, would the melody/ vocal tend to drift out of key into the tones of the borrowed chords or would it be more usual to stay within the scale?