Questions: Borrowed Chords and Parallel-Mode Harmony

Question 1

A composer writes a piece firmly in B♭ major and introduces a D♭ major chord. Where does this chord come from, and what scale degree creates the characteristic darkening?

• A. It is borrowed from E♭ major (the subdominant key), introducing a new tonic area
• B. It is borrowed from B♭ minor (the parallel minor), introducing the flatted third scale degree
• C. It signals a modulation to D♭ major for the duration of the phrase
• D. It comes from the B♭ Dorian mode

Answer: (B)

D♭ major is ♭III in B♭ — it comes from B♭ minor (the parallel minor), which has D♭ as its third scale degree. The flatted third (and the flatted sixth carried by this chord) creates the characteristic shadow when heard against a B♭ major context. This is modal borrowing, not modulation: the tonic remains B♭, and the chord functions as a brief color change before returning to diatonic harmony.

Question 2

A progression in G major reads: G – Cm – D – G (I – iv – V – I). What harmonic technique is being used, and what remains true about the key?

• A. This is a brief modulation to G minor — the key changes temporarily
• B. This is modal borrowing: iv (Cm) is borrowed from G minor, but the tonic remains G major throughout
• C. Cm is a pivot chord that begins a modulation to C minor
• D. This progression uses secondary dominants, not borrowed chords

Answer: (B)

The iv chord (Cm) comes from G minor — it contains B♭, the flatted third of G minor — and is borrowed temporarily to darken the progression. Because the outer harmonies are G major (I) and a dominant D returning to G, the key never changes: this is mode mixture, not modulation. Modulation would require establishing the new key with its own cadence; here the Cm resolves straight into D–G without any such establishment.

Question 3

A borrowed chord in a major-key piece generally signals a modulation to the parallel minor.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

This is the central misconception about modal borrowing. A borrowed chord is a temporary color — it reaches into the parallel minor for one chord without establishing that key or abandoning the original tonic. Modulation requires establishing a new tonal center, typically through a cadence in the new key. Borrowing is specifically defined by its lack of modulation: the original tonic is maintained throughout.

Question 4

The flatted sixth scale degree is the characteristic note shared by the most common borrowed chords (iv, ♭VI, ♭VII) from the parallel minor in major-key writing.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

All three of these chords contain the flatted sixth scale degree of the parallel minor. In C major, that means A♭: iv is Fm (F–A♭–C), ♭VI is A♭ major (A♭–C–E♭), and ♭VII is B♭ major (B♭–D–F, but this chord borrows the ♭VII — actually ♭VII borrows the b7, not the b6). Let me refine: iv and ♭VI both contain the b6. The b6 is the most characteristic borrowed pitch — it is the one most foreign to the major key and most responsible for the modal darkening.

Question 5

What is the difference between borrowing a chord from the parallel minor and modulating to the parallel minor? Why does the distinction matter musically?

Model answer: Borrowing uses a chord from the parallel minor as a temporary color while maintaining the original tonic — the borrowed chord is a passing shadow, quickly resolved back to the major-key context. Modulation establishes the parallel minor as a new tonic center, confirmed by a cadence in the new key. The distinction matters because borrowed chords add emotional variety without disrupting the listener's sense of home; modulation actually relocates that home.

The distinction is audible: a borrowed iv that resolves to V–I in the original major key feels like a momentary darkening before brightness returns. A true modulation to the parallel minor establishes a new key that requires a separate return journey. Composers choose borrowing precisely when they want local color without the structural weight of a full key change.