So, why can we borrow from minor but not from major? We've mentioned many times how it's
much more effective to borrow from minor but not for major. But is it even true? and if so,
why? Borrowing from other modes is a very effective way to add interesting colors to your song...
So, why is it that borrowing from minor is so effective but borrowing from major
isn't? or is it? "If you're new to mDecks Music, we create music books
and apps, piano arrangements, and we discuss: improvisation, songwriting
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and join us for exclusive access to our ever expanding library of music resources." It's all
about tension and release! Every note in a chord has a favorite target note that lives in the
target chord. For example: in a perfect authentic cadence, the leading tone in a V7 chord wants
to resolve to the tonic of a one chord. The B in a G7, wants to resolve to the C in a C chord.
And the F in that same G7 chord, wants to go to the E
in the C chord or, in the case of C minor, the F would be drawn to the Eb.
More importantly, the 9th of the G7, wants to resolve to the 5th of C ("A" moving to "G")
And in a G7b9 - Cm, the Ab would go to a G. So we have these two different 9ths
from two different V chords. An A and an Ab, and the cool thing is that, when you're
listening to a piece of music in C major, this A is a constant presence across the progression.
This is a consequence of the key that we're in. In other words, whether it's explicit or
not, whether it's present in our chord or our melody, the presence of this pitch
is constantly felt. There's an A in the Dm chord. There's an A in the F chord.
There's an A in the C major scale, and there's an A in every primary chord scale of the key.
This is why your brain will fabricate the A in places where it doesn't even
"exist". The pitch is intrinsic to the key.
So, when we borrow the V chord from minor, this ever present A, briefly turns into an Ab.
This means we're kind of introducing a passing tone that connects the A with the G - of our target.
The main problem with borrowing from major, is the movement that it creates,
as it relates to these ninths. It moves us away from our target. Remember, when we're in minor
our constant, is the Ab, and when we borrow from major, we introduce the A natural.
This creates a very wonky and unfamiliar sort of sound. This movement is really jarring to
the ear, and it just doesn't sound good. The Ab in G7b9, that wants to go to G,
is now moving away when we use an A from the major key. And that completely destroys its purpose.
The same goes for the 13th. The E in G7, wants
to stay there, or maybe even move to the D - the 9th in C major.
When we use an Eb (a b13) from the minor mode, we're turning the original E into an Eb,
making this note closer to its target, the D.
But if we're in C minor, when we replace the Eb with an E, from the major mode,
we are once again moving away from the target (D)
And the same happens to the IV chord and the ii chord. The A in F (or Dm) wants to go to G
in C major, or minor. So a iv in C major sounds beautiful.
And the same goes for a iim7, when we turn it into a Dm7b5.
But if we borrow the IV or the ii from major, while
in minor, we get something that goes against tonality.
So, is it possible to borrow from major? Are there any exceptions to this rule?
Well, what happens when we use a picardy third at the end of a song?
...and that sounds awesome right? Ending a minor song on a major one chord is really effective.
Bach used this technique all the time. But let me ask you something: Is this borrowing from major on
the last chord of the song? or does the last chord reveal to us that we were borrowing from minor
the entire time without ever realizing it? Go ahead and let us know what you think
in the comments down below. As always we're going to offer some supplementary material
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