Borrowed Chords: The Secret Sauce for Writing More Interesting Progressions

Using borrowed chords: Ever feel like your chord progressions are stuck in a loop? You know the ones—G, C, D, Em. They sound good, they’re comfortable, but after a while, they can start to feel a bit predictable, like you’re walking the same path in your backyard every single day.

What if I told you there’s a secret door in the fence, leading to a wild and wonderful garden next door? In music, that secret door is called a borrowed chord.

Simple Songs with Borrowed Chords

Let’s break it down simply. Most songs we play are in a key, like the key of G major. That key comes with a family of chords that naturally live together—G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em. They’re like your immediate household. But music has a relative for every major key: its parallel minor.

The key of G major has a cousin called G minor. That cousin has its own family of chords. Borrowed chords are simply chords you “borrow” from that parallel minor key and drop into your major key song. You’re inviting your cousin’s cool friend over to your party, and it instantly changes the vibe.

Why does this work so well? Because it mixes bright, happy major-key sounds with the moody, emotional colors of the minor key. It adds surprise, depth, and a feeling of storytelling. You’re not just saying “everything is great”; you’re hinting at a little sadness, a touch of mystery, or a moment of drama.

Listen to any Beatles song, any classic film score, or modern pop hit, and you’ll hear borrowed chords doing the emotional heavy lifting. They’re the reason a song can give you chills.

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Magical Borrowed Chords

So, what are these magical chords? Let’s stick with our key of G major example. In G major, your main chords are G, C, D, Em, Am, and Bm. Now, let’s look at the family of G minor. Some of the chords in G minor are Gm, Cm, D, Eb, F, and Bb. Do you see some strangers in that list? Eb and Bb and F don’t naturally belong to G major. They are foreign, but they are closely related through G’s minor cousin. That makes them perfect candidates for borrowing.

The most common and powerful borrowed chord is probably the flat-six major chord. In G major, that’s an E-flat major chord (Eb). Try this simple progression: G major (I), C major (IV), then E-flat major (bVI), and then back to D major (V). Strum that slowly: G… C… Eb… D. Do you hear it? That Eb chord is a sudden splash of melancholy, a twist in the plot. It feels yearning and epic at the same time. You’ve just borrowed from G minor.

Flat-seven chord

Another superstar is the flat-seven major chord. In G major, that’s an F major chord. Play G to F. It sounds huge and resolved, like a classic rock anthem. Now play C to F in the key of G. It feels like a surprising but satisfying move. The F chord brings a raw, earthy power because it’s borrowed.

Don’t forget the minor-four chord. In G major, your four chord is normally happy C major. Borrow the four chord from G minor, and you get a sad, beautiful C minor. Play G to Cm. It’s instantly soulful. This is a favorite in countless ballads and hip-hop tracks for its emotional punch.

The beauty is, you don’t need a music theory degree to use them. Your ears are the best guide. Start by taking a boring progression you already know. Let’s say you always play G – Em – C – D. Now, experiment. Change that happy C major to a moody C minor. So it’s G – Em – Cm – D. Feel the difference? The whole mood deepens. Or, try G – Bb – C – D. That Bb chord is another borrowed gem (the flat-three major) that sounds bold and heroic.

Chord Resolution

The trick is resolution. Borrowed chords create tension because they are unexpected. The magic happens when you follow them with a chord that feels like “home,” usually the one chord (G) or the five chord (D).

That Eb chord feels so dramatic precisely because it slides so nicely back to D or G. It’s like a movie scene where the hero faces a challenge, then overcomes it.

Don’t overdo it. Using one borrowed chord in a progression is often enough. You’re adding spice, not making a whole new dish. A little goes a very long way. Your song is still in G major, you’ve just colored outside the lines for a second, and it makes everything more interesting.

Conclusion

Start listening for them. The next time a song gives you that “feeling”—a sudden touch of sorrow in a happy song, or a surprising chord that gives you goosebumps—stop and find your guitar.

Try to figure out what chord it is. Chances are, you’ve found a borrowed chord. They are the secret language of emotion in songwriting. So open that secret door. Raid your parallel minor key’s chord collection.

Your progressions will stop being just sequences of sounds and start becoming short, beautiful stories.