Throughout this series, we have focused much attention on the importance of cadencing to end a progression. In both the major and minor modes, you learned that this function is often served by the “five” chord. For example, “Hold It Against Me” by Britney Spears is a minor song ending its progressions with a v chord:
In minor, v chords are naturally minor chords, a big contrast with the major quality of the V in the major mode. However, it turns out that the ability to end a progression strongly with a major chord has a distinct and desirable sound that is missing in the minor mode and can result in a weaker sounding cadence. To bring back this stronger cadential feel, it’s common to borrow a “five” chord from the major mode to get a major quality V. In the key of C minor, this means using a G major chord instead of g minor for “five.” v chords contain scale degrees 5, 7, and 2 of the minor scale. To obtain the major quality V, we need to raise scale degree 7 by one note (a “half-step”). iV thus contains scale degrees 5, ♯7, and 2.
“You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse uses the minor version of the most basic progression in music: “one” → “four” → “five” → “one.” However, she uses the stronger borrowed V chord to cadence:
Notice how, consistent with the discussion of melody over borrowed chords in the previous section, Winehouse sings a ♯7 over the V to match the notes in the chord.
“Ken’s Theme” from the video game Street Fighter II uses minor mode version of the popular “one” → “six” → “four” → “five” progression, also with a V borrowed from the major mode (see “Those Magic Changes” and the discussion of “the 50s progression” in Hooktheory I to learn more about the major mode version I → vi → IV → V):
The verse of “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood arrives at the borrowed V using a descending bass line progression. Recall that progressions with descending bass lines are common in the major mode, e.g., I → V⁶ → vi → V with the base line (1 → 7 → 6 → 5). “Before He Cheats” also uses the base line (1 → 7 → 6 → 5) but builds chords from these bass notes that are well-suited to the minor mode.
This progression, i → VII → VI → V, is common in both popular and classical music and is known as the Andalusian cadence (stemming from its use in flamenco music).
Next, consider the following excerpt from the theme from the movie Django Unchained. Here, the melody has both a ♯6 and ♯7 over the V chord (drawn from the borrowed major scale) to further push toward the major mode. href=#footnote-a>†
In all these examples, the use of the borrowed V chord is a more emphatic way to end the progression. In fact, in popular music, the borrowed V is just as, if not more prominent, than the basic v chord.
While the V chord is (by far) the most common chord to borrow from major while in minor, it’s not the only possibility. Another common chord to borrow from major is the home base I chord. Integrating this chord is very simple. You just write a normal progression in minor and cadence on a major I chord instead of the typical minor i chord. Doing this gives the song an unexpected, bright feel. Seal uses this to great effect in “Kiss from a Rose”:
“Don’t Speak” by No Doubt is another example of a song that is in minor with the exception of the final cadence to the brighter sounding I chord from major:
Here, the melody over the borrowed I draws the ♯3 from the major scale to emphasize the borrowed mode in the melody (and match the ♯3 in the I). While it’s common to use the borrowed major I at the end of a progression, this isn’t necessary. The theme from the television series Game of Thrones also mixes major and minor “one” chords as a way of adding a little extra color.
So far, all the borrowed chords we’ve talked about have been from major while in minor or vice versa. Now we’ll look at borrowing chords from the other modes.
It’s also common for songs in the minor mode to borrow from the dorian mode. “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles is a famous example of a song in the minor mode that borrows heavily from the dorian mode:
The ♯6 in the melody over a minor i chord is unmistakably dorian because the dorian scale uses a raised 6 compared to the minor scale (see Section 6.2). Because the i chord is the same in the dorian and minor modes (they are both minor chords), it is not necessary to borrow it from the dorian mode to match what is going on in the melody. As the song continues, the basic VI chord that immediately follows brings the song back to minor (in minor, “six” chords are major; in the dorian mode, they are diminished). In the chorus the vi˚ chord from the dorian mode makes an appearance and again is immediately followed by another VI chord. This back and forth play between two modes is common in popular music.
“Let It Go,” sung by Idina Menzel from the hit Disney movie Frozen, is an example of a song in the minor mode that borrows IV chords from the dorian mode. Notice how the progression emphasizes the borrowed dorian chords by first using the standard iv chord as a cadence and the second time substituting the “four” chords by their dorian counterparts.
One final example is the theme from the motion picture Skyfall sung by Adele:
The minor quality of “one” and major quality of “six” are indicative of the minor mode (dorian uses a diminished “six”); however, the song makes use of the distinctively dorian IV⁷ to cadence back to minor i. The mixing of the two modes creates a unique sound that wouldn’t be possible in a single mode.
This progression is actually a clever play on the classic James Bond theme, which also features a i chord followed by a (inverted) VI chord, followed by a borrowed dorian chord.
† In classical music theory, the presence of V in the minor mode is a more fundamental concept. The use of major Vs in minor, in fact, is one part of a more complex discussion beyond the scope of this book. Because this chord is not treated as just another borrowed chord in classical music theory, some of the concepts regarding melody that we have already learned are taught a bit differently. For example, the choices of whether to use ♯7 vs. 7 and ♯6 vs. 6 are treated as separate scales and given names. When a melody substitutes ♯7 for 7 (i.e., 1 2 3 4 5 6 ♯7), it is said to be using the iharmonic minor scale. A melody substituting both ♯6 and ♯7 (i.e., 1 2 3 4 5 ♯6 ♯7) as in the the Django Unchained example above, is said to use the imelodic minor scale. The original minor scale you learned is simply called the inatural minor scale (as it is unchanged and is thus more “natural”). For a more formal (advanced and classically focused) treatment of these concepts, see, e.g., Theory of Harmony by Arnold Schoenburg.
Check for Understanding
What scale degree is different between the minor and dorian modes?
When composing in the minor mode, how would you notate this scale degree if it is borrowed from the dorian mode?
Check for Understanding
When composing in the major mode, what are the scale degrees of a borrowed i from the minor mode?
When composing in the minor mode, what are the scale degrees of a borrowed I from the major mode?
Check for Understanding
Listen to the intro from “The Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani. This section is written in the minor mode and borrows IV⁷ from the dorian mode.
What is the quality of this IV⁷ chord? Hint: Think about the quality of the corresponding chord in the major mode.
What would the quality be if it was instead borrowed from the major mode?