From the course: The Songwriter's Toolkit: New Perspectives
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Borrowed chords with a diatonic melody - Sibelius Tutorial
From the course: The Songwriter's Toolkit: New Perspectives
Borrowed chords with a diatonic melody
- [Instructor] We've looked at modulating songs to different keys for the final chords in between sections, but what about borrowing a chord from another key for a progression? There are lots of songs where the basic progression uses borrowed chords. We see it in songs in the jazz and musical theater genres all the time. In pop music, modulation is typically reserved as a dramatic tool, like when we shift an entire section of a song into a different key. Using borrowed chords can start to make a song feel a little jazzy. But one subtle way to use borrowed chords in a progression is when the key of the melody is not clearly defined. Two great examples of songs that use borrowed chords juxtaposed against diatonic melodies are James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" and Pharrell Williams's "Happy." The effect of the borrowed chords in these songs gives them a richer harmonic feel, all while retaining their inherent pop melodic quality. Let me show you how we can use this technique with "Only One…
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