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Borrowing chords from the parallel key (e.g., using chords from C minor while in C major). Also called "mode mixture" or "borrowed chords."
Modal mixture adds color and emotion to major-key music by introducing minor-key inflections. The most common borrowed chords: ♭VI, iv, ♭VII, ♭III. Schubert is the master of modal mixture — his sudden shifts between major and minor create his signature bittersweet quality.
Schubert's "Ave Maria" — the ♭VI chord (borrowed from the parallel minor) creates a moment of shadow within the major-key serenity.
Modal mixture is one of 228 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary, where every definition is written around how composers actually use the word.
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