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A chord belonging to both the old key and the new one, used as a hinge in a modulation.
The pivot is where the ear reinterprets: approach it as a chord of the old key, then follow it at once with a chord only the new key owns, usually its dominant. For C major to G major, vi in C = ii in G is the classic hinge. Analysts write both labels, old key over new; the smoother the pivot, the more natural the arrival.
Pivot chord is one of 1755 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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