Borrow the minor iv chord
100 BPM, 4/4. C4 means middle C. Read the staff notation or open Letter names for the score.
LESSON 04 / THE MINOR IV CHORD
Borrow the minor iv chord
Change F to Fm and listen to A–A♭–G.
Listen
Listen for A–A♭–G across F–Fm–C. The middle chord changes by only one note, but the path back to C takes on a different color.
Before
| C | F | F | C |
Letter names for the score
| Chord | Beats | Bass | Upper notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 4 | C3 | C4, E4, G4 |
| F | 4 | F2 | C4, F4, A4 |
| F | 4 | F2 | C4, F4, A4 |
| C | 4 | C3 | C4, E4, G4 |
After
| C | F | Fm | C |
Letter names for the score
| Chord | Beats | Bass | Upper notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 4 | C3 | C4, E4, G4 |
| F | 4 | F2 | C4, F4, A4 |
| Fm | 4 | F2 | C4, F4, A♭4 |
| C | 4 | C3 | C4, E4, G4 |
What changes
The Before version uses F major before returning to C. The After version starts with F major, changes it to F minor, and then returns to C. Only one note changes between F and Fm: A moves down a half step to A♭. Keep F and C in place and you can hear exactly what the minor chord contributes.
F major is built on the fourth note of C major. The minor version, Fm, belongs to C minor: a key with the same home note, C. Using that chord while C major remains home is called borrowing from the parallel minor. The small Roman numeral iv means a minor chord on the fourth scale degree.
The example does more than make F minor. Its upper line continues from A to A♭ to G over the final C. That descending line helps connect the borrowed chord to home. If you change the voicing, listen for that line somewhere inside the chords instead of assuming the chord name alone produces the effect.
Play it
Play F with F in the bass and C–F–A above it. Move only A to A♭ to make Fm. Then play C in the bass with C–E–G above it. Sing A–A♭–G while you play the three chords.
Repeat with C held as your melody over all three chords. C fits F, Fm, and C, so the accompaniment now carries the descending line. Compare the two versions: a melody that follows the changed note makes the movement obvious; a common melody note lets the harmony change beneath it.
Guitar shapes
Standard tuning, low E to high E. Numbers are frets; 0 is an open string and x means mute. Barre shapes are included.
C x32010 / F 133211 / Fm 133111
These guitar shapes use different registers from the keyboard recording. Play the chord symbols with the same beat counts.
More theory (optional)
C major and C minor are parallel keys: they share C as their tonic. Borrowing Fm from C minor gives IV–iv–I. IV names a major chord on the fourth scale degree; iv names a minor one.
Exercise
Play C–F–Fm–C, one chord per bar. Over the final three chords, sing A–A♭–G. Repeat until you can hear that line without needing the note names.
Now hold C as the melody over F–Fm–C. Keep the chords and rhythm exactly the same. Listen to where your attention goes: to the descending melody, or to the chord changing underneath a steady note? Choose one version and write what you hear.
Try the borrowed minor chord in a phrase of your own that already uses F before C. You can use Fm for the whole F bar or only its last two beats. Compare both timings. Optional: move the idea to G–C–Cm–G with E–E♭–D, or D–G–Gm–D with B–B♭–A.
Example answer
With A–A♭–G in the melody, the listener hears the exact note that turns F major into F minor and then connects it to C. A held C belongs to all three chords, so the same harmonic movement happens underneath the melody. For a shorter borrowed chord, try C(4), F(4), F(2), Fm(2), C(4). Neither melody or timing is the correct version; choose the one that serves your phrase.
Melody or arrangement tip
Hold A over F, then keep it over Fm. Listen to A against A♭. You can move the melody to A♭ or C if you want those notes to agree.
Use it in your music
Try a minor iv before the final tonic of one phrase. Leave the next phrase unchanged. Decide whether that contrast makes the borrowed chord more effective.
MIDI downloads (optional)
Import these files into your music software to change the sound, tempo, or notes.