Modal Interchange Explained For Jazz Pianists

Have you ever wondered how some of the world’s greatest jazz pianist come up with interesting harmonies?

How about some really wild, wacky, and awesome melodic lines that just tickle your ears?

If you’ve ever wondered how guys like Stevie Wonder come up with such interesting song ideas, you have come to the right place.

Let’s talk about modal interchange.

What Is Modal Interchange Anyway?

In a nutshell, modal interchange is simply borrowing notes and harmonies from any parallel mode.

In music theory, parallel refers to two different sets of notes but having the same tonal center.

For example, C minor is the parallel minor of C major. Another one is C Ionian is a parallel major mode of C Dorian.

The idea behind modal interchange is that when given a particular tonal center (let’s say the note C), you can borrow notes and chords from any parallel mode.

By borrowing notes and chords from a parallel mode, you do a lot of things ranging from coming up with interesting lines to even generating more exciting chord progressions.

Modal interchange can create a lot of variety and color in your music and go even far as producing greater emotional depth in song arrangements and original compositions.

Let’s get into some essential music theory knowledge to get started.

The Theory Behind Borrowed Chords

A significant part of jazz piano harmony is the use of borrowed chords.

And where do you borrow chords from? Parallel modes through modal interchange.

Before you even begin talking about how this works, you have to understand how a major scale is built as well as how to form chords from it. Learn or refresh your knowledge through our piano chord theory lesson.

If you have gone this far, you probably understand that the major scale has 7 notes and from those 7 notes we can form 7 basic triads:

You probably also know at this point that the major scale is a diatonic scale i.e. it is a scale that consists of both whole tones (whole steps or “W” for this discussion) and semitones (half steps or “h”).

These whole tones and semitones are ordered in a very specific way that produces the major scale sound i.e. the semitones are only found between the 3rd and 4th notes and between the 7th and the octave note above.

While the major scale is the backbone of virtually every melodic and harmonic music theory concept, it is not the only diatonic scale out there.

Other arrangements of the diatonic scale exist and are known as modes.

How The 7 Parallel Modes Are Formed

Since you have 7 notes in a major scale, you can derive all of the modes by simply starting the scale at a different note. Check out the chart below:

Now that we have charted out all relative modes, you might say that it isn’t very interesting since they’re just the same 7 notes.

What you have to realize is that the way to get value out of this is via understanding the actual intervallic relationship you get out of each mode.

The major scale (which we will now call Ionian) has an interval pattern that goes W-W-h-W-W-W-h. Obviously, the other modes will follow the order of whole steps and half steps differently as shown below:

Dorian: W-h-W-W-W-h-W
Phrygian: h-W-W-W-h-W-W
Lydian: W-W-W-h-W-W-h
Mixolydian: W-W-h-W-W-h-W
Aeolian: W-h-W-W-h-W-W-W
Locrian: h-W-W-h-W-W-W

If you want to get to the bottom of borrowed chords, take all of the above scale formulas and see what sequence of notes you have for each mode. With a tonic of C, this is what you should get:

Ionian: C (W) D (W) E (h) F (W) G (W) A (W) B (h) c

Dorian: C (W) D (h) Eb (W) F (W) G (W) A (h) Bb (W) c

Phrygian: C (h) Db (W) Eb (W) F (W) G (h) Ab (W) Bb (W) c

Lydian: C (W) D(W) E (W) F# (h) G (W) A (W) B (h) c

Mixolydian: C (W) D (W) E (h) F (W) G (W) A (h) Bb (W) c

Aeolian: C (W) D (h) Eb (W) F (W) G (h) Ab (W) Bb (W) c

Locrian: C (h) Db (W) Eb (W) F (h) Gb (W) Ab (W) Bb (W) c

Now, you can discover a number of interesting things going on here. One is that each of these modes are derived from a particular relative major or relative natural minor scale:

C Ionian = C Major or A natural minor
C Dorian = Bb Major or G natural minor
C Phrygian = Ab Major or F natural minor
C Locrian = G major or E natural minor
C Mixolydian = F major or D natural minor
C Aeolian = Eb major or C natural minor
C Locrian = Db major or Bb natural minor

This also gives way to a number of interesting ways to remember the modes:

1. In this example, each of the tonic notes of the relative major scale per mode forms another major scale a major 3rd below the original tonic i.e. Ab is a major 3rd below C.
2. You’ll also notice that if you’re using relative natural minor scales as reference for your modes, each of the notes of the relative minor per each parallel mode forms the Phrygian scale a minor 3rd from the original tonic i.e. A is a minor 3rd below C.
3. Each parallel mode may be a major-sounding, minor-sounding, or dominant-sounding modes. Ionian and Locrian are major sounding by virtue of a major 3rd. Dorian, Aeolian, and Phrygian may sound minor because of a minor 3rd. Mixolydian and Locrian function sound dominant or dissonant given that their I chords have a dominant function i.e. they tend to resolve to a more consonant or more stable sounding chord like major or minor. This has great implications in both creating melodies as well as jazz piano harmony.

The point is that if you can already major scales all 12 keys, it’s easy to figure out what notes form a particular mode.

Knowing all of your 7 modes and harmonizing them in triads helps you discover all possible chords under each mode:

Knowing all possible chords per mode allows you to borrow one or more chords from one mode to another and create all sorts of interesting chord changes and melodic ideas.

Let’s take the usual 2-5-1 progression and see how we can use some borrowed chords.

In the key of C, a 2-5-1-6 chord progression looks like this:

| Dm7 | G7 | C6/9 | A7

Let’s pick up some chords from C Aeolian by replacing Dm7 with Fm7 then substituting Bb7 for G7:

| Fm7 | Bb7 | C6/9 | A7

As a more practical example, I also use modal interchange in one of my original compositions from 2020 called “Sunset at Bondi”. Instead of using a traditional 2-5-1 in C, I substitute with Fm7 and Bb7 borrowed from C Aeolian before resolving to C major in the 1st half of the chorus. At the second half of the chorus, I still have Fm7 and Bb7 from C Aeolian but then I use Am7 D7 from C Locrian and then a chromatic walkdown to go back to the beginning:

Now let’s try borrowing some chords from C Phrygian. We can replace Dm7 with Abmaj7 and A7 with Ebmaj7:

| Abmaj7 | G7 | Cmaj7 | Ebmaj7 |

Here’s another example from a song called “Golden Waves” by Japanese jazz fusion band Casiopea:

The chord progression for the A and B sections of “Golden Waves” goes like this:

A: Gmaj7 | G7 | Cmaj7/G | Ebmaj7/G | Bm7 | Em7 | Am7 | D7 |
Gmaj7 | G7 | Cmaj7/G | Ebmaj7/G | Bm7 | Em7 | Am7 | Bm | Cm7 | D7 | D7 |

B: Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 | Em9 | Em9 | Am7 | Am7 | Ebmaj7 | D7 |
Gmaj7 | Gmaj7 | Em9 | Em9 | Am7 | Cm7 | Gmaj7 | Em9 | Gmaj7 | Fmaj7

Now let’s check some of the most common chord progressions involving borrowed chords.

The Most Common Borrowed Chords Found In Jazz Standards

1.) The Backdoor Chord (bVII – I)

One of the most common chord substitutions used in jazz involves what’s called a “backdoor” chord progression.

Rather than moving from the V chord to the I (or i), we replace it with a bVII chord. This bVII chord also functions as a dominant chord.

One famous example is in Stella By Starlight. At the 4th measure of the A section of the tune, we find an Ab7 chord that resolves to a Bbmaj7 found in the next measure:

This bVII chord exists naturally in the Aeolian mode. In the above example, the Ab7 exists naturally  in Bb Aeolian but the chord nicely resolves towards any Bb major chord.

You can hear another example of this being done by the Keith Jarrett Trio:

Another example can be found in the Errol Garner tune “Misty” in the 4th bar where you hear a iv – bVII7 chord progression. In the key of Eb, this is an Abm7 to Db7 borrowed from Eb Aeolian that resolves to Eb major.

Speaking of “Misty”, there is another chord progression derived from modal interchange.

2.)  Secondary Dominant to IV (v-I7-IV)

Transitioning from a I chord to a IV chord is okay. However, if you want to make this sound more hip, you can use a jazz harmony trick called a secondary dominant.

A secondary dominant chord progression acts like a bridge from the I chord to the IV chord. Using a “2-5” that leads to the IV chord creates both an interesting musical effect i.e. some tension with a sweet sounding resolution to the IV. The effect creates sort of a sense of wonder or “longing” as implied in the tune itself.

In the tune “Misty”, this is borrowed from Eb Mixolydian where you have the “2-5” in Ab (Bbm7 to Eb7 that resolves to Abmaj7).

Here’s a beginner version example in sheet music format:

And here’s a version performed by Jeremy Siskind:

This is also the same move used in the opening section of “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out To Dry”. In Dexter Gordon’s rendition during the intro, the harmonic backdrop of the second phrase goes from Ebmaj9 and then to Bbm7 – Eb7 – Abmaj7:

This is also know as the…

3.) …The IV to iv Move

In the tune “All the Things You Are”, bars 29 to 30 show the “major 4 chord” to “minor 4 chord” transition. This move from a very bright sounding IV chord to a darker sounding iv chord creates a sense of longing and drama in that particular segment of the tune:

Here’s a part of a beginner version transcription found in our Premium Jazz Lessons:

Here’s an example of a performance via the Osaka Jazz Channel:

This iv chord naturally exists in the Aeolian mode. In this case, it’s in Ab Aeolian. This iv chord can then go to something like a chromatic descent to a ii-V-I or even directly resolve to I depending on the composition.

In a non-jazz example, the iv can even be used a secondary subdominant to change keys. A Filipino (OPM) hit song from the 1990s entitled “214” makes use of this trick.

The song’s verse is in E major but makes use of borrowed chords such as v (Bm7 borrowed from E Mixolydian) that resolves back to I (E) or IV (A). This IV changes into a iv (Am7 borrowed from E Aeolian) which resolves back to E for the second half of the verse or becomes the ii in a ii-V-I in the key of G:

4. Chromatic Descent to I

Another substitution for a V7 chord borrows from either Phrygian or Locrian modes. This is a II chord that takes a place of a V chord before resolving to I.

In standard jazz canon, great examples include Caravan and A Night In Tunisia.

The Phrygian mode flavor gives it a kind of Spanish, Mediterranean, or “exotic” feel to the music.

Some reharmonized versions of Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” use a bII7 resolving to a I chord. In the case of “Footprints”, you can use a Db7 as the dominant-functioning chord before landing at Cm7:

I have also used this idea in some of my own works as well. In one of my compositions called “Sundays With You”, the last few bars of the chorus uses a ii-bII7-I chord progression instead of a traditional ii-V-I in C:

Legendary bossa nova composer Antonio Carlos Jobim made heavy use of bII7 to I moves in plenty of his tunes. Examples include Desafinado, Wave, Corcovado, and One Note Samba to name a few.

5.) II7 Substitution

One of the most famous jazz. standards featuring this technique is “Satin Doll”.

When playing the tune in C, the 5th bar of the B section features a D7 chord. This is borrowed from C Lydian. This would then resolve to Abm7 (tritone substitute of Dm7)  to Db7(13) chord, which in turn is a tritone substitution of G7:

<INSERT SAMPLE OF SATIN DOLL>

A normal 2-5-1 in C major would be Dm7-G7-Cmaj7. In the case of Satin Doll, you have D7 replacing Dm7. Talking about the V chord, there is another chord substitution taking place known as…

6.)…The Tritone Substitution.

Instead of G7 per the usual 2-5-1, what you now have in place is a chord with its root note a flat 5th or a tritone away from the root note of the chord it’s substituting for.

In the 6th bar of Satin Doll, right after the II7 chord from the 5th bar, rather that the expected V7 chord (as seen in earlier passages), we find a flat vi substituting again for the ii chord and bII7 chord as a substitute for the V7 chord.

For the ii chord, the root note is D, but the substitute that is 3 whole tones away is Ab. For the V chord substitute, the root note of the chord in this case is Db, a note that 3 whole tones away from G. This is the reason why it is called a tritone substitution.

Listen to it once more in this lesson:

The interesting about tritone substitutions that it can be considered borrowed from the parallel Locrian of the key to where it resolves to. As shown earlier in this lesson, the bII chord can naturally exist in C Locrian.

Advanced Applications – Beyond the Basics

Combining Modal Interchange with Secondary Dominants or Tritone Substitutions

As you have seen in the previous examples from jazz standards, modal interchange also gives way to making use of secondary dominants and tritone substitutions (i.e. “Satin Doll”).

One good example can be used in the tune “Spain” by Chick Corea”.

In the original chord progression, the A section ends with a II7 – V7 – i chord progression i.e. C#7(9) – F#7(b13) – Bm7 with C#7(9) being a borrowed chord from B Lydian.

In a version by the Chick Corea Elektric Band, the F#7 is replaced instead by a C7 chord:

This tritone substitution can be clearly heard as bassist John Patitucci simply plays a C. If pianist Chick Corea and guitarist Frank Gambale chose to play F#7(b13) (most likely in the 3rd inversion, the rootless form of which would look like an E7b5 chord), the entire chord with the grounding using C from John Patitucci would still come across as a C7(b13,9) chord.

The above example also makes use of borrowed chords in a turnaround, being that The C#7 to C7 movement would resolve nicely to Bm7 in that tune.

How The Greats Incorporate Modal Improvisation with Modal Interchange

Modal interchange also opens up any tune to a lot of melodic possibilities. Since you can borrow chords from any parallel mode, that means you are also borrowing certain notes from any parallel mode.

Creating great sounding lines with modal improvisation is largely breaking up borrowed chords into single-note melodic fragments.

If you listen to Chick Corea’s electric piano improvisation over Spain, you’ll notice that he would have licks derived from a parallel mode that fits the chord currently in play:

Listen to this lick over the C#7-C7-Bm7 chord progression:

When the C7 chord is in play, Chick improvises a melodic theme based on B Phrygian Major 7 before resolving back to B Aeolian over the Bm7.

When I was improvising my own piano solo in “Big Ball of Sunshine”, I also made use of modal interchange as I weaved from D Ionian and Lydian to D Aeolian when I was at the Fmaj7-Bb-C7 chord progression:

Let’s talk about what NOT to do with modal interchange.

Common Mistakes And Practice Tips

Overusing Borrowed Chords – Why Less Is More

Unless essential to a composition, overusing borrowed chords will make your music sound bland.

Why is that? Because overusing any musical technique or devise diminishes its effect.

Whenever any musical device is overused, your listener’s ears will hear too much of it, feel saturated by it, and so the suspense, surprise, or novelty of it diminishes.

It’s as simple as just simply getting bored, satiated, or used to it that it just fades in the background.

When spicing up any tune with borrowed chords, it’s a good idea to just use them in certain sections of the song, especially where you want you listener to feel the most tension or excitement.

Listen to this live version of Bobby Caldwell’s band performing “What You Won’t Do For Love”. In this version, reharmonizations or chord substitutions are only used on certain segments of the performance to keep things interesting:

If it were used all the time, the song would just feel like a jumbled mess or a complex yet boring piece.

Cliche as it may sound, “Less is more” rings true here: When you try and practice modal interchange or borrowed chords, using less of it can generate more impact in your music.

Ignoring Smooth Transitions Between Tonal Centers

If you have studied “Misty”, you’ll notice that tonal centers shift in the middle of sections.

You start with Eb as the tonal center then shift to Ab then back to Eb. Case in point, we start with Eb then apply Bbm7-Eb7-Abmaj7 to go to Ab, and then a backdoor chord progression with Abm7-Db7-Ebmaj7 to go back to Eb:

If you listen carefully to the transitions between chords, chord voicings are chosen wisely so that smooth voice leading takes place.

This is something that I also kept in mind when handling key changes in my own compositions, such as “Big Ball of Sunshine”:

Smooth voice leading and carefully placed secondary dominants ensure that you are able to transition nicely for one key to the next and back. If key changes are jerky and unwieldy, it simply doesn’t sound or feel right.

Tip: Record Your Playing To Hear How Chords Affect Mood

When I was writing “Big Ball of Sunshine” and “Sunset at Bondi”, I started out recording little snippets of the tunes at first to see how the chord changes felt.

This is the same thing you would want to practice for yourself.

When you’re trying out modal interchange over certain tunes, first try to play the tune as written and record it with the original chord progressions.

After that, work out some modal interchange ideas i.e. use some backdoor chord progressions or tritone substitutions, etc., practice those for a bit and then record.

Listen to your recording as if you’re a 3rd party and ask yourself honestly how it feels like. This way, you can discover how to create different effects using modal interchange in your music.

FAQs

How is modal interchange different from modulation?

Modulation, harmonically speaking, is simply moving from one key to the next. It can be done in different ways and may (or may not) include modal interchange, but the intent is to move from one key to another.

In contrast, while modal interchange may be used for modulating from one key to another, it is not always the case. Use of modal interchange can also be to provide harmonic and melodic contrast or better tension whilst keeping the tune within the original key.

What borrowed chords sound best in jazz?

The best sounding borrowed chords are always those that would serve the intended diatonic function.

If you are to consider a modern music theory perspective, any chord may be used as a substitute or borrowed chord provided that the chord should contain the note of the melody.

To learn more about how to do this properly, learn more about the 3 most practical diatonic functions in our piano chord theory lesson.

How can I practice recognizing borrowed chords by ear?

The first thing to do is learn your 7 modes first in a single tonic center. That means learning parallel modes. You can first start in the key of C and learn its parallel modes.

The second thing to practice is harmonizing each mode i.e. playing all naturally occurring chords in each mode. This way, you can learn how to recognize each chord per mode.

The third step is to start playing a chord progression in a particular mode. For example, play a 1-4-5 or a 2-5-1 in Ionian mode. This would be the same as playing in a major key. Once done, figure out the same chord progression in another mode to start hearing the chords as they would work in an actual chord progression. Listen for the character that each mode would produce.

Take Your Jazz Harmony Further

Now that you’ve learned all about how modal interchange works in music, especially jazz, it’s time to take a step further.

Learning the modes and modal interchange would be much easier to understand when you learn piano chord theory. It is the most practical way of understanding how notes, intervals, scales, and chords function in music.

To go deep into the more practical aspects of modal interchange in jazz, our Premium Jazz Lessons contain harmonic analysis lessons per song arrangement. It will help you understand how jazz piano pros like Steve think about jazz harmony and reharmonization. Get instant access to Premium Jazz Lessons here.

If you’re looking for more targeted, personalized, hands-on training and coaching, it’s best to get help from the pros personally themselves. Fortunately, we have a roster of professional jazz pianists at the Jazz Inner Circle. We can help you get matched with one of our jazz piano instructors to help you along your jazz piano journey. Slots are limited, however, so book an interview with our representative here.

Final Words

I hope that you enjoyed this deep dive into modal interchange. If you have come this far into the lesson, I believe you think this is important.

If you have any feedback, questions, or suggestions for the next lesson, feel free to leave a comment below or get in touch with us at info@freejazzlessons.com.

Happy practicing!