The

Key of D Major

Musicianship: Harmonic Function,

Modal Interchange, and Tensions
Lesson 3 Study Guide

The key of Eb Major has two sharps F# and C#:

F# C#
D E G A B D

Relative Minor: B Minor

Related Major and Minor keys share the same key signature and the same notes. To
find the relative minor of a Major key, start on the tonic and go down 3 half steps. For
example, the relative minor of D Major is B Minor:

D Major and B Minor share the same key signature and the same notes:

B Minor
D Major




Modal Interchange

Modal Interchange is when a composer uses a chord that is borrowed from a Parallel
Tonality. A Parallel Tonality is any key that starts on the same note, for example D
Major and D minor are parallel tonalities because they both begin on a D:


D Major

D Minor

If we are in the key of D Major and we borrow a chord from D Minor, that borrowed
chord would be a modal interchange chord:

Modal Interchange Chords in the key of D Major

The bVI bVII I Progression

The bVI bVII I Progression is a popular chord progression that uses modal interchange
the bVI and bVII chords are both borrowed from the parallel minor.

WHY ARE THE VI AND VII LABLED WITH A b?

Lets use the key of D Major as an example. In the key of D Major, the diatonic VI chord
is a B-. In the key of D Minor, the diatonic VI chord is a Bb. When a Bb is borrowed from





the key of D minor, it is considered flat because it is one half step lower than the
diatonic of B. So, if we are in the key of D Major and we play a BbMaj7 instead of a B-7,
we are playing a bVI chord instead of the diatonic VI- chord.

The same applies for the bVII chord. In the key of D Major, the diatonic VII chord is a
C#-. In D minor, the diatonic VII chord is a C. Since C is one half step lower than C#, the C
chord is labeled as a bVII in the key of D Major.

D Major
VI- VII-7b5 I




D Minor
VIMaj7 VII7 I

Modal
Interchange
bVI bVII I



BbMaj7 (bVI)

C7 (bVII) DMaj7 (I)