Altered chord

In music, an altered chord, an example of alteration (see below), is a chord with one or more diatonic notes replaced by, or altered to, a neighboring pitch in the chromatic scale. The simplest use of altered chords is the use of "borrowed" chords which are "borrowed" from the tonic minor of a major key, or from the tonic major of a minor key. "Borrowing" of this type is seen in music from the Renaissance music era and the Baroque music era (1600-1750), such as with the use of the Picardy third, in which a piece in a minor key has a final or intermediate cadence in the tonic major chord. "Borrowing" is also common in 20th century popular music and rock music. For example, in music in a major key, such as E major, composers and songwriters may use a D major chord, which is "borrowed" from the key of E minor (where it is the VII chord). Similarly, in music in a minor key, such as a minor, composers and songwriters often "borrow" chords from the tonic major. For example, pieces in B/G minor often use E/C Major and F#/D major chords (IV and V chords), which are "borrowed" from the key of B/G major.