What mode am I borrowing this chord from?

[AivarasBurn]

I just opened a project and luckily enough, I wrote down the chords for this section, starting from 3:00:

i Emin - iii G#min - VI Cmaj - F#maj - VI Cmaj7

Thanks for the music! I love the imagery of this progression

My first impression when I heard it yesterday was, that F# hooks to G#m.

Perhaps we can look at it this way:
G#m = vi
C = Neapolitan
F# = V
C = repeat (I didn't hear Maj7)

I'm not sure I can spell out Em as the first in the sequence. It sounds like a unison on G and a little E when I crank up the volume.

The melody on G#m gives clue on its function - there's a semitone. It's still vague, but cannot be iii. It sounds much more like vi/i than ii/iv. (Think Em as D#7alt - I heard this once on a lighthearted singer songwriter radio.)

But all in all, the melody is super sparse and metering is a little indecisive, so let's focus on the scene

Thank you! I guess another question I’ve got is how do you hear what chord is III, VI and so on? I mean, many times progressions start on ii or iv so how do you hear as these rather than the tonic chord? Thanks!

[shawshawraw]

Thank you! I guess another question I’ve got is how do you hear what chord is III, VI and so on? I mean, many times progressions start on ii or iv so how do you hear as these rather than the tonic chord? Thanks!

Haha, good question, because honestly, I didn't in my first passes :p As there's never a tonal centre established, it was quite difficult to anchor myself to anything. Also the strongest tonal suggestion in your chain, that G#m with melody, is happening on a weak meter. So my first couple of listens were like "what the heck but it sounds good"

So I did have some posterior processing involved, to point it as a vi so that I can classify the C chord into what I tend to feel. However the G#m still sounds like a i at that point: 1) the V-alt leading into this chord (why it's not a ii/iii/iv), 2) the melodic clue (why it's not iii).

For the ii/iv question, I don't know... can I just say "ii/iv it is", when the context is clear?

[AivarasBurn]

Thank you! I guess another question I’ve got is how do you hear what chord is III, VI and so on? I mean, many times progressions start on ii or iv so how do you hear as these rather than the tonic chord? Thanks!

Haha, good question, because honestly, I didn't in my first passes :p As there's never a tonal centre established, it was quite difficult to anchor myself to anything. Also the strongest tonal suggestion in your chain, that G#m with melody, is happening on a weak meter. So my first couple of listens were like "what the heck but it sounds good"

So I did have some posterior processing involved, to point it as a vi so that I can classify the C chord into what I tend to feel. However the G#m still sounds like a i at that point: 1) the V-alt leading into this chord (why it's not a ii/iii/iv), 2) the melodic clue (why it's not iii).

For the ii/iv question, I don't know... can I just say "ii/iv it is", when the context is clear?

Ohh right. So you are basically saying that melody dictates under which roman numerals these chords stand, right? I’m quite new at this so it does get overwhelming at times haha! Cheers!

[shawshawraw]

Ohh right. So you are basically saying that melody dictates under which roman numerals these chords stand, right? I’m quite new at this so it does get overwhelming at times haha! Cheers!

Errh that sounds mechanical - think about this: a chord already suggests three melody lines, if not more, right?

Additional melody notes will definitely help determine where the other four notes are (normally we're talking about seven-note scales). Definitely giving a better idea where the chord is standing.

Music theorists may disagree (as I'm not formally trained), but for me the Roman numerals represent a way of describing where the music is musically going, as well as learning and copying new sounds quickly.

Anyways, chords can be just an illusion and there's nothing that dictates