Parallel Key

Parallel Key

In music, parallel keys are the major and minor scales that have the same tonic. A major and minor scale sharing the same tonic are said to be in a parallel relationship. The parallel minor or tonic minor of a particular major key is the minor key based on the same tonic; similarly the parallel major has the same tonic as the minor key, as opposed to relative minor (or major, where appropriate) which shares the same key signature. For example, G major and G minor have different modes but both have the same tonic, G; so we say that G minor is the parallel minor of G major.

In the early nineteenth century, composers began to experiment with freely borrowing chords from the parallel key.

To the Western ear, the switch from a major key to its parallel minor sounds like a fairly simplistic "saddening" of the mood (while the opposite sounds like a "brightening"). This change is quite distinct from a switch to the relative minor. Classical pieces in sonata allegro form in a minor key have their second theme in the relative major in the exposition, but the second theme comes back in the original minor key in the recapitulation. This is unique to the form, and allows the composer to state a given theme in both major and minor modes.

In rock and popular music examples, "emphasizing parallel keys," include Grass Roots' "Temptation Eyes" and Lipps Inc's "Funkytown".