ABSTRACT
Two keys that contrast in mode but share the same Tonic (e.g., D major and D minor) are referred to as parallel major and minor, and music that freely intermixes the scale degrees of two parallel keys is said to contain modal mixture, also known as modal borrowing. Because the tonal center does not shift this is not a modulation, but only a change of mode. The clearest and most characteristic examples of modal mixture take place when the prevailing mode is major and the parallel minor is expressed through relatively brief chromatic alterations. This chapter presents an example which is primarily in the key of D major, although m. 1, beat 4 includes a B♭, which implies D minor.
