Parallel minor applications

[Red Wonder]

I'm curious as to when the parallel minor would be the appropriate flavor to a given passage as opposed to, say, a mode from the key signature.

Sometimes when I throw in a parallel minor it really enhances the measure and other times it seems to not fit.

[JimmyM]

You answered your own question. use them when they fit, don't use them when they don't.

[phxlbrmpf]

It all depends on the melody the chords are supposed to accompany, the exact notes, how long they are, and how they're placed. I really don't recall any rules of thumb, sometimes the parallel minor chord will sound good and sometimes it won't.

[Ed Fuqua]

What notes are you using? There are notes shared by each and notes that are going to produce half step tensions. They may be "working" because of voicing (you're playing it high enough that it sounds like a tension rather than a chord tone) or because whoever the chordal instrument is, they're playing an ambiguous enough harmony that you don't clash.

If the chord is an A major 7 and you're playing material from an A natural minor, I guess the question is, what sound are you going for?