The Pink Panther loses his cool when his theme is in a major key

Transposing a familiar melody from a major key to a minor key or vice versa shouldn’t really make all that much difference. What impact could a few sharps or flats make either way when most of the notes are unaffected? But since 2013, Ukrainian musician Oleg Berg has been using his Major Vs. Minor web series to prove that those sharps and flats can make all the difference in the world. Major keys tend to sound cheerful and/or romantic, while minor keys sound sad, mysterious, and even sinister. Just listen to what Berg does to “Hey Jude.” Suddenly, when it’s in a minor key, that song of encouragement to a child of divorce doesn’t sound so encouraging at all. And now, Berg has worked his brand of sorcery on one of the most indelible movie themes of all time: Henry Mancini’s jazzy main title for Blake Edwards’ 1963 jewel heist comedy, The Pink Panther. Mancini’s minor-key composition has had a life of its own these last 53 years, appearing in a series of sequels with Peter Sellers as well as numerous Pink Panther cartoons. It has been covered innumerable times, by musicians both professional and amateur, but Berg’s major-key “reworking” may be the oddest version yet.