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Two voices moving in the same direction by the same interval. Parallel fifths and octaves are forbidden in traditional counterpoint as they destroy voice independence.
Parallel thirds and sixths are the sweetest consonances; parallel fifths and octaves fuse the voices into one, destroying independence. Check your voice leading for parallel fifths and octaves — they are the most common error. In Impressionist music (Debussy), parallel fifths are used deliberately for color.
Debussy deliberately uses parallel fifths in "La Cathédrale engloutie" — breaking the counterpoint rule to create the color of medieval organum.
Parallel motion is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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