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In Jazz and Blues , blue notes are Note s sung or played at a lower Pitch than those of the Major Scale for expressive purposes. Typically the alteration is less than a Semitone , but this varies among performers.

The blue notes correspond approximately to the Flatted Third , Flatted Fifth , and Flatted Seventh Scale Degree s, although they approximate non- Equal Tempered Pitches found in African Work Song s; specifically, the flatted seventh may often be a Justly Tuned minor seventh. Blue notes are the most important notes in the Blues Scale .

In its earliest manifestations, the flatted third, or Mediant , and flatted seventh, or Subtonic , were the main blue notes. Emphasis on the flatted fifth, or Dominant , was an innovation in Bebop in the 1940s .

Blue notes are also prevalent in English Folk Music (Lloyd 1967, p.52-4).


SEE ALSO



SOURCE

  • Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). ''Studying Popular Music''. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0335152759.

  • ---Lloyd (1967).