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BLUE NOTES IN JAZZ AND OTHER GENRES OF POPULAR MUSIC
Now that you know all about scales, pay another visit to the beginning of this chapter, the section on the blues scale, where the term blue note was introduced.
A blue note can be a flat third, flat fifth, or flat seventh scale degree of the diatonic major scale.
For example, the C major scale consists of these notes:
The C blues scale consists of these notes:
The blues scale has all three traditionally-recognized blue notes, commonly heard in blues and jazz, and to a lesser degree in rock, hip-hop, and British and Celtic folk.
The blues scale has only six notes and no leading tone. However, all those chromatic notes stick out and grab listener attention. (More on this in Chapter 9.)