Blue Notes

The expressiveness of the blues comes from the melodic inflections added to particularnotes. When we listen to various vocal or guitar renditions of the blues, these inflectionsare easily recognizable; they stand out because of their emotional charge and slightly “outof tune” sound. 1 The so-called blues scale approximates the sound of these pitchinflections by altering ^3, ^5, and ^7 of the major scale. Figure 9.3 illustrates the content ofthe blues scale and its derivation from the major scale.The blues scale is a six-note collection with the “blue” notes on ≤3, ≤5, and ≤7. Althoughthe presence of ≤7th suggests a chord–scale relationship with the dominant 7th chord,the use of the blues scale is not limited to this chord only. In the context of the bluesscale, the pitches ≤3 and ≤5 constitute expressive embellishments not bound by anyparticular harmonic function or chord type. The blues scale, then, is an androgynous

Blues notes: a discourse of race

Blue note