What is a blue note?

Question

Is a blue note a real sound created by the 2 opposing notes or is it your brain trying to make sense of chaos and filling in the gaps to make it easier to listen too. Cheers

Answer 1

In jazz and blues, blue notes are notes 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 flattened third, flattened fifth, and flattened seventh scale degrees, although they approximate non-equal tempered pitches found in African work songs; 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 flattened third, or mediant, and flattened seventh, or subtonic, were the main blue notes. Emphasis on the flattened 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).

Answer 2

Jazz blue notes are on the third or seventh note of the major scale.

They are flattened to any degree up to a semitone, and if they are constantly being used, you no longer have a major scale -- you have a blues scale.

Answer 3

A 'blue note' is a note that is off key, often by less than a semitone lower or higher, but it can be more.

Answer 4

Do I recall a record label of that in the early 1960`s?

Answer 5

2 opposing notes i think.

dont ya just hate it when they look on wikipedia, i do...