blue note

noun

: a variable microtonal lowering of the third, seventh, and occasionally fifth degrees of the major scale

Examples of blue note in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The song drips with pungent blue notes, but Flack — singing over a jazz combo at a ponderous tempo — finds a way to luxuriate in the melody, bending the lyrics enough to make any fan perk up. —Ben Sisario, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025

Over the course of the book, Perry builds her case for how Black people have always functioned as blue notes—often seen as out of place or deviant but also known to wrest mellifluousness from cacophony and escape the binds that have been violently placed upon them. —Omari Weekes, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025

Aldean also makes subtle melodic changes, adding a blue note here or there that creates a little extra grit. —Tom Roland, Billboard, 24 Apr. 2024

The voice singing those lyrics is raw and plaintive, dipping into blue notes. —Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2024

The individual phrases in that opening verse ended primarily with blue notes, providing just the right amount of angst and grit. —Tom Roland, Billboard, 10 May 2023

While Jones is musical, her blue note always hits harder than any grace note. —New York Times, 17 Sep. 2021

Crunch time has arrived for the Boston Bruins, who have been on the receiving end of enough hits from the St. Louis Blues to have blue note logos imprinted all over their aching bodies. —Helene Elliott, latimes.com, 5 June 2019

Isbell played lead guitar throughout the song, bending buttery blues notes on that ’59 Les Paul. —Matt Wake | [e-mail], al, 11 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

from its frequent use in blues music

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for blue note

• afloat
• azote
• banknote
• bareboat
• benzoate
• connote
• cutthroat
• demote
• denote
• devote
• endnote
• footnote