blue note

American  

noun

Jazz.

1. a flatted note, especially the third or the seventh degree of the scale, recurring frequently in blues and jazz as a characteristic feature.

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blue note British  

noun

1. jazz a flattened third or seventh, used frequently in the blues

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Etymology

Origin of blue note

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

He was embarrassed to raise his hand to get help, so Flournoy and his teachers devised a system where he would place a blue note card on his desk when he needed assistance.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 30, 2022

Gaga’s voice so badly wants to understand jazz, but whenever she tries to swirl a blue note in the back of her throat, it always comes out teal.

From Washington Post • Mar. 31, 2022

On a day usually brimming with optimism, this was a blue note — as in Harold Melvin’s band from the 1970s, the one that sang, “If You Don’t Know Me by Now.”

From New York Times • Feb. 15, 2019

The past is a blue note inside me,

From Slate • Dec. 18, 2014

I then felt my shirt pocket for my blue note pad.

From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez