ENGLISH
REFERENCE

blue note

idiom
Meaning

The flatted 5th scale degree in the blues scale.


Examples
SIMPLE

The saxophonist hits the blue note and the crowd cheers.

CONTEXTUAL

In blues guitar, bending a string up to the blue note gives the solo its characteristic sad sound.

COMPLEX

The pianist lingered on the blue note, letting its dissonance hang in the smoky air before resolving into the final chord.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    blue chamber

    A forbidden room.

  2. 02

    blue devils

    Low spirits; depression.

  3. 03

    blue moon

    A long time.

  4. 04

    blue ribbon

    Highly superior in quality, style, substance, prestige, etc.

  5. 05

    blue state

    A state of the United States voting Democratic in a given election, or tending to vote Democratic in general.

  6. 06

    blue wall of silence

    Strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a police force with respect to information which might be contrary to their interests, especially information concerning questionable police actions.

  7. 07

    bolt from the blue

    A complete surprise; something totally unexpected.

  8. 08

    clear blue water

    An obvious, unambiguous divide between the policies of two parties.

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