What effect do blues notes have on the overall blues sound?

• A. They create a sagging or mellow quality
• B. They create a bright, cheerful mood
• C. They enforce a strict tempo
• D. They define atonality

Answer: (A)

Blues notes introduce pitch inflection that creates a sagging, soulful feel in the music. By lowering certain scale steps—most notably the third and seventh degrees—the melodies carry a little tension that sits between major and minor. When players bend or slide into these notes, the line loses rigid clarity and takes on a plaintive, relaxed quality that’s deeply characteristic of the blues. This result is a mellow, somewhat “sagging” mood rather than bright cheer, a strictly metered feel, or tonal ambiguity, which is why that effect best describes the blues sound.