The blue seventh is also commonly known theoretically as the minor seventh or flat seventh. We find this type of seventh diatonically appearing in quite a few other groups of pitches besides the blues. These additional colors that include the blue seventh are the all important natural and pentatonic minor scales, the Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian modes, and the whole tone scale. It's quality and character in a big way defines the dominant seventh chord, simply created from a major triad with a "blue" or minor seventh added. This dominant coloring of the harmony is the principle chordal color used in blues performance in a major key and is the same dominant chord built from the fifth degree of the major scale grouping of pitches. Good chance that this color will become an important color on your artistic palette. The following musical ideas try to place the blue seventh into very cliche blues ideas. This first idea is more of a blues / rock lick than anything else, here we simply set up motion to the tonic from a whole step below. Cruising along on C 7. Example 1.
The above dominant color is the tonic chord chord of the blues world in a major key. So much different from the major scale tonic chord in that this dominant chord contains the tritone interval between it's third degree and seventh, illustrated in bar two above. So a bit unstable if you're not a blues player or the perfect degree of subtle tension if you are! The tritone is what makes it wanna rock! Here is a simple blues lick driving the blue seventh to the tonic. Example 2.
This next idea is created by simply arpeggiating the C 7 chord. This is a blues / rock idea and a mainstay for the rockabilly guys globally. Generally gets the house a rockin. This lick reminds me of an old American folk tune titled "Old Joe Clark." This Appalachian folk tune is for the most part based on the Mixolydian mode. This scale / modal color is part of the European equal temperament system and was brought over to new world by the early settlers of this Appalachian region, many of whom came from the British Isles. Example 3.
Moving into the minor tonality, this next idea simply arpeggiates the C minor seven chord. The blue seventh an integral chord tone in the line. Example 4.
More minor pentatonic than blues perhaps, the above line is simply a descending minor seventh arpeggio.
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