Which scale is defined by a lowered third and seventh degrees?

Which scale is defined by a lowered third and seventh degrees?

• A. Pentatonic scale
• B. Chromatic scale
• C. Major scale
• D. Blues scale

Answer: (D)

The blues scale gets its color from flattening two scale degrees relative to the major scale: the third and the seventh. Lowering the third from a major to a minor third and lowering the seventh from a major seventh to a flat seventh gives that characteristic “bluesy” sound. The blues scale is typically heard as the minor pentatonic pattern plus an added blue note, resulting in notes like 1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7. Because it explicitly involves a lowered third and a lowered seventh relative to the major scale, it best fits the description.

The blues scale gets its color from flattening two scale degrees relative to the major scale: the third and the seventh. Lowering the third from a major to a minor third and lowering the seventh from a major seventh to a flat seventh gives that characteristic “bluesy” sound. The blues scale is typically heard as the minor pentatonic pattern plus an added blue note, resulting in notes like 1, b3, 4, b5, 5, b7. Because it explicitly involves a lowered third and a lowered seventh relative to the major scale, it best fits the description.