Mediant Mixture and “Blue Notes” in Rock

Abstract

Rock features extensive use of mediant mixture, that is, the use of both scale-degrees$\hat{3}$and ♭$\hat{3}$within a song; it also has been said to employ “blue notes” that fall between these two degrees. In this study we explore these issues, seeking to gain a better understanding of the use of mediant mixture and blue notes in rock. In addition to conventional aural analysis, we use an automatic pitch-tracking algorithm that identifies pitch contours with high accuracy. We focus on the Jackson 5’s “ABC”; several other songs and sections of songs are also considered briefly. Our tentative conclusions are that choices between$\hat{3}$and ♭$\hat{3}$in rock are complex but principled, guided by a small set of interacting preferences, and that blue notes are uncommon but do occasionally occur.