Blues Foundation

What’s it about?

John shows you a fresh take on the essential skills and approaches that are synonymous with the blues. Across three stripped-back tracks, he delivers his own brand of nuance and inflection to give you an insight into how to nail the basics, while stepping away from the norm.

For each track, John lays down ten licks and a solo, designed to show you how to use individual ideas in context, and then how to combine it all.

Filmed at the JTC studio in North London.

What will I learn?

You will learn how to effectively implement the techniques and approaches of seasoned blues players.

John asks you to focus on chord tones and how the harmonic structure dictates what you play. There are insights into question-and-answer phrasing as well as ways and means to follow the changes with ease.

And as you dig into each track, you will touch on timing, when to attack and when to hold back. This is a real exploration of how to make use of basic ideas in the most creative way possible.

What theory is covered?

The staples of blues are there because they work. John invites you to take those ideas, cement our understanding of them, and notch it up a level or two.

• Following chord progressions
• Building lines around chord tones
• We'll be using a range of scales including:
• Pentatonic
• Blues
• Mixolydian
• Major
• Minor

What techniques are covered?

This is all about using blues techniques in context, with accessible ideas across the standard list of blues tricks.

• Bending
• Slides
• Hammer-ons
• Pull-offs
• Vibrato
• Double stops
• Hybrid Picking

Who is this for?

This pack is for players who want to combine profound nuance with a deep foundational intuition for modern blues. Don't just learn it, live it, and let John F. Klaver lead the way.