📄️ Intro
Blues You Can Use by John Ganapes is a hands-on guide designed to help guitarists unlock the essential sounds, techniques, and feel of blues playing. Covering everything from basic shuffles and turnarounds to advanced soloing concepts, this book breaks down the blues into practical, playable lessons. Whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your phrasing and improvisation skills, Blues You Can Use offers clear explanations, classic licks, and a structured path to mastering the genre.
📄️ Lesson 1
Introducing minor pentatonic scales; the basic blues progression
📄️ Lesson 2
Moveable scales; moveable chords
📄️ Lesson 3
The 2nd pentatonic pattern; the quick change progression
📄️ Lesson 4
Connecting scale patterns 1 & 2; root movements and more moveable chords
📄️ Lesson 5
Pentatonic pattern 3; the "spread" rhythm
📄️ Lesson 6
Connecting the first three patterns, introducing the 4th; the circle of 5ths
📄️ Lesson 7
The final scale pattern (5th); introducing 9th chords
📄️ Lesson 8
Connecting all of the patterns; #9 chords
📄️ Lesson 9
Playing scales over the entire fingerboard; more 9th chords
📄️ Lesson 10
More extended scale playing and alternate picking; 7th and 9th chord review
📄️ Lesson 11
Scale theory; adding the #4/b5 tone; turnarounds
📄️ Lesson 12
More scale theory, introducing the major pentatonic scale; minor blues progressions
📄️ Lesson 13
Major and minor pentatonic combinations; more minor blues progressions
📄️ Lesson 14
More major and minor scales together; using passing chords plus 13th chords
📄️ Lesson 15
String pair scale playing; more passing and 13th chords
📄️ Lesson 16
Moving between adjacent scale patterns; using 6ths to make partial chords
📄️ Lesson 17
Skipping over strings in scale playing; using 3rds
📄️ Lesson 18
Matching minor scale and chord forms; introducing secondary chords in alternate blues progressions
📄️ Lesson 19
Matching major scale and chord forms; more alternate progressions
📄️ Lesson 20
Increasing speed; complete chord review and how and where to use them
📄️ Lesson 21
How to use scale patterns; more alternate progressions; playing over the entire fingerboard