Table Of Contents What is an Arpeggio? Simple Major Arpeggio Pattern The Way to Play Arpeggios as Clean as Possible Simple Minor Arpeggio Pattern Playing Arpeggios Over Chord Progressions Creative Uses for Arpeggios Progress Tracker
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Music by Steve S�ne
What is an Arpeggio? An arpeggio is just a chord where each note of the chord is played sequen�ally (rather than simultaneously as in strumming chords). Because of this manner of playing, arpeggios are also known as broken chords.
Simple Major Arpeggio Pa�ern In this course, we will work on playing arpeggios on two strings, namely the 1st and 2nd strings. Before we move on, consider playing this arpeggio first and take note of the pa�ern:
Ex.1
° & ¢⁄
A
œ
#œ
˙
Root
Major 3rd
Perfect 5th
9
12
10
The example above that we just learned how to play is an A major arpeggio. It is nothing more than an A chord played across two strings and contains all the notes found in the chord: a root, 3rd, and 5th. As with anything we do on the guitar, what we learned is a movable pa�ern: once you know the pa�ern, just move it across the fretboard to play it in several keys. In this instance, all we need to be aware of is that the root note is at the 2nd string. If we start at the 2nd string and play the en�re pa�ern, we always get a major chord arpeggio. And so, if we want to play a G major arpeggio instead, we look for G at the 2nd string. We will find this note at the 8th fret of the 2nd string, and so once we start playing that pa�ern over there, we get a G major arpeggio:
Ex.2
G
œ
˙
Root
Major 3rd
Perfect 5th
7
10
° œ & 2
¢⁄
8
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How about trying an E major arpeggio? We know that we have an E at the 5th fret 2nd string. Using the same simple arpeggio pa�ern, we can now perform an E major arpeggio:
Ex.3
E
#œ
˙
Major 3rd
Perfect 5th
4
7
° œ & 3
Root
¢⁄
4 4
5
Arpeggia�ng a chord across its sequence is not really one of the most exci�ng things for a guitar player. To make things more interes�ng, It's best to play the arpeggio as a lick. Here's one in A major that features a pull-off from E to C#:
Ex.4
œ
#œ
A
° 4œ &4 4
9
¢⁄
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ˙
œ
12
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
9
10
10
From the descending por�on of the earlier lick, we can create a repe��ve or cyclical lick that u�lizes the pull-off por�on and then a single downstroke going from the at the 2nd string 10th fret and the E at the 1st fret 12th fret. This single downpicking mo�on that pushes through two strings is the key to this lick. The big trick here is that in order to avoid making the lick sound "chordal", allow the pick to rest at the 1st string before plucking it a�er playing the 2nd string.
Ex.5
° & 5
A œ #œ
œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
≥
≥
≥
™™44
™ ™ ¢⁄ 4
12
3 9
10
12
3 9
≥
10
≥
12
3 9
≥
10
≥
12
3 9
≥
10
™™ 44 ™ ™
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The Way to Play Arpeggios as Clean as Possible When we talk about arpeggios on an electric guitar in a soloing context, they should sound fluid and have the impression of a monophonic instrument like a saxophone, each note being the only sound at a par�cular space without any other note overlapping. Otherwise, playing that arpeggio will have that chordal sound. Therefore, care in playing arpeggios as clean as possible is a concern, especially when your guitar is running through distor�on. More than that, distor�on on an electric guitar adds elimina�ng extraneous noise as part of the challenge of playing arpeggios. There are a number of methods by which we can keep all other strings from vibra�ng as we play our arpeggios. 1. When we're playing the 1st string during an arpeggio sequence, we can allow the �p of the fre�ng hand's index finger to lightly touch the second string.
2. The pinkie side of the picking hand (the "karate chop" por�on) can be used to mute all other strings by lightly touching the strings near the pickups. 3. The picking hand's pinkie can be used to mute the 1st string. 4. The fre�ng hand's thumb can be used to mute the 6th string, especially when playing the 1st and 2nd strings. While all of theseare very good for mu�ng unwanted string vibra�ons, it is #1 that will be of most use in this course.
Simple Minor Arpeggio Pa�ern Ex.6
° 4 &4 6
Am
œ nœ
œ
œ nœ
3 12
¢⁄
œ
œ nœ
3
8
12 10
œ
œ nœ
3
8
12 10
œ
3
8
12 10
8 10
If we recall our music theory regarding chords, a major chord has a root, major 3rd, and a perfect 5th while the minor chord has a minor 3rd instead. And so, if we are to play arpeggios over minor chords, all we have to do is shi� that 3rd a fret lower to go from major to minor. In Ex. 6 we have an Am arpeggio. To get that Am arpeggio, all we did was we fla�ened (lowered one fret) our C# (1st string 9th fret) to a C natural (1st string 8th fret).
Playing Arpeggios Over Chord Progressions Now that we have established fingering and picking pa�erns for both major and minor arpeggios, we can use that knowledge to be able to play over chord progressions in very much the same way as playing rhythm guitar parts. In the next example, we will use an Am-F-C-G chord progression and play some arpeggios over them.
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Ex.7
4
Am
° & 7
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
12
8
¢⁄
12
8
10
12
8
° &
12
¢⁄
8
5
15
12
13
8
5
8
6
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
15
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
10
C 9
F
15
12
5
6
G
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
10
7
10
13
7
10
8
7
8
Remember that for this course we are using only one par�cular arpeggio shape, and so it's easy to find what arpeggio to use over a chord. Here's how: 1. Find the root on the 2nd string. 2. Play a major or minor arpeggio pa�ern depending on the chord progression. We can also play these arpeggios in a variety of rhythms and pa�erns. We can choose to play them fast, slow, etc. Here are some examples:
Ex.8
° & 11
Am
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ
12 8
¢⁄ 6
12 8 10
12 8 10
12 8 10
12 8 10
F
œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ≈ ≈ 8 5
10
8 5 6
8 5 6
8 5 6
8 5 6
6
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° & 13
Cœ
G œ œ œ œ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ 5 œ œ œ œ œ 4 ≈ ≈ 4
15 12
¢⁄
15 12 13
Ex.9
° 4 &4 15
Am œ 12
¢⁄
Cœ
15
15 12 13
8
12
8
° 4 &4 ¢⁄
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10 7 8
10 7 8
10 7 8
8
F
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J ‰ 8
5
8
5
5
10
6
6
G œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ J ‰ J ‰ 12
Am œ 12
10 7 8
8
15
12
12
10
13
Ex.10
10 7 13
œ œ œ œ œ œ J ‰
¢⁄ 19
15 12 13
10
° & 17
15 12 13
12 10
10
7
7
13
8
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 8
7
8
8 10
8
F
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 8
10
4 4
5
8 6
5
5 6
6
7
° &
6 21
Cœ 15
G œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 12
15
¢⁄
12
13
12 13
10
7
10
13
7
4 4
7
8
8
8
You can always try to come up with pa�erns other than these using arpeggios. All that ma�ers is when you hear a chord progression, you need to find where the root is, listen for the chord whether it is major or minor, and then play the appropriate arpeggio (major arpeggio for a major chord, minor arpeggio for a minor chord) in whatever pa�ern you think would suit the music well. We can start by learning the lick first and then do all sorts of other things a�erwards.
Ex.11
Am
F
œ œœœœœœ œ œœœœœ œ œœœœœœ ° 4 ‰ &4 23
12
8
8
¢⁄
10
8
12
8
10
8 10
8
5
5
10
5
6
6
C “” œ œ œ œ œœœœœœ œ œœœœœ ° œœ œ ‰ J ‰ & J 26
8
¢⁄ ° & 29
¢⁄ 8
5
5
15
6
12
6
15 13
12
15
12
13
12 13
13
œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
10
7
10
7
G
7 8
10
7 8
10
7
4 4
7 8
8
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Crea�ve Uses for Arpeggios As many of us would no�ce, the arpeggio is only one means to an end. As with other techniques, it is always best to incorporate it into other techniques in order to create solos that sound musical. This is where we push our crea�vity to the point of expressing what's really inside of us. One prac�cal way of doing this is blending arpeggios with the scale that corresponds to the key signature of the song that we are playing. If you know your pentatonic and/or diatonic scales, the possible combina�ons of scales and arpeggios seem limitless. Here's are tw examples:
Ex.12
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œbœ ° 4 œ œ &4 31
12 8
¢⁄ ° & 34
6
¢⁄ ° &
8 10
8
7
8 12 8
10
10 8
8
5
10
8
5
6
5
6
6
œbœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 8
37
12 8 10
5
5 8
8
5
15 12
6
15 12 13
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 10
¢⁄ GuitarZoom © 2014
7
10 8
7
8 8
12 13
13 12 13
15 13
12 13 15
œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ
13
Etc...
7
7 10
8
4 4
7 10
8
7
8
9
8
Ex.13
œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœ œœ œœ ° 4 œ œ &4 39
12 8
12 8
¢⁄
12 8
10
° œœœœœœœœ & ¢⁄
° & 45
¢⁄
5
5 6
6
8
5
8
5
6
8
5
6
œœ œœ œœ œœœœœ œ œ œœœ 15 12
8
8 12
42
7
10 8 12 8 10 8
10
5
15 12 13
15 12
13 12
13
12 15
15 13 12 13
7
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ
10
8
7
10 8
7
10 8
7
Etc...
7
4 4
7 10
10
8
7
8
The goal here is to have one idea that expands to mul�ple ideas. In this case, it's our major and minor arpeggio pa�erns, know how to play them up and down, back and forth, etc., and then eventually start adding notes in between. Here we have a third example of how to do it:
10
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Ex.14
œœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ œœœœœœœœ œ œ ° 4 &4 47
8 12 8 10
¢⁄ ° & 50
10
œœœœœœœ 12
8
10
¢⁄ ° & 53
8 12
¢⁄
12
8 10 8
10
8 12
8 10 12
œœœœœœœœ œ œœœœœœ œ
8
8
5
5
7
6
5 8
5 6
8
5
8
5
7
6
8
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœœœœ œ œ œ œ
¢⁄ ° &
8 12
10
5
55
12 8 10 8 12 13 10
15 6
8
12
5
12
13
13
12 15
13
12
13
12 13 12 13 14
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
Etc...
Ó
Etc... 12
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15
12
12 12
15
12
13
12
12 12
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Progress Tracker Arpeggio Secrets What is an Arpeggio? Simple Major Arpeggio Pattern The Way to Play Arpeggios as Clean as Possible Simple Minor Arpeggio Pattern Playing Arpeggios Over Chord Progressions Creative Uses for Arpeggios
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