Revisiting the VII Zone as an Arpeggio Zone

The VII Zone is one of two fretboard positions which require no hand shifts. It contains a full two octave range in the Locrian (VII), Ionian (I) and Dorian (II) modes. Shown below in the key of C, it is broken into two arpeggio paths, the blue-green path is treated as the primary line running from B on the 6th string to D on the 1st string. The secondary grey line runs from the Tonic (C) on the 6th string two octaves to the 1st string tonic. The C Major 7th (tonic) chord running from the 4th to the 1st string is the most prominent aspect of the overall pattern.

Notice that any three consecutive notes in each line comprise triads. The notation below the diagram shows how these extended arpeggios can be played as a series of triads.

The Leading tone rooted triad series (blue-green line) played two different speeds, ascending and descending.
... The Leading Tone (7th fret) Arpeggio

Next you see the same arpeggio pattern with the visual emphasis reversed;

The tonic arpeggio in the VII zone has one less note than the leading tone run; eight as opposed to nine. You may find that the different numbers of notes and the different fingering present different rhythmic possibilities. For instance, the Tonic 3rd sound clip below begins on an upstroke. Play these patterns using alternate direction flat-picking. Down/Up/Down/Up/ etc.

... The Tonic (8th fret) Arpeggio

Below are the two versions of the arpeggio pattern side by side;

VII Zone Arpeggio Scale

Ascending triads (root-3rd-5th); B dim, C maj, D min, E min, F maj, G maj, A min, B dim, C maj, D min, E min, F maj, G maj. Reverse to descend.

If you click on any image you will see full screen versions of the images in this post which you can compare by toggling using the arrow keys on your computer.

All contents of this blog are © Mark Newstetter

Moveable 3rds with Bass Drone

3rds riffs add a lot to any musical vocabulary. In this blog we've looked at a number of ways to approach 3rds on the fret board. This exercise comprises the first four 3rds in the key of E  (E Major, F# minor, G# minor, A Major) with the repetition of a fingered E in the bass.

Because there are no open string in this riff, you can move it to other keys, but it must be played using the same strings as shown. Notice that the bass note (5th string, 7th fret E) is played with the 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st fingers in consecutive order while the 3rds double stops begin with the 1st and 2nd fingers and end with the 3rd and 4th (E Major and A Major). The 1st and 4th fingers play both of the minor 3rds (F# and G# minor).

Play slowly and pay careful attention to the fingering.

It should sound something like this, played ascending and descending;

All contents of this blog are © Mark Newstetter