Master Arpeggios

Seven extreme arpeggio forms can be played starting on the 6th string with the 1st finger and finishing on the 1st string with the 4th finger and each comprising 11 notes. They are presented here with Roman numerals so they may be played in any key. The fret positions are variable depending on the particular key you choose to play in. They are described in the key of G, in which they can be played on an electric guitar or acoustic steel string with a cutaway.

A classical guitar fretboard joins the body at the 12th fret and lacks a cutaway making it impossible to play all of these patterns in one key, though they are each playable in a small range of keys.

The layout of the diagrams is based on the potential to play any of the patterns in any key, however because the patterns span 11 or 12 fret spaces. If you are playing a cutaway guitar with 22 or more frets, you can play all the patterns in every key.

Notice that in each case, the lower pattern spans the three lower strings (Lower String Group) and the higher pattern covers the upper four (Upper String Group). The green shapes of the arpeggio patterns which are connected by red or orange ellipse shapes. The ellipses represent hand position shifts, which are either minor 3rds (red) or major 3rds (orange). Remember that these are all series of 3rds, so you will not play the note in the center of each ellipse.

Finally, an important detail is that these arpeggios span one note short of 3 full octaves, each one ending on the 7th of its root note. Adding the root at the high end competes the 3 octave run.

Starting with the tonic pattern, lets play the first pattern in the key of G. It will run from the 3rd fret of the 6th string to the 14th fret on the 1st.

(More about the underlying symmetry of these arpeggios HERE - HERE - HERE - HERE and HERE.)


The notes are:  I (G) - III (B) - V (D) - VII (F#) - II (A) - SHIFT - IV (C) - VI (E) - I (G) - III (B) -  V (D) - VII (F#). 

Tonic and Subdominant
(In the key of G, the lower form is G Major 9th, the upper form is C Major #11.)

(key of G)
Once you've gotten the hang of playing it in G, try it in other practical keys.

The next pattern can be played in the key of G as well. In that key it will run from the 5th fret to the 16th fret at its highest fret position on the 4th string, but the last note will be the tonic on the 15th fret of the 1st string.

Supertonic and Dominant
(In the key of G the lower form is A minor 9, the upper form is D Dominant 11th.)

(key of G)

If you stay in the key of G, you will play the next pattern starting on the 7th fret. (In the key of C, it begins on the open 6th string) ...

Mediant and Submediant
(In the key of G the lower form is B minor 7 (b9), the upper form is E minor 11th.)

(key of G)

In the key of G, the next arpeggio begins on the 8th fret and reaches to the 19th ... continue in the key of C if you have an acoustic guitar ...

Subdominant and Leading Tone
(In the key of G the lower form is C Major 9th, the upper form is F# minor 11th (b5 b9).)

(key of G)

Dominant and Tonic
(In the key of G the lower form is D Dominant 9, the upper form is G Major 11th.)

(key of G)

... now we shift back down to the open position, where the open E string is VI ...

Submediant and Supertonic
(In the key of G the lower form is E minor 9, the upper form is A minor 11th.)

(key of G)

... and finishing with the 7th degree (F#) on the 2nd fret ...

Leading Tone and Mediant
(In the key of G the lower form is F# minor b9 (b5), the upper form is B minor 11 (b9).

(key of G)

__________________________________________________________________________
Helpful hints:

1) Play slowly and with rhythm. Give all the notes equal time.

2) Be aware of your picking pattern. If you're using a pick, try alternating the pick direction on each note. Also, "sweeps" may be preferable when crossing strings.

3) Be consistent with your left hand fingering and play the patterns using the same fingering ascending and descending. Ideally, the first note of each form is played with the 1st finger (except where the first note is an open string) ... and the last note of each form is played with the 4th finger.

4) Remember which patterns are most effective in a particular key.

5) Name the notes out loud as you play them. Staying aware of the note names in any pattern is always a good idea.

6) Write down the patterns in standard notation. Start with the key of C.

Chromatic Arpeggios (Part 3)

The Chromatic Barre Chord

Here's a chromatic arpeggio using an A major 6-string barre chord, using the half-step shifts explored in the two previous posts. 

Rather than treating the barre chord as a fixed shape, we can approach it as a fluid form which blends into the tonal matrix around it. 

If we're in the key of A major, our VII Zone is based on the 4th fret and the root of the A major chord is on the 5th fret. Thinking of the chord as a part of a 'Zone' enables you to smoothly transition between melodic and harmonic ideas. 

Play the arpeggio slowly with careful attention to the indicated fingering;

Here's the notation for the arpeggio above;

Notice that the scale pattern and the arpeggio share the same fingering position. You can transition from one to the other at any point along the way without any shift of hand position.


... Go to Part 2 ...

Chromatic Arpeggios (Part 2)

The previous post examined a simple triad arpeggio. Here are a set of arpeggiated Zone Patterns (box patterns). The basic Zone structure is there, but because of the leading halfsteps the shapes of the Zones indicated by the green cones. the shape of the Zones may be unclear at first.

If we look at the overall pattern, certain crucial features appear;

Green cones indicate the chromatic shifts in each arpeggio.
Red ellipses connect two positions on a string — always a wholestep
Yellow bands show the transitions between strings — always major or minor thirds.

The visual language of these diagrams is part of the Fretography® Method, which is detailed in this blog. The key to really understanding this approach is to see the guitar fretboard as an integrated musical matrix, rather than a blank grid on which dots are placed without reinforcing the connections between them. 

The shapes and colors are chosen to highlight various diatonic aspects of the patterns. This way you can learn the shapes along with their musical significance. Modes, scales, double-stops, chords, arpeggios – all connected. 

More to come.

... Go to Part 1 ...
... Go to Part 3 ...

Chromatic Arpeggios (Part 1)

Here's a simple and effective technique for getting more out of chords.

In the diagram below you see a Major 7th chord  rooted in the tonic of its key (I). It can theoretically be any key, but for our purposes we'll place it on the 10th fret, making it a C Major 7th in the key of C.

The  green  cone shapes indicate the movement starting from a note one fret (half step) below each chord tone, within the  yellow  band — leading chromatically into the chord tones themselves, as shown in the notation.

Played note by note this creates a melodic structure which can be applied in lots of ways and can be a valuable part of your musical vocabulary.

Here are three different positions on the fretboard to play the same arpeggio;

This diagram is in the key of G (G=I).

You can treat any chord this way. Just take the shape of any chord and simply arpeggiate it with the chromatic leading notes preceding each of the chord tones.

I'll explore this subject more in future posts.

... Go to Part 2 ...

Play Along

You can jam along to a couple of simple chord patterns in any of the 12 keys ...

Blues Patterns - Play along with 3 minutes of 12 bar blues at 80 BPM with an 8-beat count-in.   

|  I  |  IV  |  I  |  I  |  IV  |  IV  |  I  |  I  |  V  |  IV  |  I  |  V  :|
Key of A

Basic Ballad - I VI II V patterns. Play along with 3 minutes of pop/folk ballad at 120 BPM with an 8-beat count-in.

|  I  |  vi  |  ii  |  V  :|
Key of A

For tracks in every key, go to the Practice Tracks page ...

Treble Chain

(click for larger image)

This pattern is based on the same essential principle as the previous pattern; a set of arpeggios in X shapes combined with an underlying set of diamond patterns. The geometry yields a musical idea which follows a logical interval structure. Each X in this pattern is played as two arpeggios.

The diamonds are played; Root - 3rd - 7th - 9th. The green X is the exception, as it was in the previous pattern, consisting of a 10th and an Octave combined with a Tritone and a Whole Tone. 

Here are diagrams, notation and sound clips for each part of the pattern;

Dorian X
D minor 11th / F major 7th / E minor 7 (b9)

Lydian X
F major 9 / A minor 9th / G dom 9th

Aeolian X
A minor 11th / C major 7th / B minor 7 (b5 b9)

Ionian X
C major 10th / D Octave

The Big Picture

Here's the combined pattern covering the entire fret board in the key of C and as Roman numerals;

(click for larger image)

This is the same pattern featuring Roman numerals which apply to all keys.

All contents of this blog are © Mark Newstetter

Argyle Chops

(click for larger image)

The pattern of this exercise doesn't just look pretty, it expresses the innate symmetry of the diatonic system on the fretboard within the three low strings. The colored X shapes comprise a set of broken chords; the first half of each X is "Root, 5th, 7th" (no 3rd), the other half is "Root, 3rd, 7th" (no 5th), Each complete X is a type of 9th chord arpeggio, i.e.; EGBDF, GBDFA, etc. ... while the gray diamond shapes are 7th arpeggios; "Root, 3rd, 5th, 7th."

Each X can also be thought of as relating to the mode of its lowest note, so we can call the first (red) X the "Phrygian X" ... the central purple X is the "Mixolydian X" ... the orange X is the "Locrian X" and the green X is the "Dorian X." Each grey shape comprises a chord which is a step above the root of each X, with the exception of the small grey diamond within the green "Dorian X, which contains only two notes.

The seven arpeggiated chords in this pattern are; E minor b9th, F major 7th, G dominant 9th, A minor 7th, B minor 9 (b5),  C major 7th and D minor 9th.

Use the notation, diagrams and sound clips below to play each part of the pattern;

Phrygian X
E minor 7 (b9) / F major 7th

Mixolydian X
G dominant 9th / A minor 7th

Locrian X
B minor 9 (b5) / C major 7th

Dorian X
D minor 9th

Repeat each form a few times before going on to the next.



All contents of this blog are © Mark Newstetter