Jazz Guitar 101 Part 2: Arpeggio Shapes

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For this second part of Arpeggio 101, I listed the arpeggio shapes for the main chord types: major, minor, dominant, m7b5 and diminished. Memorizing these arpeggio shapes can be a bit of a hassle, but it's important that you know them. Don't try to learn them all at once, give yourself the time and take it easy.

The arpeggios on this page are compulsory knowledge for every jazz guitarist.

In the following list I give you the arpeggios for specific chords, e.g. Am7, but remember that the shapes are movable (if this is not clear to you, read the end of Arpeggio 101 Part 1).

1) Arpeggio Shapes for Major Chords

 : represents the root or 1 of the guitar chord. The letter inside the box is the note name.

 : blue squares represent a chord tone other than the 1.

The number under the arpeggio diagrams is the fret number.

Chord: Gmaj7

Starting on the root or the 7:

Starting on the 3rd:

Also starting on the 3rd, but going in another direction:

Starting on the 5th:

Starting on the 7 or the root:

And here are two additional diagrams, where I play 2 notes per string. These patterns fall very convenient on the fretboard:

2) Arpeggio Shapes for Minor Chords

Chord: Am7

Starting on the root:

Starting on the 3rd:

Starting on the 5th in two directions:

Starting on the b7:

And here are 2 additional 2 notes/string shapes:

3) Arpeggio Shapes for Dominant Chords

Chord: G7

Starting from the root:

From the 3rd:

From the 5th:

From the b7:

And 2 additional 2 notes/string diagrams:

4) Arpeggio Shapes for Half Diminished Chords

Chord: Bm7b5

Starting from the root:

From the b3:

From the b5:

From the b7:

And the two additional 2 notes/string diagrams:

5) Arpeggio Shapes for Diminished Chords

There are only 2 shapes (+ the additional 2 notes/string shape) for diminished chords, that is because diminished arpeggios are symmetrical: they are built exclusively with minor third intervals. You can move these arpeggios 3 frets up and down the neck and you will still play the good notes. This means G°7 = Bb°7 = Db°7 = E °7, so you can start this arpeggio on the 3rd, the 6th, the 9th or the 12th fret and you'll be playing the same chord.

Chord: G°7 (= Bb°7 = Db°7 = E °7)

And here's the 2 notes/string shape:

Happy memorizing!

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