Jazz Guitar 101: Arpeggios

[dirkji]

Discussion about this beginner lesson about arpeggios: Jazz Guitar 101: Arpeggios

You can post all questions or general feedback about this tutorial in this thread.

- Dirk

[tje2tje]

(1) I take it position A means the A of CAGED (could for me since I'm comfortable with that!).

(2) First para here says working in the key of A major--but this is G maj right?

Looking forward to more along these lines.

--TJE

[mr. beaumont]

1. actually, no. i think he's referring to fifth fret position, A on the 6th string. The chord here would be more based off the "E" shape in this CAGED system i hear everyone digging...well, E minor.

2. yes, Am to D7 would definitely put us in G major

[aPAULo]

Thats was a good idea. I like the way you present your information. Easy to understand and I like how there is 3 different ways to show the fingerings for the arpeggios. What other ones are you making?

[Aaron J. Halpern]

Hi I studyed and practiced the D7fingering in the fifth position I did find it awaked to use I started with my third finger on A third finger on D first finger on C what would you siggested for fingering on the f# thanks for any help Aaron

[TheThunder]

easy to read and comprehend. great visual aids.

keep up the great work helping out us noobs!

Thunder

[Luciano]

Can you please tell me the differance between an arpeggio and a pentatonic scale? Don't they both play the notes of a chord?

[mr. beaumont]

well, arpeggio refers to a specific chord, so a cmaj7 arpeggio would play the notes of that chord, C, E, G, and B, or Root, third, fifth, seventh.

a more complicated chord would have a more complicated arpeggio

the major pentatonic scale uses the Root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th note of the major scale, so C major pentatonic...

C, D, E, G, A

The minor pentatonic starts from the sixth degree and uses the same notes-- so the relative minor of C, A minor, pentatonic would look like this

A, C, D, E, G

[pete]

5th position D7 - are you barring it or using fingertips?

[mr. beaumont]

||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|-1-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|-4-|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|-2-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|-3-|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|



or




||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|---|-4-|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|-1-|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|---|-3-|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|-1-|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|



F#'s in red...not totally sure i understand your question, but i hope this helps...

[dirkji]

Originally Posted by Aaron J. Halpern

Hi I studyed and practiced the D7fingering in the fifth position I did find it awaked to use I started with my third finger on A third finger on D first finger on C what would you siggested for fingering on the f# thanks for any help Aaron

Aaron, here's the fingering for the D7 arpeggio:




----------------------------5-----8------------
-----------------------7---------------------
---------------5---7--------------------------
-------4---7----------------------------------
---5-----------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------

Fi:-2---1----4---1----3----3-----1-----4

Make a bar with your 3rd finger.

Does that answer your question?

- Dirk

[dirkji]

Sorry guys, the A major was a typo, of course it's in G major.

Pete - yes, I'm barring.

Thanks for the clarifications Mr. Beaumont.

All the Best,
Dirk

[Aaron J. Halpern]

Dirk fingering works out very well,now I can work on my speed using those fingering thanks for the help Aaron

[Aaron J. Halpern]

Now I can work on my speed using the correct fingering on that lesson ,the other 2 appeggios work find thanks for your help

[griphon ii]

I'm not sure I should do this, but I believe in simplicity. All music can be
done alphabetically with particular attention to fingering (boxed or caged, for guitar players) and aural, the ear. George Benson admitted he's not a great reader.
Anyway, who has time to write it down when you're making it up. To help ear training, is to write a solo down without the aid of the guitar or instrument. That can be unreasonably difficult if you don't know where to play it, or how to finger it, etc. True irony, especially in terms of education; a person with all faculties does not learn to speak any language by knowing an alphabet. It's all aural. It's later, one is forced into the other mode of education. Let's not talk about folks without all faculties. That's where true amazement begins.

Learn to say the musical alphabet (ABCDEFG) in any direction, from any point.
One can do this in the shower and on the way to work. It is so pathetically easy. This alphabet can be numbered equally as easily. 1-7(-13). Later, a
real cheap trick. Learning intervals (aural, fingering, etc) becomes a breeze.
Just doing this takes a very, very short time.

For example, ii V(7) in G or Gm. It doesn't matter, it's A D (alphabetically). In Eb = F C, so forth. One can use this logic in any key or no key. Harmony is the next lesson, and that can be done purely alphabetically. maj, min, dim and full dim. What a hustle.

To go a bit sideways looking at Pents with the example used, sort of.
Play Am pent and Amaj pent together. Or Cmaj pent and Cm pent together.
See what you come up with. Love those prepositions.

[seanlowe]

Any idea on what the next 101 is gonna be about dirk??

[Aaron J. Halpern]

thanks for all off those wonderful idea, like the one about saying and receiting the music alphabet every which way I will practice that until I know it every which way, a lot to absorb in your reply I will take one step at a time reading is something I want to acomplish, it has taken years ,and years to understand it,I do take lessons from a teacher in Mass, for about 3 yrs, he is teaching me music from the Rosenburg Bros,standards also have learned a lot of new chords, has you probly know yourself, appreciate all your imput Thanks a lot to everyone that can help Aaron J. Halpern I use my real name because thats who I am.

[aPAULo]

Aaron, nice to see you here, but it would make it alot easier to understand what you are saying if you put periods in your sentences. Thanks.

[hicksy]

i found this lesson easy to understand and digest and realy look forward to a lesson regarding more complicated arpegios,just a thought when told to improvise over the chords in question are the arpegios emphasised or solly played.

[dirkji]

Hicksy, what do you mean by 'are the arpegios emphasised or solly played'?

- Dirk

[dirkji]

Sean, I'm not sure yet, I was thinking about scales.

- Dirk

[griphon ii]

I think what is needed is to arpeggiate through specific harmony or keys. Arpeggiate through every key to understand the function of what the harmony is. Inside and outside playing or improv is a manipulation of the harmony, keeping melody in mind. Jam a progression, and improv a consistent melody. You can aurally hear what's going on. And then experiment.

[griphon ii]

I just have to say something about pents or pentatonic. They are the root, vocally, of just about any and every culture I can think of. The key is vocal. Even if you can't sing!!! I can't, none too good. (you do the math) There is some real serious irony in American music; blues, rock and jazz. It's all based on simplicity. What sounds correct is probably correct. If not repeat, make it work. Pents are the beginning of really getting the sound. Major pents is country, minor pents is blues. The twisting and bending is the sound, sort of simply. Ya' have to play with it. Combining the two and bending toward a particular sound will give you a certain result. Combining the two pents sort of, gives you a major scale. It doesn't sound Bach, but he did it too. What a jazzer. After a few hundred years, our culture hears different. A lot of sounds fly that couldn't before. Here's something... You can play Maj blues using just one minor pent... in one spot...

[hicksy]

dirkji what i meant in an earlier post was previously when improvising over a 2,5,1 progresion i have stuck to playing modes of the major scale for what key it happens to be in,which have contained notes which are not in the chord i,m playing over. Having said that it has,nt sounded wrong but would i be right in thinking that any note which is not in the chord being played over is merely an unimportant passing note used to get to one of the arpegiated notes contained in the chord.

[dirkji]

Originally Posted by hicksy

dirkji what i meant in an earlier post was previously when improvising over a 2,5,1 progresion i have stuck to playing modes of the major scale for what key it happens to be in,which have contained notes which are not in the chord i,m playing over. Having said that it has,nt sounded wrong but would i be right in thinking that any note which is not in the chord being played over is merely an unimportant passing note used to get to one of the arpegiated notes contained in the chord.

We're going to be talking about combining arpeggios with other techniques, but you can use them as they are as well. For educational purposes it's important to play them without mixing with other techniques until you can play them fluently without thinking and mistakes.

- Dirk

[simee]

Hey Dirk,
just wanted to let you know how much i enjoyed your first lesson on arpeggio's. I have been playing a long time, and its amazing how you can overlook the basics.

Quite often i find myself trying to run before i can even crawl let alone walk. Often i am trying to weave some complicated line through a ii v when i cant even fluentley play the basic arpeggio shapes. So thanks again and i look forward to the next lesson.

[martunes]

Dirk - thanks for this. I knew all of these and practise (and teach) them regularly. It hadn't occured to me to use the 2 notes per string versions. I find this very useful - or will when I memorize them.

[wizard3739]

Very Nice Job Dirk! My students will eat this up. BTW, thanks for the great site, there is no better jazz guitar site on the internet!

[aPAULo]

Originally Posted by wizard3739

there is no better jazz guitar site on the internet!

Amen.

I have to say, this helped me alot. It didnt occur to me for some reason, that you can play arpeggios in like 5 different positions. I always played in the position where the chord was. This will definitely help to expand my playing creativity.

But I have a request. Could you put all the notes of the arpeggio together in one diagram so it makes it easier to learn all of the notes them at once? I could learn the 2 seperate diagrams, but it would make it more convenient in one. Just a suggestion.

[hicksy]

i,m just wondering wether it is best practice to allways start a g major arpegio on the root note or is it best to practice the shapes in the diagrams starting on the lowest note b or f# for example.