Section 2.2 (back to index)

Arpeggios

 

( NotaBena (Note Well) [NB] ) These pages are written with the VERY young guitarist in mind. So if you feel that a point is being laboured keep in mind how easy it would be for you to understand if you were seven years old !)

 

Arpeggio like most musical terms derives from Italian. It means 'spread out'.

So to arpeggiate a chord means to spread out the chord, playing it one note at a time.

The classical guitarist uses a method of allocating the bass strings (strings 4,5, & 6) to the thumb and then playing the treble strings (the first three strings) with fingers 1, 2 & 3 of the right hand. Finger one plays string 3, finger 2 plays string 2 finger 3 plays string 1.

This is easy to do and very pleasant to the ear. Try it now. Play any three chords that you know ( Say E , A & B7) and play the ROOT note of the chord with the thumb.

The ROOT is the string that has the SAME name as the chord. So on E Major the root is on the 6th string, B7 root is on the A string - Make sure you know WHY this is so.

Use a steady 4/4 count - | 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4 | etc and play the Root on count 1 then strings 3, 2, 1.  

Arpeggios can also be fingered. Learning to do this lets you appreciate the make up of chords. It is very easy in theory to understand how to play any arpeggio. This, by derivation lets you figure every chord. Here is how it works.

 

Arpeggios are based on the chords of a given scale. We will use the C Major scale at the VII position (First finget on 7th fret, 2nd on 8th fret etc ...) Given the position play these left hand finger numbers, moving up a string whenever you get to finger 4

Play the following notes in seventh position..

2
4
1
2
4
1
3
4
1
3
4
2
4
1
2
 LEFT HAND FINGER
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C

 

NOTE

 
6
5
4
3
2
1

 

STRING

 
8
10
7
8
10
7
9
10
7
9
10
8
10
7
8

 

FRET

 

 

This of course results in the familiar Sol-Fa scale of C major through two octaves. What we can now do is extract fingered arpeggios of the scale by applying the following formula to every note in the scale.

START FROM THE TONIC(C) AND PLAY A NOTE, MISS A NOTE FOUR TIMES. TO GIVE YOU A FOUR NOTE ARPEGGIO. Repeat this for every note in the first octave of the scale.

THE FIRST ARPEGGIO THEREFORE IS ' C E G B ' This is fingered 2 1 4 3 as you can see.

Then follow - dfac egbd face gbdf aceg bdfa - giving the 7 jazz arpeggios derived from the C Major scale.

Their types are always the same and lead to another formula

Chord Types in a Given Key.

Maj(7) min(7) min(7) Maj(7) Dominant7 min(7) diminished.

These arpeggios are great to play and improvise with. Practise them up and then down daily just for fun .

 

 

 

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