Lesson 8: Arpeggios
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In order for most of this to make sense, it's really important that you've learned the notes on the fretboard, your major and
minor scales and are still capable of fitting more ideas into your skull.
Arpeggios are essentially notes of a chord played consecutively with a distinct separation between them. This is the primary difference between strumming and arpeggios. In an arpeggio, each note is articulated at the moment it is played. For this reason you must be very accurate and very confident in your playing. There will be no time to pre-arrange your fingers in the correct shape and then pick out notes. Doing so affects the sound of the notes. They ring out and sound most individual when they are voiced on the fly. This is why so many books have been written about arpeggios and
sweep picking etc.
A little about the arpeggio itself. Many arpeggios are based upon the 1, 3, 5, and 7 of a Major or Minor scale. The ones we construct in this lesson are of that family. Let's begin:
We'll use C Major. Now take the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th. We'll put one note per string. Once again, it's nice to fret the lowest note first. Our notes will be C, E, G, B. Here's how I fretted those notes:
Code:
e-------------
B----------1-
G-------0----
D-----2------
A---3--------
E-------------
Once you've played the 7th note, go right back down, like so
Code:
e-------------------
B----------1--------
G-------0----0-----
D-----2---------2---
A---3-------------3-
E--------------------
Make sure you are pressing your fingers down one at a time. In fact, if you'd like to hear the difference, fret the notes like you would for a chord and pick the figure above. It will not sound as distinct. Practice these slowly. Speed is not nearly as important right now as accuracy is. Make each note clear and perfect. Then, once you're confident, speed it up a little. Slowly increase your playing. As you get faster, you may find that you are "rolling" your hand over the chord shape to make the arpeggios faster. This is fine as long as you're still ensuring that the notes are crisp and clear.
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!
Next time, Intermediate Arpeggios and variations
