[Lesson] Seven String Arpeggios Part I

[Chris]

This is a simple lesson in arpeggios. As with any scale or arpeggio, it is moveable and applies to all keys.

Before you start, take a note of inversions. All of these arpeggios are based off of triads. Triads are chords made up of 3 notes based on the root note (1), the third (major or minor) and the fifth (perfect, diminished, augmented) of a scale.

Major = 1,3,5
Minor = 1, b3, 5
Diminished = 1, b3, b5
Augmented = 1, 3, #5

Standard inversions start on the root note, while first inversions start on the third (3, 5, 1 for example) and second inversions start on the fifth (5, 1, 3).

These arpeggios go up the E major scale, covering 4 octaves.

E maj -> F# min

G# min -> A maj

B maj -> C# min

D# dim -> E maj

 

[The Dark Wolf]

Excellent work, Chris.

Also for beginners, to achieve that neat, Yngwie style effect when playing arpeggios (remember - arpeggios are just CHORDS. But they are picked out note-by-note, intead of strummed) try a little trick called SWEEPING.

Sweeping is when you lightly drag the pick up or down in a smooth, continuous motion, instead of cleanly picking each note. It gives a wonderful, trilling effect, and sounds metal as heck. But, it takes quite a bit of practice. Smoothly sweep UP, while forming the arpeggio (hammer on where necessary), smoothly sweep DOWN, pulling off where necessary.

Ok, that was my helpful info for the year.

 

[noodles]

Some suggested fingerings would be very helpful IMHO.

 

[Chris]

Excellent work, Chris.

Also for beginners, to achieve that neat, Yngwie style effect when playing arpeggios (remember - arpeggios are just CHORDS. But they are picked out note-by-note, intead of strummed) try a little trick called SWEEPING.

Sweeping is when you lightly drag the pick up or down in a smooth, continuous motion, instead of cleanly picking each note. It gives a wonderful, trilling effect, and sounds metal as heck. But, it takes quite a bit of practice. Smoothly sweep UP, while forming the arpeggio (hammer on where necessary), smoothly sweep DOWN, pulling off where necessary.

Ok, that was my helpful info for the year.

I plan to build on this into some beginner sweeps for the 7, in fact.

 

[Chris]

Some suggested fingerings would be very helpful IMHO.

I'll work on that. My powertab skill is next to none, so at this point, I figure it was better to leave them out than to put in my halfassed attempt at notating them.

 

[noodles]

I'm pretty sure Guitar Pro has a feature for entering fingerings.

 

[Drew]

You can add fingerings into PT as text, but it's a pain in the neck.

For that first one, try 2-1-4-4-3-2-1-2, and then a final 4 for the pull-off before descending. That's how I do it, anyhow.

 

[Zane]

When you sweep pick you mute the strings 2 right?
if so how , i never got that

 

[LordOVchaoS]

When you sweep pick you mute the strings 2 right?
if so how , i never got that

Yes and no. You don't have to at all but sometimes it's necessary to mute the strings you've already strummed to quiet them down. It makes it sound a lot clearer to my ears when all of the strings aren't ringing. Maybe I'm just sloppy and this is necessary only for those like me

A little palm mute at the beginning of the sweep also adds a nice punchy effect.

 

[LeperMessiah47]

I tend to tap out the final octave of the arpeggio (for example, in the first Emaj arpeggio, I'll tap out the 12 (E) adding a quintuplet to the end instead of a 8/16th note.)

 

[Pete]

I just use any chord I know or can dream up if its in the scale i'm using and sweep it to hell and back. I basically play it and if it sounds pretty I use it. Often I will sweep up on one chord, and sweep down another, then up the next and so on, in any chord progression I like. It sounds beautiful in any asending progression i do it any way I can. I like to use it to play melody lines and vary the speed and timings. I avoid using set patterns that repeat, I hate doing that. I try to think of alternative ways to make melody.

 

[777]

anyone else finding the pinky rolling on the E+A difficult to get both notes down on ? i think my pinky is small in comparison to my skeletally long other ones =/

 

[Balrogmoshpit]

When you sweep pick you mute the strings 2 right?
if so how , i never got that

When I sweep pick, it has become like second nature so its just out of practice and habit. How I do it is I start out with a kind of palm mute on the lower strings which add to the initial transients "punch" and as I progress through the sweep, my palm mute follows through, Which deadens the low strings and brings out the highs and on my descending run of the arpeggio the high strings I mute with my fingers that aren't being used. It can be tricky trying to get a fluid motion and a fluid sound when doing sweeps. So if you get in the habit of playing the arpeggios slowly and really learning how to sweep that will be the most beneficial factor. Things like muting should be an after though til you really get the sweeps down.

Also pickup placement is crucial as well. You don't want a lot of treble because a good mid range would help those arpeggios stand out as well as making them sound beefier giving you that kind of Yngwie esk tone. They tend to get muddled when you play em with a lot of treble.

 

[ShreddingDragon]

Totally ancient thread, but thought this was pretty cool: this excercise was mentioned today in Google+ by Official Ibanez Guitars. Nice!
https://plus.google.com/116667650329871144937/posts