How do I make arpeggios sound like jazz?

What arpeggios do I need to learn?

These are two of the most frequently asked questions I have about arpeggios.

Because of this, I have written this guide that will teach you the following:

The four essential arpeggio chord types

Fingerings and positions

How to apply arpeggios to progressions

Arpeggio etudes

What is an arpeggio?

An arpeggio is a four note sequence.

For the purpose of this class, you are going to learn a four note arpeggio with the following formula:

Root – Third – Fifth – Seventh

Firstly, you are going to learn how this four note formula is applied to the four primary jazz chord types:

Major 7th Chord

Dominant 7th Chords

Minor 7th Chords

Minor 7b5 Chords

Secondly, you will learn two-octave arpeggios for each chord type to get them under your fingers and in your ears.

Finally, you’ll learn how to apply these over common jazz progressions and make music with them.

You will find this lesson helpful if you are new to jazz guitar improvisation.

Don’t forget to check out this lesson on beginner jazz guitar chords if you are new.

Like with any technique, make sure that you are balancing this out by applying to tunes that you are working on.

Major 7th Arpeggios

Firstly, let’s start with the major 7th arpeggio.

Each of the notes from the major 7th arpeggio comes from the major scale.

You can use major 7th arpeggios to improvise over major 7th chords.

Major 7th Arpeggio Intervals: R, 3, 5, 7

C Major 7th Arpeggio Notes: C, E, G, B

Dominant 7th Arpeggios

Secondly, let’s move onto the dominant 7th arpeggio.

The dominant 7th arpeggio has one note that is different from the major 7th, the seventh which has been flattened.

As a result, you will now need to flattend the seventh in the major seventh fingerings you have just learned.

Dominant 7th Arpeggio Intervals: R, 3, 5, b7

C Dominant 7th Arpeggio Notes: C, E, G, Bb

Minor 7th Arpeggios

Finally, let’s look at the minor 7th arpeggio.

There is a one note difference between the dominant 7th arpeggio and the minor 7th arpeggio, the third.

Consequently the fingerings have once again been amended to reflectthis.

Minor 7th Arpeggio Intervals: R, b3, 5, b7

C Dominant 7th Arpeggio Notes: C, Eb, G, Bb

Fingerings for Arpegios

Arpeggios are important part of learning your instrument.

Because of this, I have included fingerings for arpeggios that span the entire guitar neck.

You can either learn these now or come back to this section after the musical exercises.

Jazz chord progressions usually contain at least one chord per bar.

That means you need to be able to grab arpeggios on the fly.

Two-octave arpeggios help develop your technique, but single octaves are often more accessible.

Because of this, the arpeggio fingerings contain only single octave fingerings.

As a result, you will have quicker fingerings to use.

The fingerings suggest two ways of playing a single octave arpeggio with the root on the bottom four strings of the guitar.

You can combine these to create two and three octave scale shapes.

Each of the fingerings are suggestions!

So, feel free to change and experiment with the fingering suggestions.

Practice each of these slowly and in all 12 keys.

No doubt about it, this exercise seems like a big task.

But by sticking with it you will learn arpeggios thoroughly across your instrument.

Major 7th Arpeggios

Dominant 7th Arpeggios

Minor 7th Arpeggios

Arpeggios Practice

These two practice exercises will ensure that you learn arpeggios thoroughly so that you can use them freely.

Ensure that you are confident with the following two exercises.

Move on to the next section when are you comfortable with each item.

The first practice exercise is to practice arpeggios in all 12 keys.

Why?

Playing arpeggios in all 12 keys is not only a great technical work out, but one that will ensure you have the necessary technique for improvising.

Secondly, say and sing the intervals when you are playing the arpeggios.

Singing and saying the intervals will ensure that you connect your ears and brain with your fingers.

Here are a few tips to help you with arpeggios.

The fingerings are suggestions, so feel free to change them if there is a fingering that you prefer

If you play a major scale and miss out every second note, you will be playing a major 7th arpeggio

Make sure that you can separate each of the octaves, so that you do not get locked into to a two octave fingering.

Arpeggios Exercises

Now that you have arpeggios underneath your fingers, let’s look at how to make them “sound like jazz”.

The three elements of music are rhythm, harmony and melody.

Amongst these, rhythm is considered the most important.

Because of this, you are going to learn how to make arpeggios sound like jazz by adding rhythm.

Each rhythm exercise can be applied to any type of arpeggio, such as major, minor, dominant.

Each exercise is in the key of C and uses the same position on the neck.

But you should aim to practice these exercises in different keys and in different positions.

Here is a link to the video lesson to accomapny this section of the class.

Arpeggio Study 1

Syncopation is a big part of jazz.

Because of this, the first example starts on the and of 1.

Another way that you can sound musical when improvising with arpeggios is by starting on a note besides the root.

Because of this, arpeggio study 1 starts on the 7th.

Both of these ideas are applied to the three main arpeggios.

So, you will confident with both of these techniques across all three chords.

Arpeggio Study 2

The second arpeggio study emphasizes the triad before introducing the seventh for each chord type.

Due to the skipped string there are a variety of picking techniques that you can use.

Experiment with them and do the one that feels the most natural to you.

Arpeggio Study 3

Using triplets adds musicality to your arpeggios.

Because of this, study 3 uses the triplet rhythm.

The same harmonic sequence is applied as study 1.

In contrast, there is a new rhythm pattern applied.

Playing the same harmony with different rhythms helps you get more mileage from one idea.

So, you now have two ideas that use the same sequence, but with different rhythms.

Arpeggio Study 4

The next arpeggio study teaches you a common rhythm used by countless jazz greats.

Like studies 1 and 3, this example starts on an off beat and uses a triplet.

Like the earlier example, there are different ways this study can be picked.

If you have not used down strokes or sweeps then this study will help you feel confident with sweep picking.

Use consecutive down strokes when the arpeggio ascends and up strokes when the arpeggio descends.

Arpeggio Study 5

The final example teaches you a rhythm that alternates between quarter notes and eighth notes.

This rhythm was used by players such as Wes Montgomery and it’s particularly effective to use with descending arpeggios.

Pay attention to the fingering on the minor arpeggio on the B and G strings.

Move on to the next section when you can comfortably play all five arpeggio studies.

ii V I Exercises

Finally, let’s look at applying arpeggios over ii-V-I progressions.

Like the earlier section says, one octave arpeggios are easier to grab.

Because of this, you will learn how to use one octave arpeggios over the ii-V-I in C.

What are the three chords in a ii-V-I in C?

Dm7, G and Cmaj7.

You now have three chords to use arpeggios over instead of one.

The following diagrams show you the notes for each of the chords you are going to improvise over.

You should feel comfortable saying and singing each note and naming the interval.

D Minor 7 Arpeggio Notes: D, F, A, C

G Dominant 7 Arpeggio Notes: G, B, D, F

C Major 7 Arpeggio Notes: C, E, G B

The seven exercises show you the complete arpeggio practice process.

Yes, the process might seem slow and challenging at first.

But the process will become easier over time.

As a result of studying these exercises, you will ultimately by able to use arpeggios on the fly over most jazz standards.

ii V I Exercise 1

Firstly, exercise 1 teaches you how to ascend over each chord using quarter notes.

A commmon era is to have gaps between the changes.

So, make sure that you have no stops when switching between each shape.

As a result, you will have clean shifts and a fluent outline of the changes.

ii V I Exercise 2

Like the static chord exercises, you need to feel comfortable going up and down arpeggios.

So, once you can ascend through each arpeggio try descending.

Like with exercise 1, make sure that you have no gaps!

ii V I Exercise 3

Ok, so you are now hopefully feeling confident going up and down the arpeggios over a ii-V-I using quarter notes.

So, let’s take it up a notch.

Exercise 3 challenges you to ascend and descend through each arpeggio using eighth notes.

Like with the earlier exercises, do not stop!

ii V I Exercise 4

By now, you can ascend and descend.

You can even ascend and descend arpeggios in the same bar using eighths.

But can you descend down one arpeggio, then acsend up the next?

Try exercise 4 and find out!

ii V I Exercise 5

By now you should feel comfortable using arpeggios over in the ii-V-I in a variety of ways.

A big part of improvising using arpeggios is voice leading.

Voice leading means connecting the notes of the chords in smallest way.

So, let’s start each arpeggio on a note besides the root.

Can you see how there are no big interval gaps between each chord?

Because of this, the arpeggio changes sound smooth.

ii V I Exercise 6

Now that you have the required technical requirements of arpeggios under your fingers, let’s make music.

As you know adding rhythms to arpeggios make them sound musical.

Hence, exercise 6 applies a rhythmic motif to each chord.

ii V I Exercise 7

In contrast let’s look at using different rhythms over each chord.

The final exercise uses a mix of rhythms that we have looked at so far to create a complete ii-V-I using arpeggios.

Yes, you had to do a lot of techical exercises to get to this stage.

As a result, you will finally have what sounds like a jazz phrase!

Once you feel confident with the seven exercises, repeat the same steps arpeggios in a few different positions and keys.

Finally, I have written out a short solo etude for you.

The following study is over the first eight bars of Tune Up and uses all the rhythm techniques that you have studied.

The ii-V-I exerises you have studied only used one octave arpeggios.

In contrast two-octave arpeggio shapes are used through the etude.

Therefore, you can see what is possible when you feel fluent with the previous exercises across in the neck.

3rd to 7th Pattern

To finish off our lesson on arpeggios, here is a classic piece of language that uses arpeggios.

In a ii V I progression the 7th of the ii chord drops down a semi-tone or one fret to become the 3rd of the V chord.

Jazz greats frequently highlight this movement in their improvisation which makes it an important part of jazz language.

You can hear this technique used frequently in Thelonious Monk’s composition Round Midnight.

The following diagram shows how this technique can be applied to the arpeggios you have just learned.

Practice this movement in all 12 keys across the fingerboard.

I hope that you have enjoyed studying and learning about arpeggios.

Once you feel confident with arpeggios your next lesson is improvising using guide tones.

What are your thoughts about arpeggios?

Share your thoughts in the comment section below.