Guitar Arpeggios

Guitar Arpeggios are basically chords broken into single notes. For instance, the first 6 notes of the National Anthem are simply the notes of the tonic, or I chord, broken into individual tones.

The concept of guitar arpeggios is a very simple one. You simply play the individual notes of a chord broken out over time. This allows the composer or improvisor to outline the underlying chord harmony by stretching out the harmonic content of the chord. The use of arpeggios is found all throughout the entire repertoire of Western music. Some well known examples of arpeggios are Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, Mr. Sandman by the Chordettes, Clocks by Coldplay, or Strawberry Fields by the Beatles.

The basic structure of chords is based on stacking scale tones in thirds. For instance, a C major scale is constructed of the notes C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. If you begin from the tonic, or C note, and stack 2 notes each, a third and a fifth above the root, you would form a C major chord: C,E,G. As you do the same for each subsequent chord, you form what is commonly referred to as the harmonized scale. The chords would be CEG, DFA, EGB, FAC, GBD, ACE, and BDF. This harmonized scale based on the major scale always occurs in the same order: Major chord, minor chord, minor chord, Major chord, Major chord, minor chord, minor chord, and diminished chord (M,m,m,M,M,m,d).

This knowledge is essential to the improvising musician because it allows one to determine the underlying key of a given song with limited harmonic information.

For instance, if you hear a song with the chords G Major, C Major, and F Major, you can deduce that it must be (at least in that portion of it) in the key of C. How? Well, there is no other harmonized scale that contains these three major chords. They are the V, I, and IV chords in the key of C. So when you improvise, you could use the C major scale and the C major pentatonic scale, and all of the notes would be correct. Even if you only saw the chords F Major and G Major, you could likewise assume you were in the key of C because no other key has those two major chords back-to-back like that. They must be the IV and V chords of the key of C.

If you came across the chords Dm, Em, and Am, you could similarly deduce that you were in the key of C (or, more specifically, the relative minor key of Am, which has the exact same key signature).

There are some exceptions to how these rules function, but in general, if you know these concepts, you will be able to quickly know what key you are in. If you know this information and have memorized your 7 major scales forms and 5 major pentatonic forms, you can begin to improvise with some level of confidence. You may not make a great solo, but you won’t be playing wrong notes, which is a huge first step in improvising!

Furthermore, knowing the notes of the arpeggios enables you to do two other vital things for improvisation.  

First, you can come up with rhythm parts using smaller chord forms. So, rather than having to play the larger 5- or 6-string versions of the chords, you can use smaller 4-, 3-, or 2-note forms. This is more important than I can stress. It is the beginning of coming up with parts on your own. These are the tones that outline harmony. And triad shapes are the key to unlocking great rhythm playing.

Further, for the improvisor,  knowing arpeggio shapes allows you to outline harmony in your playing. This is crucial to melodic soloing. It tells the listener that you know where you are in a progression–something most all good improvisors must be able to do well. If you simply wander on the major scale or pentatonic, you won’t be playing wrong notes, but you won’t be playing anything intelligent or melodic. It is in outlining underlying chord harmony with arpeggio shapes that the improvisor can cogently improvise melodic lines that follow the chord progression. Again, I can’t stress enough how vital this is to good musicianship.

Mastering these arpeggio shapes in System 1 is an essential skill that will be built upon in each subsequent system. The student must not simply understand these concepts or assent to their importance but must have absolute mastery of them physically (be able to play them in real time), aurally (be able to hear them), and conceptually (be able to understand how they work).

These may be the single most important concepts to master to become a competent musician.