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Arpeggios From Hell!


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Originally posted by ablei



why do you make this harder than it needs to be? play it in a single position.

 

Because moving up the neck is more interesting than moving across the neck in only on position. It also allows me to pick faster and utilize other positions on the neck. I use the whole neck. I'm not a box player. :D

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I finally understood what an arpeggio was because of Yngwie. I was using that stuff all the time and when I found the transcription to Vai's "Crossroads Suite," I figured how to connect different arpeggios up and down the neck.

 

On the first Vinnie Moore Video he shows you how to sequence the notes of an arpeggio and come up with some cool ideas.

 

Then I had to stop. That up and down, back and forth stuff is not really what it's all about. Once in a while is fine! But if all you do is play an arpeggio back and forth over and over again the Yngwie Police will hear you coming a mile away.

 

Coming up with hip ideas within the arpeggio and adding it to what you do is where it's at. You can play an arpeggio from the inside out or simply skip some notes and sound like you have a brain. You can't go wrong playing the notes of a chord within your solos.

 

The stuff I listed above is even hipper. You're essentially laying the notes of a chord on top on an entirely different chord. Colors baby!

 

Just a thought for you Yngwie improvisors. Think out of the box.

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Hey Jimmy,

Mind if I back you up for a minute? I always understood arpegios to be the chord tones as in you finger a chord, and play it one string at a time from the 6th string to the 1st, then back to the 6th. I am obviously missing something here. Could you give a brief description of arpegios? I know that what I am describing is a basic arpegio in it's simplest form, but there is obviously a hell of a lot more to it.

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Originally posted by 335clone

Hey Jimmy,

Mind if I back you up for a minute? I always understood arpegios to be the chord tones as in you finger a chord, and play it one string at a time from the 6th string to the 1st, then back to the 6th. I am obviously missing something here. Could you give a brief description of arpegios? I know that what I am describing is a basic arpegio in it's simplest form, but there is obviously a hell of a lot more to it.

 

You got it. The notes of a chord played one note at a time. But what I'm saying is you don't have to play for example an Am arpeggio over an Am chord. You could but there are more interesting options when soloing.

 

Play a GM7 arpeggio over that Am chord. Be like Santana!:D

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Originally posted by Jimmy James



You got it. The notes of a chord played one note at a time. But what I'm saying is you don't have to play for example an Am arpeggio over an Am chord. You could but there are more interesting options when soloing.


Play a GM7 arpeggio over that Am chord. Be like Santana!
:D

 

Cool. I guess if I had my guitar here at work, or bothered to analyze the notes I would have figured it out. It looked much more like a scale to me, but I think it was the two or more notes per string that confused me. So now I have more patterns to try to cram into my head. So you are NOT holding the chord SHAPE (although you can), but repeating the chord TONES, right? One last thing, are there certain fingerings that make these easier to play fast, or is it simply a matter of practice and memorization?

 

Thanks

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Originally posted by 335clone



So you are NOT holding the chord SHAPE (although you can), but repeating the chord TONES, right? One last thing, are there certain fingerings that make these easier to play fast, or is it simply a matter of practice and memorization?


Thanks

 

You're playing each individual note without the other notes ringing with it. If it rings it's a chord. If they sound separately, it's an arpeggio. Same notes but it's how you play them. You wouldn't fret them like a chord.

 

Just do it and experiment. You'll find the easiest way to finger it. Everybody is different.:D

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Arpeggio means "broken chord" or the notes of a chord played separately.They can be played to 'ring" or not to ring.Of course if you play the flute there's no options .On the guitar we have both or a combination.Ring is mostly a "'chord" accompinment thing.Whats being discussed here's it's more of a melody thing .

 

I see it three ways:

 

1.Horizontal

2.Vertical

3.combination of both

 

In other words the notes of the chords can be visualized and played horizintaly or vertically (or both ) on the fretboard.I think a good place to start is triads.Major triads and horizontaly first.My first horizontal vision is to see it laid out into 2 string groups at a time

 

Strings: 6-5.. 5-4... 4-3 ... 3-2 ... 2-1

And the three notes of a triad in it's 3 inversions

1-3-5... 3-5-1 .... 5-1-3

 

Gmajor:1-3-5 .....6th - 5th string group

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

.....2. .........5

.........3 .........

 

This pattern is the same (just like chords or scales) for every Major triad 1-3-5

 

For the 2 string group(6-5,5-4,4-3, 2-1)you'll notice 3-2 isn't the same because of the tuning.(later).Here's 2 more variations

 

3-5-1

5-1-3

 

Gmajor 3-5-1 6th -5th string group

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

.....5 .........10

.........7 .........

 

Gmajor 5-1-3 6th -5th string group

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

.........10 .........14

.........10 .........

 

Exception 3-2 string group>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Cmajor:1-3-5 .....3rd -2nd string group

......... .........

.........5 .........8

.........5 .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

 

 

Cmajor:3-5-1 .....3rd -2nd string group

......... .........

.......8. .........13

.........9 .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

 

Cmajor:5-1-3 .....3rd -2nd string group

......... .........

...............13 .........17

.........12 .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

 

 

 

Now a practice routine.I'd learn each inversion Right now it doesn't matter what the name of the chord is (you can find out by knowing what the "1" note is) the shape is what's important.Play all the shapes(1-3-5, 3-5-1, 5-1-3)on the 3rd fret starting on string group 6-5...gottem?

 

Now take each inversion shape and play through 3 octaves.

 

1st octave Gmajor 1-3-5 string group 6-5

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

.....2. .........5

.........3 .........

 

2nd Octave (same shape) string group 4-3

......... .........

......... .........

.......4. .........7

.........5 .........

......... .........

......... .........

 

3rd Octave (same shape) string group 2-1

 

.......7. .........10

.........8 .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

......... .........

 

This works for every chord The exception for strict 'same "shape is....if you start on the 5-4 string group the next pattern will be different because the octave pattern will be on string group 3-2(i.e. anything involving string group 3-2)

 

As a varition you can move up in inversions(1-3-5, 3-5-1, 5-1-3) in the same string group then do octaves from them.......There's alot of variations......

Start with one idea and stay with it until it's 'under your fingers then experiment with combinations and variations.Next would be Minor triads.You're 2/3rds of the way there already:

 

Minor lower Majors "3" one fret.

Diminished lower Minors triads "5" one fret.

Augmented raise Majors "5" one fret.

 

Stay focused ....you'll want to jump all over the place cause .....this is easy as {censored} to do really.Concentrate on clean playing and hearing the sounds with your head and fingers.This will open up you visual feild .

 

You'll start to see the scale patterns they are buried in.And of course all the other "arpeggios/chord shapes around them..It's an endless excercise and now an easy jump to add in the extension (7,9,11,13,6,) and making "altered chords/arpeggios(b5,#5,b9,#9).Not to mention that combinations of different aprpeggios (chords) creates extended and altered chords

 

The real secret is how they connect to make musical statements.if not.... they're just 80's "learn to burn jerk off excercizes."Of course this is the tip of one iceberg.I would bet it's one most guitarist swerve to avoid.good luck

 

Butch

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Originally posted by CarvinRock

Here's something I use to warm up. Its based on a Bach theme, ripped off directly from Vai, but I have fun with it. Great speed builder, too.

 

 

Was learning this one last night....I'm slow and sloppy now but I hope to get it up to speed....lotsa fun to play though!!!!

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Originally posted by Jimmy James



M = Major


m = Minor

 

Depends on who you ask, or whatever Real Book chart you look at. :)

 

You really could do a Gm7 arp over an Am7 chord for a nice dark Phrygian flavor. If your badass B3 player is doing a spare comp with open-sounding Am7 or AQ chords, you have all kinds of leeway to do some mode mixture in your soloing. Go from A Dorian to A Phrygian and back to Dorian again for some light-dark-light contrast. Tension and release kicks ass!

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Originally posted by CarvinRock

Here's something I use to warm up. Its based on a Bach theme, ripped off directly from Vai, but I have fun with it. Great speed builder, too.

 

 

Thanks for the guitar shop material :)

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Originally posted by CarvinRock

Here's something I use to warm up. Its based on a Bach theme, ripped off directly from Vai, but I have fun with it. Great speed builder, too.

 

 

What would be the 'correct' (i.e. how a classically trained guitarist would do it) way to finger this passage? I'm experimenting with a few ways but I'd imagine the correct way would be to emulate a single position?

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