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Arpeggio Practice - Seventh Chords - 4 Essential Exercises

Guitar arpeggio practiceArpeggios are essential musical tools that allow you to build pure and beautiful lines while highlighting the harmony. When playing over chord changes, using arpeggios is the most efficient way to connect these chords together.

This lesson provides four exercises with tabs, standard notation and diagrams that will help improve your guitar skills and your theoretical knowledge.

Related PDF Methods

Here are the PDF eBooks which treat of arpeggios. Click on the picture to access.

Harmonisation of the Major Scale

First, let's learn how to harmonize the G major scale. This is the scale on which the four exercises below are based. The major scale interval pattern is 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7, giving the following notes G - A - B - C- D - E and F#. G is the root (1), A the second, B the third, C the fourth, D the fifth, E the sixth and F# the seventh.

G major scale G A B C D E F#
Formula 1 2 (9) 3 4 (11) 5 6 (13) 7
Intervals W W H W W W H

 

When stacking thirds on each note of the G major scale we get seven tetrad chords (seventh chords) that are :

  • Gmaj7 (1-3-5-7)
  • Am7 (1-b3-5-b7)
  • Bm7  (1-b3-5-b7)
  • Cmaj7  (1-3-5-7)
  • D7 (1-3-5-b7)
  • Em7 (1-b3-5-b7)
  • F#m7b5 (1-b3-b5-b7)
G major scale G A B C D E F#
Chords Gmaj7 Am7 Bm7 Cmaj7 D7 Em7 F#m7b5

 

G Major Scale Harmonized in Thirds - Tetrad Chords (seventh chords)

Harmonized Major Scale - Guitar Chord Shapes

Before working on arpeggios, try to play in order these seven chords ascending and descending. Here are some common guitar positions.

Arpeggio Shapes

Here are the arpeggios shapes used in this lesson related to the four types of tertian chords found the harmonized G major scale. These chord types are major seventh (maj7), minor seventh (m7), dominant seventh (7) and half-diminished (m7b5).

Arpeggio Practice - Four Exercises

Here are four ways to practice arpeggios from the seven degrees of the harmonized G major scale. These arpeggios are :

  • Gm7 (G-B-D-F#)
  • Am7 (A-C-E-G)
  • Bm7 (B-D-F#-A)
  • Cmaj7 (C-E-G-B)
  • D7 (D-F#-A-C)
  • Em7 (E-G-B-D) 
  • F#7b5 (F#-A-C-E)

The first exercise consist in playing the arpeggios in ascending movements (up-up). Gmaj7 and Am7 have their roots on the E string. Bm7, Cmaj7 and D7 have their roots on the A string. F#m7b5 and Gmaj7 have their roots on the fourth string. It ends with Am7, root on the 3rd string.

The second is to play the same tetrads in descending movements (down-down). It starts with Am7 (root on third string) and ends with Gmaj7 (root on sixth string).

Now that you master the two directions "up-up" and "down-down", it's time to mix them together, this way you will get two other exercises :

  1. Ascending and descending tetrads (up-down)
  2. Descending and ascending tetrads (down-up)

PDF Methods

  • Guitar Scale Dictionary

    This E-book is a printable PDF method including over 700 scale diagrams and formula charts for guitarists.
  • 30 Groovy Jazz Guitar Licks

    This downloadable package contains a PDF WITH audio files giving access to 30 groovy guitar phrases mixing jazz, blues and funky licks for beginners.
  • Guitar Chord Dictionary

    This PDF eBook provides over 550 guitar chord shapes. This is the perfect reference guide to understand how chords are built and how to play them on the guitar neck.
  • 172 Arpeggio Shapes For Guitar

    This printable PDF is a method dedicated to guitarists of all styles who want to learn the most important types of arpeggios.
  • 126 Triad Chord Shapes

    This handbook for guitar players is intended both for teachers and students. It includes 126 guitar shapes for mastering triads.
  • 30 Minor Arpeggio Licks

    This package includes a printable PDF method containing 30 exercises with tabs, staves and audio files for practicing minor arpeggios on guitar.
  • II V I Bundle - 170 Exercises

    This bundle contains 4 PDF methods for a total of 170 exercises with tabs, staves, analysis & audio files for practicing scales, arpeggios licks & chords over the 2-5-1 progression.
  • Diatonic Licks Bundle

    This package contains 120 jazz guitar lines based on diatonic modes as Mixolydian, Dorian and Ionian. PDF format with tabs, audio files and analysis.
  • 30 Smooth Jazz Guitar Licks

    In this package you'll get a printable PDF Method with tabs, notation, analysis, scale shapes and audio files for practicing 30 smooth jazz guitar licks.
  • 40 II V I Jazz Guitar Licks

    This pdf method for guitar contains fourteen 2 5 1 jazz guitar lines with tab, standard notation, analysis, scale charts and audio files.
  • 50 II-V-I voicings

    This printable PDF guitar method provides 50 exercises with audio files, analysis, tab and staves for learning major 2-5-1 chord voicings.
  • 40 Minor 2 5 1 Chord Voicings

    This PDF method contains 40 exercices with tabs, scores and audio files for practicing jazz guitar chords over the minor 2 5 1 progression.
  • 40 Minor II V I Licks

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  • 40 Mixolydian Jazz Guitar Lick

    PDF guitar method with tabs, audio files and theory providing 40 dominant jazz guitar lines for teachers and students.
  • 40 Minor Jazz Guitar Licks

    This printable guitar method in PDF format contains 40 easy minor jazz guitar lines based on the Dorian mode.
  • 40 Major Jazz Guitar Licks

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  • Guitar Walking Bass Lines

    This jazz guitar method about walking bass lines and chords is available as a PDF files containing 35 exercises with tabs, analysis and audio files
  • 101 Dominant Arpeggio Patterns

    This printable PDF method provides 101 dominant arpeggio exercises with tab, theory and standard notation for the jazz, blues and rock guitarist.
  • 49 Essential Jazz Lines

    This printable eBook method in PDF format provides 49 jazz solo transcriptions of the greatest jazz musicians. Tab, standard notation, audio files & analysis.
  • 11 Jazz Blues Studies

    11 jazz blues chord studies with tabs, standard notation, analysis, and audio recordings and PDF.
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  • 40 Blues Dominant Patterns

    This printable method is available as a PDF file containing 40 easy dominant jazz-blues guitar lines with tabs, standard notation, analysis, audio files and scale charts.
  • Mastering Pentatonic Scales

    This jazz guitar method is an eBook available as a PDF with standard notation, guitar tabs, diagrams, analysis, audio files and backing tracks. You will find in this booklet 25 easy jazz guitar lines with theory using common and rare pentatonic scales.
  • 25 Soul Jazz Guitar Licks

    You will find here an eBook available in PDF containing 25 soul jazz and hard bop guitar licks in the style of Grant Green, Melvin Sparks, George Benson. These jazz lines come with tabs, standard notation, guitar neck diagrams, backing track for practice and 25 audio files for each riff.
  • 25 Diminished Patterns

    This eBook PDF with audio files contains 25 dominant diminished jazz guitar patterns using the half-whole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggios.
  • 6 Tritone substitution licks

    This Printable PDF eBook available for free download contains 6 easy jazz guitar licks with tabs/notation, youtube video link and analysis about the tritone substitution.
  • 10 Minor 7 Arpeggio Patterns

    This printable PDF eBook offers 10 easy minor 7 arpeggio patterns with its related YouTube video for beginner guitarists.
  • 10 Easy Major 7 Arpeggio Licks

    This is a printable PDF for beginner jazz guitar players providing 10 easy licks to practice major 7 arpeggios.
  • 10 Chord Melody Lines

    Within this package, you'll discover a set of ten chord melody exercises for beginners. Printable PDFaudio files, a backing track, and a link to the associated YouTube video.
  • Guitar Arpeggios Poster

    This giant guitar poster for any guitar player, student or instructor contains colorful arpeggio diagrams. Giant size 24 x 36 inches (60 x 90 cm).
  • Guitar Scales Poster 24*36

    Guitar posters and wall art with eighteen neck diagrams representing the most used scales in music.
  • Jazz Guitar Chords Poster

    This printed color posters contains 63 guitar chord diagrams for jazz players, students, teachers and schools.
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    Guitar reference posters and wall art about modes of the major scale for guitar teachers, students and music schools.
  • Melodic Minor Modes Poster

    Educative and decorative giant guitar poster with neck diagrams, interval names about the seven modes of the melodic minor scale.
  • Pentatonic Scale Guitar Poster

    This guitar reference poster shows the positions and intervals of the major pentatonic scale.
  • Guitar Notes Poster

    This is a giant poster showing the notes on the guitar fret board and their positions on a musical staff.
  • Triads Guitar Poster

    This reference poster show the positions and intervals of the main triads used on guitar. This is a useful tool for guitarists, teacher and students.
  • Four Archtop Guitars Poster

    This is a decorative poster with four archtop jazz guitars. Several size and colors in landscape format available on Teespring and redbubble.
  • Intervals On Guitar - Poster

    This giant poster for guitar provides neck diagrams with interval positions.

harmonization arpeggios improvisation major scale

Comments

  • Jamie Williams
    • 1. Jamie Williams On 2024-01-23
    hello do you have any further examples/studios in the style of ascending and descending tetrads?
    • jazz-guitar-licks
      • jazz-guitar-licksOn 2024-01-26
      Hello, You'll find many dominant 7, 9,11, 13 arpeggio exercises in this PDF.

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