Dynamic Arpeggios

Volume 1: Major Arps

Powerful Exercises for

Playing Musical Arpeggios

Mike Beatham
 How To Use These Exercises
Primer

This isn't for beginners (but I'm sure you knew that before you
bought it!). If you need to remind yourself of the basics, including
techniques such as rolling, see my free lesson on major arpeggios
here.

Positioning The Patterns

The exercises are shown in relation to the four most common major
chords – G Major, A Major, C Major and D Major.

It's beneficial to practice any exercise in several positions so you

become confident with moving patterns and sequences to different
places on the neck, for different keys or when there’s a chord
change.

Each pattern has its own root (1) positions. It's these positions that
determine where the pattern is played, and which chord it
corresponds to.

For example, the 1 of a C major arpeggio is... C.

The 1 of a D major arpeggio is... D.

By being aware of how the root, and therefore pattern position

corresponds to the chord you're playing over, you'll be able to keep
your bearings on the neck and your lead connected to the backing
music.

That's why arpeggios are seen as a strong link between chords and
scales, and an integral part of melodic soloing.
Using a Metronome & The Backing Tracks

Along with this sheet I provided chord tracks without a beat, so you
can set your metronome at the desired tempo while playing along.
At the end of this booklet, you'll find “timing maps” showing you
different ways to time the arpeggios to the beat/click.

Find a comfortable tempo to begin with (start slow!) and use

increments of 5-10 BPM to gradually speed up. Only notch up the
metronome when you're 100% confident at the current tempo.

Picking

You can either use strict alternate picking or economy picking with
these exercises. However, I would recommend economy picking if
you aim to play these at high tempos.

I've marked on the tabs which picking direction to use for each note
in the exercises, based on economy picking. You can of course
adjust these to whatever feels most natural to you.

Practice Guide

Each exercise can be played as a 6, 5, 4, 3 or 2 string arpeggio (if

you’re just playing the top 2 strings).

So although I’ve marked the entire 6 string sequence on the

diagrams and tabs, you can split it up it however you wish.

Don’t feel like you have to blitz through the entire 6 string sequence!
For example, you could play just the top 3 strings of the sequence.

These exercises also make great warm ups. A quick 5-10 minute
blast through them before your practice/playing sessions will help to
loosen those fingers.

Unlike a lot of exercise “drills”, these exercises have a real practical

value in that they can be applied directly and musically to your solos
in many different ways.
 Pattern 1
This is the most commonly used “boxed” major arpeggio pattern
(boxed just means the pattern only spans 4 or 5 frets).

It can be seen as superimposed on to the “E form” barre chord

position for a given chord, with the lowest root on the 6th string.

Positions
G Major

3rd fret, with the 1 on G

A Major

5th fret, with the 1 on A

Side note: You could also visualise this pattern as a 4-string

arpeggio. Simply start the pattern on the 4th string root.
C Major

8th fret, with the 1 on C

D Major

10th fret, with the 1 on D

So, as you can see, we simply move the pattern, in its fixed
formation, to the appropriate root position for the chord we’re
playing over.

Many find it easiest to reference this root position using the lowest,
6th string root, similar to how we might visualise the position of the
E-shape barre chord based on its 6th string bass root.
Ex. 1 - Straight Runs
Start with a straight run of the above pattern, ascending and
descending.

G Major

The “pick maps” conform to standard economy picking. But you can
alternate pick the entire sequence if you prefer (you won’t be alone
- many exceptional players use strict alternate picking).

Suggested fingering in blue, below the tab.

Symbols: = Downstroke = Upstroke

A Major

Same pattern, so we use the same picking sequence as above...

C Major

D Major

Ex. 2 - Basic Repetition

This exercise “staggers” the straight sequence from above by
repeating each note. Here is the sequence we'll be playing, starting
on 3...

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

By using repetition, we can squeeze a bit more colour out of the

arpeggio and create a more melodically intricate sequence.

Using the same pattern as Ex. 1, below is the tab for G major. See if
you can then move it to the other positions (G, C and D major)
based on the patterns from Ex. 1.
G Major

Again, I've marked on the most economical picking direction.

Descending…

Side note: As mentioned previously, we don't have to play

through the entire 6 string sequence. We can play 2, 3, 4 or 5
string arps as well from these sequences.
Ex. 3 - Prolonged Repetition
C Major

Descending...
Ex. 4 - Note Skipping
Now for something a little more challenging!

We're going to be skipping notes in the sequence, which means

we'll be using a technique called string skipping throughout the
pattern.

Although challenging at first, string skipping is used in a lot of licks

and allows you to make larger interval jumps, which translates to
more dynamic licks. So it's a valuable one to practice.

D Major

Strict alternate picking with this one...

Descending...
Ex. 5 - Skipping + Repetition (i)
Adding some repetition to our skipped sequence...

A Major

Remember, the blue is only a suggested fingering. You may find a

more comfortable way to play it.
Descending...

Ex. 6 - Skipping + Repetition (ii)

A slight variation on the above...

G Major
Descending...

That's it for the first pattern! Well done if you've got this far!

We're now going to play through exactly the same series of

exercises using another common pattern, based around a different
chord position.

The idea is you'll be able to play the same arpeggio in different

places on the neck (because we never just stay in one place, do
we?), giving you the freedom to use more of the neck.

The pattern we're about to look at actually links up with the pattern
we've just covered above. We'll be linking them up later for some
truly neck dominating sequences!
 Pattern 2
This pattern has its lowest root on the 5th (A) string, meaning we can
visualise it around chord shapes with that bass root position. For
example, A and C shape chords.

Positions
G Major

10th fret, with the 1 on G

A Major

12th fret, with the 1 on A

Side note: Many players prefer to leave out the 6th string on this
pattern and play a 5-string arpeggio from the 5th string root. It’s
really your choice, as the tab exercises we’re about to look at
can begin and end on any string.
C Major

15th fret, with the 1 on C

D Major

17th fret, with the 1 on D

We could also play D major an octave lower at the 5th fret...

On to the exercises. Exactly the same sequences as before, but

applied to this pattern.
Ex. 1 - Straight Runs
G Major

The same fingering and picking directions apply to the other chord
positions.

Ex. 2 - Basic Repetition

A Major

Descending...
Ex. 3 - Prolonged Repetition
C Major

Descending...
Ex. 4 - Note Skipping
D Major

Descending...
Ex. 5 - Skipping + Repetition (i)
G Major

Descending...
Ex. 6 - Skipping + Repetition (ii)
A Major

Descending...
 Pattern 3
This pattern overlaps patterns 1 and 2 (and goes a little further)
giving us a larger neck range for drawn out arpeggio sequences.
Also good for linking up different areas of the neck quickly.

Positions
G Major

A Major

C Major
D Major

If you only have 21 frets on your guitar, you'll have to use a bend at
the 21st fret to get the high D note on the 1st string (if you want that
note). It's all good practice though!

Ex. 1 - Straight Run

G Major

The fingering is quite a stretch in places. It may even seem

impossible at first, especially after playing through the smaller
patterns. But persevere, starting slow and speeding up gradually
using the metronome. You'll get it!
Ex. 2 - Basic Repetition
A Major

Descending...
Ex. 3 - Skipped Notes
C Major

We need to adjust the pattern slightly (just one note) to keep our
fingering economical.

Descending...

See if you can apply other sequences to this pattern, based on

exercises from previous patterns. Challenge yourself!

We're now going to look at one final pattern...

 Pattern 4
This pattern makes use of only the top three strings, across the
entire neck. It provides yet another musical path to different
positions on the neck.

Positions
G Major

Use those root (1) positions to get your bearings. Can you see how
this pattern overlaps the other patterns we've looked at?

A Major

C Major
D Major

Ex. 1 - Straight Run

G Major

Side note: Remember, you don’t always have to play through

the entire sequence. Try isolating and repeating one or two
sections within the larger sequence. That’s also an effective way
to break up these sequences to help you learn them.

Descending…
A Major

Descending…

C Major

Descending…
D Major

Descending…

Ex. 2 – Skipped + Repetition

Finally, let’s incorporate a similar sequence from earlier to this
three-string pattern. This is the most advanced/challenging
sequence out of them all. Quite fitting, as it’s the last one!

A Major
Descending…

See if you can apply similar skipped sequences to the other

arpeggio/chord positions.

Useful Tips

• Try isolating and repeating different sections of each pattern.

• Mix up your sequences.

• Try changing roots (so essentially changing chord) and see if

you can arpeggiate a simple chord progression. We’ll look
more at this in a later lesson on fretjam.com.

On the following page are some timing maps to help you time these
sequences to the metronome/beat in different ways.
 Timing Maps
Timing is obviously a crucial element of playing any musical
instrument.

The arpeggio sequences we’ve looked at can be timed in different

ways.

Set your metronome to a slow tempo (40-60 BPM is a good starting

point). As you become more confident with playing using the below
timings, notch up the metronome 5 BPM and progress from there.

Quarter Notes

This is where we pick each note on the beat/click and hold it

through to the next beat.

Count your notes in groupings of 4: “1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4...”

Eighth Notes

Double the time of a quarter note. Count this as: “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &...”
Sixteenth Notes

Double the time of eighth notes. Sixteenth notes get challenging as

we increase the BPM, as we’re cramming more notes between
each beat.

Typically counted as “1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a...” although it’s

unlikely you’ll count like this as you play! It’s just for reference...

Eighth Note Triplets

You can also use triplets with your arpeggio sequences. Some
sequences sound more natural played as triplets.

With triplets, the notes are grouped evenly in threes between each
beat…
Sixteenth Note Triplets

Double the time of eighth note triplets. So we add another three

notes to each beat.

Again, very challenging at higher tempos, but stick to the “start

slow, 5 BPM increments” rule!

For more in depth lessons on timing, see my free timing series.

So, in a nutshell, you can use either regular or triplet timing to play
these arpeggio sequences. I recommend practicing both.

Thank you for your donation for receipt of this booklet and thanks
also for your time. I hope this has helped to push you that little bit
further with your lead playing!

Be Yourself On Guitar
Mike Beatham
fretjam.com