Melodic-Harmonic Framework, Part 1

IN A LEAD guitarist’s world, so much attention is given to scale patterns that it’s no wonder the topic of arpeggios is often put on the back burner. That’s unfortunate, as these little three-and four-note wonders — triad- and 7th-chord arpeggios, respectively — can be used to create flowing and highly appealing single-note lines that can be used to describe the underlying chord changes or to create the illusion of non-existent background harmony. Arm yourself with a handful of arpeggio patterns and you’ll never be at a loss when faced with even the most complex chord progression. Or apply a syncopated rhythm to a simple arpeggio to generate an instant riff idea!

In this first installment of this two-part lesson, we’ll focus on the top three strings only. Part 2 will cover the bottom three strings and put everything together. For the sake of continuity and comparison, we’ll concentrate on the arpeggios of the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B). So remove your low-E, A and D strings… just kidding! Tune up those six-strings and let’s have at it.

TRIAD ARPEGGIOS IN ROOT POSITION

We’ll start by surveying the three fundamental types, or , of triads that exist within the major illustrates the guitar fretboard from the nut to the 17th fret. The three-dot groupings represent the shapes of harmonized triads of the C major scale: C (C, E, G), Dm (D, F, A), Em (E, G, B), F (F, A, C), G (G, B, D), Am (A, C, E) and Bdim (B, D, F). Solid lines are used to connect the dots that form the shapes of the major triads (C, F and G), dashed lines connect the notes of the minor triads (Dm, Em and Am), and dotted lines join the notes of the Bdim triad. All triads are voiced root-3rd-5th, with their roots on the G string. These shapes make all of the triads playable as chords (all notes sounded together), but the object here is to play them melodically — one note at a time. You can, of course, let the notes ring together, if you like.