11 – Seventh-Chord (Four-Note Chord) Arpeggios — Teaching

Çağlayan Yıldız

Very Boring Music Lessons 11:

Seventh-Chord (4-Note Chord) Arpeggios

WARNING: According to a bulletin issued by the CSE (Jazz Standards Institute), knowing theory in the abstract, failing to apply it on your instrument and, above all, failing to HEAR it may cause dryness in playing and writing, unnecessarily intellectual-sounding results and confusion. To prevent these side effects, everything learned in theory must be played, sung -even if your voice is terrible- and, by whatever means necessary, HEARD. Or you should skip this theory business altogether and, as has been possible throughout Music history, learn Music simply by listening to recordings/ playing/ learning directly from masters (if there happen to be any around). Otherwise, our institution accepts no responsibility for any complications that may develop later.

Let me tell you that you can find my column from last issue at www.gitardergisi.com, and all my lessons at www.caglayanyildiz.com, and get straight to the point.

Arpeggios are “vertical” harmonic structures used as “horizontal” melodic structures. Although an arpeggio is a vehicle used frequently and safely in every genre of Music, many of us are not 100% in control of it. (See: bent trees and poles at critical harmonic intersections.) Arpeggios are generally learned in just 1-2 positions, usually spanning 1 or 2 octaves from root to root, and left at that; their full potential goes unused.

I approach arpeggios in 2 ways: “Arpeggios in Position” and “2-Notes-per-String Arpeggios”.

You probably know this already, but I’ll repeat it anyway. In guitar technique, “Position” means an area covering 6 frets across all 6 strings, a range of “2 octaves+ a perfect 4th”. When we place each of the left hand’s 4 fingers on a fret, fingers 2. and 3. each play just one fret, while fingers 1. and 4. each play 2. Reaching one fret with finger 1. or 4. is called a “stretch” of 1 and 4.

11 – Seventh-Chord (Four-Note Chord) Arpeggios — figure 1

Which position we are in

is determined by the fret where we place our finger without a “stretch”; that fret gives the position its name. So if finger 1. is on fret 5., we are in “position 5.”.

Finger No:

Now for 4-note chords. As we all know, there are 18 most frequently used ones. (“What an annoying teacher, always saying ‘as we all know’, as though we’re supposed to know… If I knew, I wouldn’t be reading lessons in the first place…”):

The 18 most used four-note C chords: CΔ7, C7, C6, CmΔ7, Cm7, Cm6, C°Δ7, Cø, C°7, CΔ7♯5, C7♯5, C+(6), CΔ7sus4, C7sus4, C6sus4, CΔ7♭5, C7♭5, C6(♭5)

Anyone with no idea about this is immediately sent off to Seventh Chords (Four-Note Chords). (Great, as if that weren’t enough, now he’s sending us to another lesson…)

Below we will give only the arpeggio of the “F maj7” chord, but you creative students can, of course, move the necessary notes this way and that, raise and lower them, and find all 18 arpeggios in the same positions, can’t you? (“Look at him, now he’s giving us a pointless pep talk…”) So you can work out that for an F7 arpeggio we lower only the 7th, and for Fm(maj7) only the 3rd, and so on, can’t you? (“Look, he’s still going on and on…”) Then you’ll practice all of them in all positions in 12 keys, won’t you? (“Ohhh, enough alreeeady … ”) The notes in squares below have “two options”; choose whichever suits you…

F Maj7 Arpeggios in Position

11 – Seventh-Chord (Four-Note Chord) Arpeggios — figure 2

F Maj7 Fingering Shape 1.

F Maj7 Fingering Shape 2.

F Maj7 Fingering Shape 3.

F Maj7 Fingering Shape 4.

F Maj7 Fingering Shape 5.

“2-Notes-per-String Arpeggios” are self-explanatory. Below we again see the F maj7 arpeggio. But of course we are going to learn these with all 18 types of 4-note chord and in 12 keys too… (“I swear I’m giving up guitar right here and now…”)

11 – Seventh-Chord (Four-Note Chord) Arpeggios — figure 3

We have noticed, haven’t we, that the same shape repeats in 2-string sets (E-A, D-G, B-E), which makes things much easier? What? You didn’t notice? You gave up guitar? Come on, is it worth giving up over (7 shapes x 18 chords x 12 keys) + (4 shapes x 18 chords x 12 keys) = 2376 arpeggios? Pick the ones you need and learn them, that’s all. If you need them all, you’ll gradually learn them all over time. Go on, pick up your guitar; this is getting embarrassing… Now I’ll suggest something else. Take the chords of any tune you play and play their arpeggios while always “trying to stay in the same position”. Say we have a chord progression like Cmaj7- Bm7b5- E7+- Am(maj7):

11 – Seventh-Chord (Four-Note Chord) Arpeggios — figure 4

See? Putting it into practice wasn’t that hard. Now let’s play it in the other 7 positions… Then with all 4 forms of “2-Notes-per-String Arpeggios”… Let’s play with different rhythms and articulations, as though we’re playing Music rather than exercises. Well, what am I supposed to do if Music is such a vast subject… “Did III creeeate it, did III creeeate it, this kiiiind of arpeggiooo, did III creeeate it” … Muttering something along those lines, I once again make a swift exit from the scene…