3 To 9 Arpeggios

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How to Play 3 to 9 Arpeggios for Jazz Guitar
Many of us that are learning how to play bebop jazz guitar have practiced arpeggios and
use them in our soloing over jazz tunes, especially Bebop tunes where the chords often
move at a breakneck pace and we need to navigate them very quickly.
But what do we do when we become bored with the regular, ole root-3-5-7 arpeggios
that we have under our fingers?
There are many directions we can go at this point, when we have the standard
arpeggios down and need to expand our playing further, and one of the best and most
common approaches that we can check out is the 3 to 9 arpeggio concept.
The concept itself is fairly simple, we just play the arpeggio for each chord that we are
soloing over using the intervals, 3, 5, 7 and 9, leaving out the root.
Why would we do this you may ask? Well, one reason is that adding the 9th gives us an
extra color tone in our playing, one that is more jazzy and colorful than the root.
Secondly, as guitarists, we have a habit of starting our lines, at least early on when we
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are first learning jazz, on the lowest note of any shape or fingering weve learned,
mostly because its the first note we see on the neck in that position and weve practiced
running up and down arpeggios starting on the root in our practice rooms.
But, if we simply take the root out, and start these ideas on the 3rd of each chord, we
are getting rid of that boring sounding root and even if we start every line on the lowest
note in our arpeggio shapes, it will now be the 3rd, a more interesting note that the root.
The first thing that we will take a look at is the arpeggios for a ii-V-I in Cmaj7, starting
from the root of each chord and running up to the ninth. These are by no means the
only fingerings for these arpeggios, but they work well for the context of this lesson.
If you want to learn more about these fingerings, check out the Guitar Arpeggio page on
my site, which contains many one and two octave fingerings for these, and other,
arpeggios.

Root to 9th Arpeggios

With the root to 9 arpeggio under our fingers, lets go ahead and remove the root from
the equation, leaving us with an arpeggio that starts on the 3rd of each chord and
finishes on the 9th. When we do this, an interesting thing happens, we are left with a new
arpeggio for each chord.
Dm7 is now Fmaj7 (FACE), G7 is now Bm7b5 (BDFA) and Cmaj7 is now Em7 (EGBD).
Not only is this a cool theory tidbit to get into our palette, but it will help us learn and
memorize the 3 to 9 arpeggios. Instead of thinking of the intervals of each chord, just
think of these relationships:

m7 3 to 9 arp= Maj7 starting on the 3rd of the chord
7 3 to 9 arp= m7b5 starting on the 3rd of the chord
Maj7 3 to 9 arp= m7 starting on the 3rd of the chord

Since we are only looking at major key 2-5-1s in this lesson, here are a couple of other
popular 3 to 9 formulas in the minor keys that you can apply to your playing.

m7b5 3 to 9 arp= m7 starting on the 3rd of the chord
7(b9) 3 to 9 arp= dim7 starting on the 3rd of the chord
minMaj7 3 to 9 arp= Maj7(#5) starting on the 3rd of the chord

With our heads wrapped around the 3 to 9 concept, and how we can apply arpeggios
that we already know to the 3rd of these chords to build them, lets get them under our
fingers in a ii-V-I in C Major.
Again, this is only one position for these arpeggios, there are many more to explore,
so be sure to try and learn as many ways to please these arpeggios across the neck as
possible.
If you are looking for ways to spice up these arpeggios, so you dont just play them up
and down when soloing, check out my lesson on Adding Chromatics to Basic
Arpeggios for ways to add more interest to your arpeggio lines.

3 to 9 Arpeggios

While playing these arpeggios is a great way to outline chords and chord changes,
without having to play the root all the time, only playing these arpeggios can become
boring after a while, though it is a great exercise to learn the 3 to 9 arpeggio for all
of the chords in a tune youre learning and only solo with these arpeggios.
So, how do we spice up this concept to make it more musical and get it to sound more
jazzy?
One of the easiest ways, and a way that jazz players have been using going all the way
back to Charlie Parker and the Bebopers, is to play the 3 to 9 arpeggio ascending,
from 3rd to the 9th, and then descend the Bebop scale that fits the chord you are on.
So for m7 it would be the Minor Bebop Scale, for 7th chords it would be the Dominant
Bebop Scale and for Maj7 chords it would be the Major Bebop Scale.
If you are unfamiliar with these scales, check out my page on Bebop Scales for
Guitar as well as 21 Bebop Scale Patterns for Guitar to learn more about this often used,
and very cool, scale device.
In the example below, we have the 3 to 9 arpeggio ascending for each chord in the ii-V-I,
followed by its related descending Bebop scale. At first, just practice this concept as is,
up the arpeggio and down the scale, in a given position. But, once you have the
fingerings memorized, start to improvise with this idea right away.
Change the rhythms, add notes, use some of the Bebop Scale Patterns you know etc.
Then move on to a different position on the neck and learn the fingerings there for each
arpeggio and scale, and improvise in that position right away.
Its very important to practice improvising with these, or any, jazz concept because as
the great jazz guitarist Roddy Ellias once told me, nobody has ever paid me to play
scales, they pay me to play music!

3 to 9 Arpeggios Exercise 1

With the 3 to 9 arpeggios, and their related Bebop Scales, under our fingers and in our
ears, we can now apply this concept to any tune or chord progression that were working
on. A good rule of thumb is to do the following exercises over a tune to help internalize
this concept in the context of that particular song:

Play the 3 to 9 arpeggios all ascending for each chord
Play the 3 to 9 arpeggios all descending for each chord
Play the 3 to 9 arpeggios ascending for the first chord, then descending for the
next etc.
Play the 3 to 9 arpeggios descending for the first chord, then ascending for the
next etc.
Play the 3 to 9 arpeggio and related Bebop Scale for each chord
Improvise using only the 3 to 9 arpeggio for each chord
Improvise using the 3 to 9 and related Bebop Scale for each chord

Below are a few different licks that I came up with to demonstrate 3 to 9 arpeggios
and their related Bebop Scales in the context of a Major ii-V-I progression.
Check out these licks, then come up with some of your own, for this and other chord
progressions that youre working on. As well, when youre transcribing solos from
famous players, try and pick out the different instances to see how your favorite
guitarists use this concept.
Youll find that cats such as Pat Martino, Mike Stern and Kenny Burrell all use 3 to 9
arpeggios, but in slightly different ways, which might push you in different directions
with your own playing.

3 to 9 Arpeggios Lick 1
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33 Comments
1. Mike, June 26, 2011:
Brother this is incredible.
2. Matt Warnock, June 26, 2011:
Thanks Mike, glad you dug it!
3. Mike, June 27, 2011:
Yea, no problem man, glad youre posting this stuff for free. This has been more
informative than the Berklee book. Ive been looking for a way to negotiate Donna
Lees changes and this is it. I especially like the patterns woven with the bebop
scales and arpeggios, it reminds me alot of Parkers and Tal Farlows approach.
yeah, I think thats the key, mixing in the Bebop patterns etc, that really gives it
that Martino Mike Stern kind of vibe, glad youre diggin it!
5. Mike, June 28, 2011:
Oh, yea definately, I hear alot of Martinos style come out with this type method.
What is also interesting, is that most of of the melodic devices you covered in
Three Elements of Music happen on their own if you use weave arpeggios and
scales together.
134
Like
For sure, since we are all strapped for time I try and practice all three elements
together whenever I can, keeps me moving forward with all three and doesnt eat
up all my time with just one or the other.
7. rick bourne, July 16, 2011:
great concept,Iwish I could add more the lesson says it
8. Matt Warnock, July 16, 2011:
thanks Rick, appreciate you checking out the article!
9. adam, July 25, 2011:
this is a fantastic lesson matt, ive been solely working on 3 to 9 arps for about a
week now and its done wonders to my playing already. really expanded my ear as
well. ive also been listening to a lot of Horace Silver lately; he seemingly builds
entire solos out of just these 3 t0 9 arps!!
Hey Adam,
Thanks for checking out the lesson! Yeah 3 to 9 arpeggios are fantastic ways to
outline chords and tons of famous guys use them, like you said some almost
exclusively. Mike Stern and Pat Martino come to mind as guitarists who love this
technique.
If you havent already, check out the 3 to 7 triad article, great way to expand these
ideas further, guys like Wynton Kelly made a career out of playing these ideas.
http://mattwarnockguitar.com/jazz-guitar-chords-3-to-7-triads
11. Mike, July 29, 2011:
Hey Matt, Ive been using this system for the last month, and Ive got alot of gain
out of it. However, I found I was getting as much color as I wanted out of the
arrpeggios, especially when two minor chords were next to each other in a
progression. Take a g-7 chord(Gminor7). a 3,5,7,9 would be Bb, D, F, A. So
instead I started using a 3,5,7,9 on a Bbmaj7 Chord, D, F, A, C, and I noticed I
was getting a significant amount of more color! I wish I could say this idea was
mine, but Ive read that Wes loved subbing relative major/minor arrpegios in his
soloing.
12. Mike, July 29, 2011:
Sorry, *I was *not* getting as much color as I wanted
Yeah, the 3 to 9 is the first step to get away from root-7 arpeggios. Mike Stern
really likes 5-11 arpeggios, so Dm7 over G7, the sound youre talking about
basically.
Sheryl Bailey talks about the family of four thats where you harmonize every
note over a dominant 7th chord and use those arpeggios.
So for G7 try using G7-Bm7b5-Dm7-Fmaj7
or for Gm7 try using Gm7-Bbmaj7-Dm7-Fmaj7
very cool sounds in there, mix it up with some Bebop patterns and youre cookin!
14. Mike, July 29, 2011:
Brother, you are Treasure chest of KnowledgeThanks for the gifts!
No problem man, glad I could help out, hope you keep diggin the site.
16. ankkiz, August 6, 2011:
Hi
on the Cmaj7 (Em7) you used Phrygian Bebop scale (Phryg + M3) but didnt
mention anything about it.
It might be confusin for some student who is unfamiliar with bepopscales.
17. Matt Warnock, August 6, 2011:
Hey Ankkiz,
I used the major Bebop scale on that chord, which I mentioned in the text
So for m7 it would be the Minor Bebop Scale, for 7th chords it would be the
Dominant Bebop Scale and for Maj7 chords it would be the Major Bebop Scale.
with links to articles with the fingerings and definition of the scales there.
For me, the Ab or G#, is the b6 of the C Major Bebop Scale, not a Phrygian mode
sound. Though Im thinking Em7 for the 3 to 9 arpeggios, the scale is a C Major
Bebop so its related to the tonic sound of the chord.
Thats all, nothing fancy, just the 3 to 9 ascending (Em7) and the Major Bebop
Scale (C Major) descending.
18. John, August 11, 2011:
Great stuff! Ive been doing this for some time now and its great to see someone
explaining it!Great job. I try to think of each triad built from the R,3rd,5th,7th of
a given chord and then relate that to its chord function.
For sure John, great ways to take concepts you know, triads and arpeggios, and
use them in a new way to create a whole new sound in your playing.
Getting a lot of bang for your buck with these ideas for sure!
20. yusuf, August 15, 2011:
This I was looking for
thanks Yusuf, glad you dug the article!
22. Mark, September 10, 2011:
Thank you very much for this great article and all the other cool stuff on your site!
These 3 to 9 arpeggios really add a great deal of melodic interest. Especially
when you start applying them to the melodic minor scale (Dm7 vamp is what im
working on at the moment), got too love that Fmaj7#5 sound
23. Matt Warnock, September 10, 2011:
For sure Mark, love that sound of Fmaj7#5 over Dm7.
24. AJ Green, December 17, 2011:
Oh crap, I just found this lesson. its 11:30 at night and I just put on a pot of coffee
and grabbed my guitar. coolest thing Ive learned in a while, thanks for going to all
this trouble for us Matt. Ill be working on this all night.
25. Matt Warnock, December 17, 2011:
Hey AJ,
Glad you dug the lesson, but sorry I ruined your getting a good nights sleep!
No prob, all I got is time. Now, after checking out more of your site I can really say
thanks. The insights you teach may be basic jazz concepts but you have a real
talent for presenting them in a clear and orderly way.
You keep posting and Ill keep practicing.
27. Matt Warnock, December 17, 2011:
Thanks AJ, Ill keep posting! Have you signed up for my free newsletter yet? If not
you can do so in the top right of the sidebar on any page on my site. You get two
free ebooks for signing up and a free, newsletter exclusive lesson each Monday.
So check it out if you havent already.
Yep, all signed up. Thanks for all your dedication.
29. Kurt Rehbein, December 9, 2012:
Thanks very much Matt,
Great lesson. Just what I have been looking for.
30. Matthew Warnock, December 9, 2012:
No problem glad you dug the article!
31. adam smith, January 5, 2013:
hi matt love it could you briefly explain
7(b9) 3 to 9 arp= dim7 starting on the 3rd of the chord
minMaj7 3 to 9 arp= Maj7(#5) starting on the 3rd of the chord
thanks Matt
32. Matthew Warnock, January 6, 2013:
yep those are correct. For G7b9 you could play B D F Ab, Bdim7, for GmMa7 you
could play Bbmaj7#5, Bb D F# A.
33. adam smith, January 6, 2013:
got it thanks
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