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Major Arpeggios on
Guitar - Ultimate
Roadmap
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When playing over a major chord, major arpeggios

will help to connect your solo to the backing music. I
o"en refer to arpeggios as the "skeleton" of your
solo, fleshed out by other movements and
embellishments, such as scale phrases.

So if you were playing over E major, for example, an E

major arpeggio would be intrinsically connected to
this chord. This gives you a strong melodic base for
building your solo around that chord.

First, watch the video presentation below for an

overview. You can then find more help further down
this page...

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Basic Major Arpeggio Theory

Like major chords, the major arpeggio is made up of
three key ingredients...

The root (1) - this is the note we use to name the

chord/arpeggio (e.g. E major has an E root. C major
has a C root).

The major 3rd (3) - this is the interval that gives the
chord/arp its major sound.

The perfect 5th (5) - a more neutral sounding interval

that is a part of every major chord.

Even if you're unsure what these interval

names/numbers mean, you'll see how they can be
used to form repeating, movable patterns on the
fretboard.

This means you don't have to know the individual

notes of every arpeggio you play (e.g. C major is C, E,
G). Instead, you can memorise a few patterns and
simply move them to the appropriate root for the
chord you're playing over.

In other words, spatial awareness of how one note

relates to another, in any key and over any chord, is a
more efficient use of your practice time than trying to
memorise each individual note of every
chord/arpeggio.

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Major Arpeggio Patterns

Let's start by building our patterns in the same way
we would with scales.

Each pattern has its own root position(s), which will

tell you where to position the pattern for the chord
you're playing over.

Use a metronome to build your speed and timing

accuracy. I recommend increments of 5 BPM, only
increasing the tempo when you're 100% confident
with playing at the current tempo.

Tip: You don't always have to play the entire pattern,

from the lowest to highest string (and vice versa). Try
also isolating the top, middle and bottom part of the
pattern.

Intervals Fingering

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A Note On "Rolling"
Some of the above patterns look challenging. And
they are! But as demonstrated in the video, you can
use a technique called rolling to negotiate those
"two/three strings, same fret" sequential
movements.

If we were moving up Collapse back the same

from 2nd to 1st string, finger until the 2nd
fret the 2nd string as string li"s off the fret
normal, with the tip of and the pad of your
your finger. finger tip frets the 1st
string.

Reverse the above sequence for moving down the

strings.

Rolling is an advanced technique that takes some

time to master. Keep persevering with it and have
patience.

Practice moving between just two strings like this,

with each finger, until you get it. It's a hugely valuable
skill to have under your fingers!

The Major Arpeggio Roadmap

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Here, we string together the patterns from above to

create one large neck-wide pattern. Remember, the
sequence of patterns remains exactly the same for
any chord. The only difference is where we position
the root of the patterns in relation to the chord we're
playing over.

A few examples coming up. See if you can spot the

earlier "box" patterns sequenced within the larger
roadmap...

C Major
So all the roots (1) are on the note C.

A Major
All the roots are on A.

E Major
All the roots are on... yep, E!

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So this sequence of patterns is like a "conveyor belt"

that moves with the root of the chord you're playing
over.

Try and continue the sequence beyond the 12th fret.

Tip: you can also see how the arpeggio forms on

each individual string. Sometimes you might want to
play them like this (e.g. for pedal notes).

Connecting The Patterns

O"en you'll just play arpeggios in their box patterns
from earlier. But we can also use the connection of
these patterns, through the roadmaps above, to span
larger areas of the neck.

This is useful if you want to jump between positions

freely and create smoother, seamless phrases up and
down the neck. This will be especially useful when
we come to combining arpeggios with scales further
down the line.

As demonstrated in the video, you'll need to use

slides in some situations, in order to correctly
position yourself at the next fret. But this has a
welcome side-effect of giving your movements more
fluidity and feeling.

In other situations, you'll be challenged to make

large fret jumps. This is valuable practice for
targeting the correct fret accurately and cleanly.

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In other words, these kinds of movements give you

more freedom to go where you want on the neck,
rather than being constrained within a 5 or 6 fret
radius, as so many players get stuck in.

Connected Pattern 1
Intervals Fingering

Connected Pattern 2
Intervals Fingering

Keep Practicing
When you have the individual patterns memorised,
continue to practice linking them together in
different ways. Challenge yourself! You can use my
blank fretboard diagrams to mark on your own
sequences.

Eventually, the roadmap (the sequence of arpeggio

patterns) will become internalised, which means

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you'll be able to keep your bearings no matter where

you are on the fretboard.

Later, we'll learn how to connect these arpeggio

patterns with related scales. To have these three
important tones covered (1, 3, 5), means you'll find it
far easier to form melodic phrases across the neck.

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