Major 7th Arpeggios – Part 1

Major 7th Arpeggios

Part 1

In this article we’re going to look at some examples of one Major 7th arpeggio shape, and some short phrases with increasing complexity as the examples go on. All the examples will contain the same arpeggio, and all examples will also have the corresponding chord preceding it. It’s a good idea to try to make the connection between the chord voicing and the arpeggio.

The first example is the basic C major 7th chord shape with the arpeggio presented in quarter notes. Note the 2 note per string stretch on the G string.

The second example is a C major 7th arpeggio run. Because of the way the fingerings are arranged, they can be practiced with alternate picking, or sweep picking.

The third example adds some pull offs on the G and E string, and also adds an extra note “D”, which is not part of the arpeggio, but consistent with the chord.

The fourth example contains pull offs, hammer ons, a short sequence, and some chromaticism at the end of the phrase. This is a more typical example of how you can use arpeggios to expand your playing into different realms of ideas.