This is a great exercise that not only will improve your articulation, but will better your understanding of 7th arpeggios and how to connect them in a musical manner. Watch the video and download the file, it is pretty much self explanatory. After you have learnt the exercise, there are two things you can do to take it to the next level: 1. transpose in all keys. 2. use a metronome to gradually increase the speed (like in the video).
Good luck!
Printable PDF: Connecting 7th arpeggios
a lesson on 7th arpeggios, here I demonstrate how to master these structures all over the guitar. I mostly play the major 7th arpeggio, but you can use any arpeggio in any key.
Printable PDF: 7th arpeggios – shapes
Like the 2-5-1 in major this is quite a reoccurring progression in many different styles. Its originates from the Harmonic Minor scale and the chords are IIm7(b5)-V7(b9)-Im(maj7). In the video I show you a scale (that really has no name) that fits these 3 chords, and if learned in all keys, will cover your basic soloing needs for this kind of progression. It is basically a natural minor scale with an added major 7th. To me it sounds a bit like a bebop scale so it naturally sounds its best when played in a descending fashion. This is the scale in Cminor:
C D Eb F G Ab Bb B (C)
You can download the printable PDF file: Minor 2-5-1/ Eight note scale.
One of the ways to fight ‘patterns’ playing is to explore all the intervals you can find in a scale. It is a really easy concept you can apply to ANY scale. This is also a great exercise for your chops. Try to practice more with your ears than your fingers…enough said. If applied to soloing every interval has a specific ‘color’ or ‘sound’. Many styles are based around that color, just watch the video and you will understand.
Printable PDF: Scale in Intervals
There are when times you can get bored of playing just the pentatonic on a blues, or maybe you’ve heard more contemporary blues players like Robben Ford, or blues influenced jazz guys like John Scofield and Scott Henderson. Well, here I come to help you out with a couple of tips: first I go over the ‘blues scale’, still quite a basic concept. Just add the b5 to a minor pentatonic and there you go, you have the ‘blues scale’.
A much more interesting thing happens when you start mixing up the H-W Diminished scale with a minor or major pentatonic scale. This will give you a few nice tensions:
Half step – Whole step Diminished scale in C:
C Db Eb Fb Gb G A Bb
T b2 b3 3 b5 5 13 b7
C minor pentatonic:
C Eb F G Bb
T b3 4 5 b7
C major Pentatonic:
C D E G A
T 2 3 5 6
Well, mix and match tastefully and you’ll get some new flavors, guaranteed. Listen to some of the examples I play in the video. Good luck!