Jazz Guitar Lesson on Constructing Arpeggios
"Notes are a little like planets. They have gravity and they pull in different directions, especially in relation to each other." - Chuck Loeb+
Note: Chuck Loeb passed away in 2017. His lessons are still available through the ArtistWorks Jazz Guitar school with Chuck Loeb. If you would prefer to study Jazz Guitar with ArtistWorks Video Exchange Learning, check out lessons with Dave Stryker here.
In this jazz guitar lesson from the Online Jazz Guitar School with Chuck Loeb, Chuck teaches us how to construct major and dominant arpeggios (notes played in sequence) and chords (notes played together).
In the video, Chuck explains the difference between the major 7th arpeggio and the dominant 7th arpeggio. Chuck first teaches us the major 7th arpeggio which has the intervals: 1, 3, 5, 7.
To play a major 7th arpeggio, simply play the major scale starting at the first note, but then skip every other note until you’ve played a total of 4 notes. These notes played sequentially gets you the major 7th arpeggio. (Of course these four notes played together are the major 7th chord).
Chuck starts with a four-note major 7th arpeggio in the the key of G in Position 1. (Check out our blog on Chuck's 6 Positions here). Note that this major 7th arpeggio has a certain sound, or flavor, or feel. To derive the dominant arpeggio from the major 7th arpeggio, all you need to do is lower the 7th (the last note in the arpeggio) a half step.
When you lower the 7th note a half step, you create the dominant arpeggio, and it has a totally different sound. Since we are in the key of ‘G’, the new name is the "G dominant 7th arpeggio", usually shortened to “G7th arpeggio".
Chuck goes through each of the notes of the arpeggio slowly so you can play along with him. He then shows you how to play these arpeggios in each of his 6 positions, which will help you master the fretboard and make more efficient use of it in your soloing.
The major 7th and dominant 7th arpeggios are important for music in general and especially for playing jazz guitar. Arpeggios are "super important" for learning jazz guitar improvisation, so it is important to incorporate them into your practice as much as possible. The results will be worth well worth it, and you'll be a better jazz guitarist.
This is a just a sample from the Online Jazz Guitar School with Chuck Loeb, where students have unlimited access to all lessons and much more. Each lesson includes play-along backing tracks, a video looping feature, slow-mo isolation, and notation/tablature. Chuck teaches all the arpeggios and chords you need to play jazz guitar. With these exercises you'll develop all the tools you will need to improvise over chord progressions, which is an important aspect of any jazz guitar method.
Note: Chuck Loeb passed away in 2017. His lessons are still available through the ArtistWorks Jazz Guitar school with Chuck Loeb. If you would prefer to study Jazz Guitar with ArtistWorks Video Exchange Learning, check out lessons with Dave Stryker here.
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