Playing Arpeggios

Exercise 25 The TAB below shows an E minor chord strummed for two bars, an E minor arpeggio played for two bars, then the same repeated again. Listen to the sound file * then try it yourself using down strokes for everything. .

Exercise 26 When playing an arpeggio it's not always necessary to use all the notes of the chord. Most arpeggio sequences or patterns start on the deepest note within the chord. In this case it's called the root note which is the strongest sounding note in a chord. In this exercise you'll see the chords written above the TAB to make it easier to read. Once again listen to the exercise on the sound file * then play it yourself. Make sure you follow the down and upstroke symbols, and don't forget the repeat sign. You probably found that trickier than the previous exercise. The hard part is skipping strings between the first two eighth beats in each bar. Isolate each part you're having difficulty with and practice it slowly, then try the whole exercise again. You might have noticed a couple of new symbols- (1) The half beat (the last strum on E minor in the last bar) is held for two counts, or twice as long as a quarter beat, and (2) the double bar line (at the end of the last bar) shows the end of a section of music.

There are a few different approaches to right hand technique especially when playing arpeggios. One of these involves throwing your plectrum away and playing fingerstyle. This method opens up many new possibilities on the guitar. I'll talk a bit more about that later on in my next tutorial (when I finish writing it!) Until then, use your plectrum, and see you on the next page.

 
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Copyright ©1997 Kim Wainwright.