Full Fretboard Arpeggios

Full Fretboard Arpeggios

If you want to take your study of arpeggios to the next level, you should practice arpeggios using their maximum range, consisting of three octaves or more.

Practicing full fretboard arpeggios will allow you to move vertically up the guitar neck with greater ease and precision.

In order to get the most benefit from this form of practice, you'll want to be sure that you are familiar with the notes on the neck, and capable of spelling the notes of any arpeggio you might want to play.

Example Arpeggio 1: E^maj7

This chord is a fitting example because its root note is on the open 6^th string, ensuring that you can start from the root and make use of the full range of the guitar neck to play the arpeggio. While it is not necessary to study arpeggios starting from the root note, you may find it helpful in the beginning.

Note that the decision of when to switch across to a new string is based on context (whether it's desirable to stay within a position) and ergonomics (whether it's easier to switch across strings than to proceed up one).

When playing full fretboard exercises, simple rules and guidelines no longer seem to apply. When playing in a position, we can make rules about which fingers do what, or how many notes will be played on each string. When studying full fretboard exercises, you'll have to judge for yourself what's best. For that reason, there may be alternatives to playing each arpeggio, and you should seek to play the arpeggios not by copying patterns but by knowing the notes you need to play—and executing them on the guitar.

The Arpeggio Pattern

Note that you should try to plan large shifts carefully. Sometimes large shifts are just plain difficult. Fortunately, this scale starts on an open string, meaning you can prepare for the shift to the first D♯ by fretting the G♯ with your third finger, B with your first finger, and then finally reaching for the D♯ (and then E) with the pinky.

Key Tasks

• Practice the arpeggio carefully, making sure the notes don't blend together.
• Name the notes as you practice—understanding the notes is key to arpeggio practice.