Seventh Chord Arpeggios (Advanced Arpeggios)

Presented below are arpeggios for the major 7^th chord.

The arpeggios are in single position form (spanning more than two octaves), and all inversions are shown.

F Major 7^th Arpeggio, Root Position

Can be played in position I or position XIII (as below).

F Major 7^th Arpeggio, 1^st Inversion

Optionally, the "E" on the 3^rd string can be moved to the 2^nd string.

F Major 7^th Arpeggio, 2^nd Inversion

F Major 7^th Arpeggio, 3^rd Inversion

Key Tasks

• Practice (and memorize) the arpeggio forms.
• Play the arpeggios with a metronome.
• Play the arpeggios over an F^maj7 chord.

Presented below are arpeggios for the dominant 7^th chord form.

The arpeggios are in single-position form (spanning more than two octaves), and all inversions are shown.

F Dominant 7^th Arpeggio, Root Position

Can be played in position I or position XIII (as below).

F Dominant 7^th Arpeggio, 1^st Inversion

F Dominant 7^th Arpeggio, 2^nd Inversion

Optionally, the first E♭ , which appears on the low E string, can be moved to the 5^th string, resulting in a multi-position (but easier) fingering.

F Dominant 7^th Arpeggio, 3^rd Inversion

Key Tasks

• Practice (and memorize) the arpeggio forms.
• Play the arpeggios with a metronome.
• Play the arpeggios over an F⁷ chord.

Presented below are arpeggios for the minor 7^th chord.

Note the similarity between a minor 7^th arpeggio and a pentatonic scale. Since there is only a difference of one note (the pentatonic scale has an 11^th), each of these shapes closely resembles a pentatonic scale.

F Minor 7^th Arpeggio, Root Position

Can be played in position I or position XIII (as below).

F Minor 7^th Arpeggio, 1^st Inversion

F Minor 7^th Arpeggio, 2^nd Inversion

F Minor 7^th Arpeggio, 3^rd Inversion

Key Tasks

• Practice (and memorize) the arpeggio forms.
• Play the arpeggios with a metronome.
• Play the arpeggios over an F^-7 chord.

Presented below are arpeggios for the following minor7♭5 chord form.

Once you learn these, you should consider practicing them along with the dominant 7 for the key they would imply, for instance a D^-7♭5 arpeggio would be followed by a G⁷ arpeggio for the key of C major. You could also practice this for minor keys; for example, a B^-7♭5 arpeggio can be followed by an E⁷ arpeggio for the key of A minor.

The arpeggios are in single-position form (spanning more than two octaves), and all inversions are shown.

G Minor 7♭5 Arpeggio, Root Position

Can be played in position I or position XIII (as below).

G Minor 7♭5 Arpeggio, 1^st Inversion

G Minor 7♭5 Arpeggio, 2^nd Inversion

G Minor 7♭5 Arpeggio, 3^rd Inversion

Key Tasks

• Practice (and memorize) the arpeggio forms.
• Play the arpeggios with a metronome.
• Play the arpeggios over an F^-7♭5 chord.

Presented below are arpeggios for the diminished 7^th chord.

These arpeggios are useful for resolving up or down by half step to any diatonic chord: for instance C^maj7, C♯^o7, D^-7. That also works in reverse: A^-7, A♭^o7, G⁷. Try it!

The arpeggios are in single-position form (spanning more than two octaves), and all inversions are shown.

F Diminished 7^th Arpeggio, Root Position

Can be played in position I or position XIII (as below).

F Diminished 7^th Arpeggio, 1^st Inversion

F Diminished 7^th Arpeggio, 2^nd Inversion

F Diminished 7^th Arpeggio, 3^rd Inversion

Key Tasks

• Practice this arpeggio over any of these diminished chords: G^o7, B♭^o7, D♭^o7, E^o7.
• This arpeggio can also be used over any Dominant 7 ♭9 or Dominant 7 ♯9 chord, so long as one of its non-root chord tones are in the chord. For instance, A^7♭9 has B♭ as its ♭9. Since B♭ is in this diminished 7th arpeggio, this diminished arpeggio can be used over that chord.
• Answer the question: how many total unique diminished 7^th arpeggios are there?