$14.

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47 Killer Arpeggios
Every Guitarist Must
Know

Don J MacLean

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Copyright 2005, Don J. MacLean.

All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
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Text editing by: Jeneane McKenzie
ISBN 1-896595-42-1
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47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

About the Author

Don J. MacLean is an active freelance guitarist, composer and educator. His musical
training includes studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Humber College, and York
University, where he obtained his B.A. (Dbl. Hons. Maj.) in music and psychology. His twentyfive years of teaching, performing and composing have made Don a highly sought-after
expert for workshops, seminars and master classes.
Don J. MacLean is the author of:
The World of Scales: A Compendium of Scales for the Modern Guitar Player
The World of Scales: A Compendium of Scales for all Instruments
Guitar Essentials: Chord Master
Guitar Essentials: Chord Master Expanded Edition
Guitar Essentials: Scale Master 1
Guitar Essentials: Scale Master Expanded Edition
Guitar Essentials: Improviser
Guitar Essentials: Music Theory
Music Essentials: Improviser
Absolute Essentials of Music Theory
Absolute Essentials of Music Theory for Guitar
Absolute Essentials of Guitar
Guitar Quick Start
Fit Fingers Book 1
Fit Fingers Book 2
Quick Tips for Faster Fingers
Quick Tips: Guitar Chords 101
Quick Tips: Guitar Technique 101
Mega Chops: Scale Mastery Beyond Hanon
Mega Chops: Guitar Technique Volume 1
Mega Chops: Guitar Technique Volume 2
Mega Chops: Guitar Technique Volume 3
21 Secrets to Learn Any Song Super-Fast
Top 30 Most Powerful Guitar Technique Exercises of All Time

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Introduction
Welcome to the Special Report: 47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know.
Arpeggios are formed when you play the notes of a chord one-by-one.
Lets face it. Arpeggios sound cool. When you play them slow, they sound great.
Rifle them off, and they sound amazing.
In this report you will discover 47 killer arpeggios that you must know. Some of these
arpeggios are easy to play, while others are quite tricky. Most of these arpeggios require a
bit of stretching, while others require some very serious stretching.
The best way to learn these arpeggios, is to pick one or two arpeggios to start with
and practice them for a week. The following week, add an additional one or two arpeggio(s).
As you add these additional arpeggios keep practicing the ones from the previous week.
Repeat this process.

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

How to Read the Music Notation

Contained in this Report
Guitar music can be notated in four different ways: standard notation, tablature,
rhythm/slash notation and neck diagrams or grids. What follows is a quick overview of the
notation you will encounter in this book.

Neck Diagrams/Grids
The following fretboard diagrams represent isolated sections on the neck of the guitar. The
vertical lines represent the strings, while the horizontal lines represent the frets. The strings
are numbered from the thinnest (1), to the thickest (6). To save space, only the applicable
portion of the neck will be shown for each arpeggio. So, instead of showing all of the frets
on the guitar, we will just show a representation of the portion of the neck we need.
Neck diagrams or grids are the main form of notation used in this book. This form of
notation will enable you to see the arpeggio patterns.

Frets

F
R
E
T
S

6 5 4 3

6 5 4 3 2 1

2 1

STRINGS

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

How to Read Arpeggio Diagrams

All of the arpeggios shown in this book are presented in neck diagrams.
E min

Play these
notes one at a
time.

7th fret
Here is the same arpeggio shown in tab:

A Quick Overview of Tablature

In tablature, each horizontal line represents a string. The strings are numbered from the
thinnest (1) to the thickest (6). The numbers on these lines represent the frets that you
need to place your fingers on.
One bar
or
measure

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Bar lines

How to Play Arpeggios

There are two approaches you can use to play arpeggios: alternate picking or sweep picking.

Alternate Picking
Alternate picking is the most common and efficient way to play notes on individual strings.
This technique is great for scales. Alternate picking requires that you strike the first note
with a down-stroke () and the next note with an up-stroke (v). The pattern is repeated for
each successive note. Below you will see an E minor arpeggio played with alternate picking.

Alternate Picking Exercise # 1

Sweep Picking
Sweep picking is used primarily for arpeggios. An arpeggio is produced by playing the notes
of a chord one-by-one. Arpeggios are often played with just one note per string. Instead of
using alternate picking to play arpeggios, sweep picking is more efficient. In sweep picking,
you use as many continuous down or up-strokes as possible. If the arpeggio changes
direction, you then reverse your picking.
Here is how it works: In Sweep Picking Exercise #1 you will see an E major arpeggio.
In this fingering for the arpeggio, there is one note on each string. The way to play this is to
use one continuous down-stroke for strings 5-1 and then one continuous up-stroke for
strings 2-4.
Sweep picking gets its name from the way it looks when performedit looks like you
are sweeping across the strings with your pick.

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Sweep Picking Exercise # 1

E minor arpeggio
Perform this arpeggio with sweep picking. You should find this to be easier than playing the
arpeggio with alternate picking.

Sweep Picking Exercise # 2

In some arpeggios you will need to play two or more notes on a string. To do this, use
alternate picking on the strings that have two or more notes and sweep pick the rest.
E minor arpeggio

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Moveable Arpeggios
Moveable arpeggios are as their name impliesmoveable. This means that you can take
one arpeggio shape and move it up or down the neck of the guitar to produce any desired
arpeggio.
Here is how it works. The black notes in each arpeggio represent the root notes. The
root note indicates the letter-name of the arpeggio. All you have to do is line up one of the
root notes in an arpeggio. The others will automatically line up. If you take a major arpeggio
and position it so that the root note is on a C, you will have a C major arpeggio. Move the
same arpeggio shape so that the root note is on an F and you will have an F major arpeggio.
When you first start to practice arpeggios, you should practice them ascending and
descending. Once you have nailed down the fingering, you can start to experiment with
different melodic patterns.
To understand how chords are built and therefore arpeggios, see the Absolute
Essentials of Music Theory for Guitar (ISBN 1-896595-32-4).

E A D G B
F
C
B E A
G C F
D
B
A D G C E
F
B E A D
C F
G
B E
D G C F A

E
F
G
A

C major
arpeggio
This arpeggio is played
with your first finger on
the 8th fret.

C Major
B
C
D

E A D G B E
6 5 4 3 2 1

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Now move this same arpeggio shape so that the sixth root is on the first fret. Since
the root note is on the note F, we now have an F major arpeggio.

F Major
E A D G B
F
C
B E A
G C F
D
B
A D G C E
F
B E A D
C F
G
B E
D G C F A

E
F
G
A
B
C
D

F major
arpeggio
This arpeggio is played
on the 1st fret.

E A D G B E
6 5 4 3 2 1

10

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

The Arpeggios

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

11

Major
All of the arpeggios contained in this report can be played on any fret. The black notes
represent the root notes. The root notes indicate the letter-name of the arpeggio. Position
the fingering on the appropriate fret for the desired arpeggio.

Major 7th

12

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Minor

Minor 7th

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

13

Augmented

Diminished 7th

14

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Dominant 7th

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

15

Some Monster Arpeggios

Dim 7

16

Major

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

Minor

Minor

Major

47 Killer Arpeggios Every Guitarist Must Know

2005 Don J. MacLean All Rights Reserved International Copyright Secured

17