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Variations on Arpeggios
When playing an arpeggio, you need not limit yourself to the notes in the chord as such, but can play around with other notes in harmony with the arpeggio. For example, the arpeggio:
E---------------2---------------2-------------------
B-------3---------------3---------------------------
G-----------2-------2-------2-----------------------
D---0-----------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------
could be played as:
E---------------2---------------2---3---2-----------
B-------3---------------3---------------------------
G-----------2-------2-------2-----------------------
D---0-----------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------
or:
E---------------2-----------0---2-------------------
B-------3---------------3---------------------------
G-----------2-------2-------------------------------
D---0-----------------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------------------
et cetera. Similarly, when playing chords you can ‘colour up’ your playing with some variations. When playing D-G for example:
E---2---2---2---2---3---3---3---3-------------------
B---3---3---3---3---3---3---3---3-------------------
G---2---2---2---2---0---0---0---0-------------------
D---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-------------------
A-------------------2---2---2---2-------------------
E-------------------3---3---3---3-------------------
You can make things a little more interesting by strumming:
E---2---2---3---2---3---3---3---3-------------------
B---3---3---3---3---3---3---3---3-------------------
G---2---2---2---2---0---0---1---0-------------------
D---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-------------------
A-------------------2---2---2---2-------------------
E-------------------3---3---3---3-------------------
or alternatively
E---2---2---0---2---3---3---3---3-------------------
B---3---3---3---3---3---3---3---3-------------------
G---2---2---2---2---0---0---0---0-------------------
D---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-------------------
A-------------------2---2---0---2-------------------
E-------------------3---3---3---3-------------------
You get the picture…
It is variations like these (and these are countless variations, depending on what song you are playing and what effect you are trying to achieve) that distinguish the inventive, professional rhythm guitarist from the flatter novice.
Chord shapes moved up and down the fret-board can also yield some interesting results. Take the basic C chord shape:
E---0-----------------------------------------------
B---1-----------------------------------------------
G---0-----------------------------------------------
D---2-----------------------------------------------
A---3-----------------------------------------------
E---3-----------------------------------------------
Move this up two frets and you get the sweet sounding:
E---0-----------------------------------------------
B---3-----------------------------------------------
G---0-----------------------------------------------
D---4-----------------------------------------------
A---5-----------------------------------------------
E---5-----------------------------------------------
Or take the E shape
E---0-----------------------------------------------
B---0-----------------------------------------------
G---1-----------------------------------------------
D---2-----------------------------------------------
A---2-----------------------------------------------
E---0-----------------------------------------------
And try it in different positions, such as:
E---0---0---0---0-----------------------------------
B---0---0---0---0-----------------------------------
G---3---4---6---8-----------------------------------
D---4---5---7---9-----------------------------------
A---4---5---7---9-----------------------------------
E---0---0---0---0-----------------------------------
and so on…
Here are some other examples to show you how much potential chord shape variations have on the guitar:
E---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-----------------------
B---1---3---5---7---8---10--12----------------------
G---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-----------------------
D---2---4---5---7---9---11--12----------------------
A---0---0---0---0---0---0---0-----------------------
E---------------------------------------------------
Here is a similar sequence, but played with arpeggios (try both picking and fingering in turn):
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------
B------12--------------10--------------8--------------7--------------------
G----------0---------------0---------------0--------------0----------------
D--------------12--------------11--------------9--------------7------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---0---------------0---------------0--------------0-----------------------
E------------------------------------------------------
--------------------
B-------5---------------3---------------1----------------------------------
G-----------0---------------0---------------0------------------------------
D---------------5---------------4---------------2--------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---0---------------0---------------0--------------------------------------
Try splitting the arpeggio into a bass line and a chord sequence, as in the example below:
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------
B--------3--------3--------3--------3--------3--------3--------3--------3--
G-----2--------2--------2--------2--------2--------0--------0--------0-----
D--0-----------------------------------0--------2--------3--------5--------
A-----------3--------2--------1--------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Experiment freely with all chord shapes up and down the fret-board, see what gives you a discord and what sounds great. Once you are familiar with this, try variations on chords up and down the frets – the possibilities are endless!
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