You are on page 1of 16

pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer?

Try out the HTML to PDF API


Getting Chromatic: Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar
One of the questions that I often get asked by students in lessons and workshops is, I
know all my arpeggios and can outline chord changes, but how do sound like jazz? In
response to this question Ive started teaching a workshop titled Instant Jazz: Bebop
Arpeggios for Guitar.
Since not everyone can make it to one of my Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar workshops in
person, I decided to put the basics concepts of the class in an article for everyone to
enjoy.
If you want to check out how to add chromatic notes to scales check out my lesson
titled Bebop Scale Patterns for Guitar.
The basic premise behind these Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar is built around the notes of
any chord, the arpeggio, which many people already know and have under their
fingers.
If you are a bit shaky on your jazz guitar arpeggio fingerings you can still work
MATT WARNOCK GUITAR
Your Online Guide to Playing Better Jazz Guitar



Home Beginner Improver Resources Skype Lessons Forum All articles Login Search
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
through this lesson, but you might also want to visit my Arpeggio page to learn more
about these fundamental musical building blocks.
Each example is based around adding one, two or three notes to a jazz guitar
arpeggio shape, in this case C7.
Take your time with learning each Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar pattern.
Get them under your fingers, improvise with them, internalize the sound in your ears
and apply it to other keys, chord progressions and tunes that you are working on in your
jazz guitar practice routine.
Youll be sounding like a Bebop pro in no time!
Got a question or comment about this lesson? Visit the Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar
thread at the MWG Forum.

Here is the basic fingering for the C7 arpeggio that well use to build our chromatic,
Bebop lines.

Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 1: C7 Arpeggio

pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

Well now add our first Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar pattern to this fingering.
In this case, well play one chromatic note below each note in the arpeggio.
So, the C7 arpeggio has four notes, C-E-G-Bb, and well add one note before all of
these to produce, BC-D#E-F#G-ABb.
Hear how the arpeggio is now sounding more jazzy just by adding one note before
each chord tone?

Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 2: 1 Note Below


In this example well do the opposite approach, same idea but with one note above
each chord tone.
This one tends to sound a little evil, and most of my students with a background in
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
80s Metal seem to prefer this one over all the other variations.

Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 3: 1 Note Above


Here is one of the most well-used and important concepts in jazz improvisation,
Enclosures.
Here, we add one note above and one note below each chord tone.
If you want to practice this example further, try playing one note below and then one
note above each chord tone.
This sound is a favorite of guys like Joe Pass, Pat Martino and George Benson to
name a few.

Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 4: Enclosure

pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API

Well now do the same exercise as Example 1, though with two notes below each chord
tone to add an extra dose of chromaticism to our playing.

Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 5: 2 Notes Below


And again, well reverse it so we now have two notes above each chord tone.

pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 6: 2 Notes Above


The last two examples will mix one and two note chromatic approaches, first with one
note above and then two notes below each chord tone.

Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 7: 1 Above and 2 Below


pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
Finally, two notes above and two notes below each note on the C7 arpeggio.
Try mixing these last two up so that you start with the notes below each chord tone, then
the note(s) above to add another idea to your Bebop bag of tricks.

Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar 8: 2 Above and 1 Below


The key to learning any of these Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar, or any jazz concept, is to
apply it to a tune and improvisation right away.
What I like to do is learn one idea, say one note below each chord tone, as in Example 1,
and then once I have the fingering down on the guitar, I start to solo on the C7 chord
using just that technique in my playing, usually with a static C7 play-along so I can get
the sound of the chromatic notes against the harmony into my ears.
This way, you are not only learning a new fingering and chromatic idea, but you are
training your ears and brain to understand and become comfortable with these new
sounds.
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
Login to rate and bookmark posts
Share
Tweet
5
1
After you can do this on one chord, take it to other keys, other chords, and then finally
into chord progressions and tunes that youre working on in your practice routine.

Do you have a way that you like to practice or solo with Bebop Arpeggios for Guitar?
If so, please share it in the comment section below.
22 Comments
1. Guy Boden, June 7, 2011:
I always like to hear the chord tones fall on the down beats not the off beats.
Guy
2. Matt Warnock, June 7, 2011:
Guy: Yeah its a bit tricky to get the sound of the chromatic notes on the
downbeats in your ears, I used to only practice them on off beats, then I did a few
Pat Martino transcriptions and all the licks I loved were ones with the odd notes on
the downbeats, so that converted me to check out that sound more.
97
Like
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
3. Leandro Martins, June 8, 2011:
Amazing article!!
4. John Horne, June 13, 2011:
Great series of articles going on here. I will post a link from my blog soon!
5. Matt Warnock, June 13, 2011:
Thanks John, more to come!
6. rick bourne, July 20, 2011:
great lesson
7. rick bourne, July 20, 2011:
what is really great is the music notation with the correct fingering,i seem to grasp
it easier
8. Matt Warnock, July 20, 2011:
thanks Rick, glad you dug the lesson!
9. John, August 18, 2011:
Great stuff!
This is how you build walking bass lines as well, right?
10. Matt Warnock, August 18, 2011:
Kind of, it is true that basslines use a lot of chord tones from arpeggios and
chromatic notes to get to those chord tones, but there are other ways as well.
Using that method is definitely a great way to start building basslines.
Try this exercise:
Play the root on the 1st beat of each bar
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
Play a different chord tone on the 3rd beat of each bar
Arrive at each of those notes from a half step above or a half step below
That will get you started in creating jazzy sounding basslines
11. Aniss, December 15, 2011:
Hi, just wondering about the fingering on these exercises? Been trying some
different ones and they all feel weird. So Id like to know what works best for you
and Ill take it from there?
Great site by the way ;)
12. Matt Warnock, December 15, 2011:
Thanks Aniss, I like to use the fingerings on this page
http://mattwarnockguitar.com/guitar-resources/arpeggios
But if they feel weird you can use any fingering that you like, the key is just adding
in the extra note to get the chromatic sound, the fingering is not that important, as
long as its one that works well for you.
13. Aniss, December 15, 2011:
Thanks for the reply :) But you misunderstood me. I know my scales and
arpeggios in many positions. But I dont know how to put my fingers in order to do
the ENCLOSURE. No matter how I do it it feels complely wrong so I would like to
see the actual fingering others use to do that. With slides or how?
14. Matt Warnock, December 15, 2011:
Ah, got it. Here is what i do for each finger.
If i play a note with my first finger i do the enclosure with 2-1-1 , for the second
finger i use 3-1-2, for the third finger i use 3-2-3 and for the fourth i use 4-3-4.
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
finger i use 3-1-2, for the third finger i use 3-2-3 and for the fourth i use 4-3-4.
Hope that helps!
15. Aniss, December 16, 2011:
Yup! That helped a lot ;) Cheers..
16. Mamalov, January 17, 2012:
Thanx a lot mate.
Ive been studying you for a while now!
Great stuff.
17. Matthew Warnock, January 17, 2012:
Thanks, I appreciate you checking out my site!
18. Edward, May 12, 2012:
Im new here. I would like to say that there is alot of information on your site
Mathew.
Im enjoying my stay here.
Thanks alot for your time and effort.
Edward
19. Guy, October 31, 2012:
Matt, after nearly a year of transcribing various licks etc. Ive got to thank you for
your advice. The chord chord tones are played by many great players on the off
Beats.
Thanks again
Guy
20. Matthew Warnock, October 31, 2012:
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
thanks Edward, glad you dig the site!
21. Matthew Warnock, October 31, 2012:
thanks great, glad it worked out for ya!
22. David, June 16, 2013:
This is a great lesson, Matt, as is everything Ive seen on your site.
It seems as if there are two viewpoints here, but I dont think there is really any
conflict. Every chord tone has two dissonant (tension-producing) neighbor tones
one above, one below. Of the three tones (chord tone and two neighbors), the
chord tone has the least tension, so its more interesting to stress a neighbor tone
either by placing it on the beat OR by accenting it on the offbeat.
Oddly enough, I learned this in classical guitar studies. When Id get to a cadence,
my teachers would always tell me to stress the dissonant notes, not the notes they
melt into when the tension resolves. Dissonant tones have more movement
because theyre loaded with implications (they amp up our expectations), and
implications are more interesting than their realization. When someone is ABOUT
to sneeze, its more interesting than when they DO sneeze.
Sometimes the tension (about-to-sneeze) notes fell on the final beat of a measure
and the notes of resolution (sneeze notes) fell on the downbeat of the next
measure, which meant you should disregard the bar line and stress the weak beat
just before the downbeat and underplay the downbeat in order to wring the most
emotion from the cadence.
In other words, the lesson I learned is that its tastier to bring out the tension
notes, whether they fall on the beat or off the beat. If theyre on the beat, they
naturally get an accent. If theyre not on the beat, you might want to make
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
selected notes among them pop now and then. If theyre just passing tones
(adjacent scale tones), then they usually dont need to be brought out, but
tension tones that you reach by a leap are good candidates.
I think thats as true in jazz as it is in classical music.
Add comments about this page
Name (required)
E-mail (will not be published) (required)
Submit
Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without
commenting.
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
JAZZ GUITAR - BEGINNERS
JAZZ GUITAR - IMPROVERS
JAZZ GUITAR - RESOURCES
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
FORUM LOGIN RECENT FORUM TOPICS FREE Jazz Guitar eBook!
Related Articles
21 Bebop Scale Patterns For Guitar
How To Play MMaj7th Arpeggios For Jazz Guitar
How To Play Dominant 7th Arpeggios For Jazz
Guitar
How To Play Dim7 Arpeggios For Jazz Guitar
How To Play Minor 7th Arpeggios For Jazz Guitar
pdfcrowd.com open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API
Not a member yet?
Click here to sign up
Username

Password
GO

Learning the 7 Modes
Video, Trio with Nylon strung
Painting With Music
Benefits of Learning an
Instrument on the Brain
Django Documentary
Building Scales off the 6th
Degree -
Guess the Arpeggio
Answers
Sign up for my FREE email guitar
lessons and get a copy of:
"Beginner's Guide to Jazz Guitar"
Your Email
First Name
Subscribe

You might also like