Extended Major Arpeggios on Bass – Lesson
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In this video, I show how to play extended arpeggios on major 7th chords.
for those unfamiliar with extended arpeggios, they are a continuation of the arpeggios past the 7th. These are called the upper structure notes or “extensions”. These extensions add different flavour to chords and are useful when attempting melodic passages. They are widely used in jazz.
Because bass players love playing in E minor/G major, I’ve put this lesson beginning in G major. The arpeggio includes these notes:
G B D F# A C# E
The C# is not derived from the G Ionian (Major) scale, but C is sharpened to prevent the clashing of the 3rd and the 4th (minor 2nd, ugh…) You will notice that there is a pattern of alternating Major and Minor 3rds. This may help you memorize it easily. The inversions to which I’m referring in this video are simply other 4 note arpeggios found within this extended arpeggio simply by beginning on a different chord tone.
I’ve provided you with a couple of my own exercises. These will build dexterity and fretboard familiarity.
The subtitles should explain what I’m doing, if you’re still stuck, don’t hesitate to ask.
bassamundo said,
January 1, 2012 @ 12:45 am
Thanks Vince,
The more I play it, the more it seems to fall under my fingers and joins a lot more range than I have normally used.
slagheap said,
December 27, 2011 @ 4:40 am
Dark Stars. got it.
Vince Di Francesco said,
December 26, 2011 @ 4:47 pm
Actually they are Dark Stars. more info here http://hammoneng.com/ . They are fantastic pickups. Clearest, and most dynamic pickups I’ve ever used, very high output, loud. I don’t know if they are still being made. Lakland was using them until they designed the Chi-Sonic. My bass is a Warmoth body and Fender Neck.
slagheap said,
December 26, 2011 @ 6:43 am
hi. excellent lesson, thnx. are those pups Chi-sonics? it sounds good, at least through my tinny itegrated-into-the-monitor speakers. how would you rate them? they look pretty cool on that bass. again, nice lesson.
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Vince Di Francesco said,
February 17, 2012 @ 7:37 am
bassamundo, thats really good. do them with all modes and scales. i’ll post more eventually. the whole point of the exercise is to do just what your saying, work out the fingers and introduce you to some good use of range. also, when you practice them more and more, the sound becomes internalized, and you will be able to recall the sound and fingerings when you play over certain chord changes.