Chapter 10 Moveable Arpeggio Shapes

We’re going to close things out with a look at some more incredibly useful moveable shapes: arpeggios. What’s an arpeggio? Glad you asked (it means you’re paying attention)! An arpeggio is simply the notes of a chord played separately, or one after the other. A triad, for example, is a chord containing three different notes. A C major triad contains the notes C, E, and G (the root, 3rd, and 5th). If we played those notes one after the other, we’d be playing a C major arpeggio. It turns out that these notes—the root, 3rd, and 5th—are great for building bass lines, and that’s our aim here. Just as we used the root/5th/octave shape to create bass lines in Chapter 8, in this chapter, we’ll be doing the same with moveable arpeggio shapes. Reference the fretboard chart on page 43 when you need to.

Major Triad Shape

As we said earlier, a major triad contains a root, a 3rd, and a 5th. (Technically, the 3rd is a major 3rd because it’s derived from the major scale, and the 5th is a perfect 5th, but that’s not terribly important right now.) By far the most common major triad arpeggio shape on the bass involves two strings and looks like this:

Two-String Major Triad Shape

Let’s check out what this shape can do when applied to some of the common rhythmic patterns from Chapter 8. This example uses rhythm pattern 4 and transposes the line from the G chord to the C chord:

Example 51

And here’s a walking-style line in C that uses rhythm pattern 5 for F, C, and G chords. Notice that we break away from the arpeggio in measure 4 and walk back up to F to keep things from getting too predictable.

Example 52

Minor Triad Shape

A minor triad contains a root, a b3rd, and a 5th. So, in order to make a major triad a minor one, we need to lower the 3rd by a half step (to a minor 3rd). At the top of the next page is a common shape involving two adjacent strings:

Two-String Minor Triad Shape

Here’s an E minor line that uses this shape for Em and Am chords and incorporates rhythm pattern 3, as well. Note that, although we’re using the open strings here, it’s still the moveable shape; it’s just that the open string (the nut) is acting as the low root.

Example 53

This example uses rhythm pattern 1 to create a bass line with the B minor triad shape and the A major triad shape. Notice that you can jumble up the notes a bit and still convey the tonality; you don’t have to play straight up or down through the shape.

Example 54

In addition to triads, another common chord type is the seventh chord. This is a four-note chord that not only contains the root, 3rd, and 5th, but also—you guessed it!—the 7th. There are many different kinds of seventh chords, but we’ll focus on the two most common here: dominant seventh and minor seventh.

Dominant Seventh Shape

A dominant seventh chord is like a major triad but with a minor 7th interval on top. In other words, you use the 3rd from a major scale but include the 7th from a minor scale (the 5th is the same in both). (Refer to the charts on pages 28 and 48.) So, a C7 chord contains the notes C, E, G, and Bb. E is the 3rd of the C major scale, and Bb is the 7th of the C minor scale.

Since we’re going all the way up to the b7th anyway, we’ll extend these shapes up to the octave root. Here’s the most common shape, which spans three strings:

Three-String Dominant Seventh Shape

With four notes and four beats in a measure, this shape is tailor-made for a quarter-note walking line (rhythm pattern 5). Here’s an example that uses A7 and D7 shapes in fourth position:

Example 55

And here’s one in C that uses rhythm pattern 4. We’re in second position here.

Example 56

Minor Seventh Shape

A minor seventh chord is like a dominant seventh chord but with a minor 3rd instead of a major 3rd. So, a Cm7 chord contains the notes C, Eb, G, and Bb. Here’s a common three-string shape:

Three-String Minor Seventh Shape

Here’s an example that uses the open-position E minor version of this shape (the nut acts as the low root and b7th) and rhythm pattern 5. This is another example of jumbling up the notes a bit.

Example 57

We’ll finish up with one in C minor that uses rhythm pattern 2, again jumbling up the notes a bit.

Example 58

Song 12: Bluesy Shuffle in A

This song features a shuffle beat. This means that the eighth notes aren’t played evenly; the first one in each beat is longer than the second. You’ve heard this in countless songs, and after playing this tune it will immediately become familiar to you. You only play a few eighth notes (for the A7 chords) in this whole song, so it won’t even matter most of the time (quarter notes sound the same in a shuffle as they do in a “straight eighths” song).

We’re mixing a few different arpeggio shapes here: A7 for the A7 and most of the D7 for the D7 chords (though a different pattern), and an E triad for the E7 chord. We also follow the E major triad with a D major triad. Note that, even though we’re playing E major and D major triad shapes in measures 9 and 10, the chords played by the guitar are still E7 and D7, respectively, hence the chord symbols. Once you get the basic quarter-note routine down, then you can start to add in the eighth-note variation on the A7 chord in the second half of the tune, which just helps it “swing” a bit more. Remember to use the rake!

Example 59

Bluesy Shuffle in A

Song 13: Final Exam Rock in E Minor

This is called “Final Exam Rock” because it brings together many concepts that we’ve studied throughout the book. Let’s break it down by measure:

Measures 1–4: This section is based on an Em7 arpeggio form. Remember to rake from string 3 to string 4 at the end of each two-measure phrase.
Measures 5–6: We’re using the root/5th approach here for the C and B chords. The open A string is used at the end of measure 5 as an approach tone to B. Again, be sure to rake from the 5ths (on string 2) to the roots (on string 3).
Measures 9–10: This line is built from notes of the E minor scale. The only note not included in the ascent is C. At the end of measure 10, we have a three-string rake (!): the open D string, the note B (fret 2, string 3), and the open E string. All three of these notes should be plucked by the same finger in one continuous motion.
Measure 14: Here, we continue scaling up the higher register of the E minor scale.
Measures 15–17: Here, we have a repetitive four-note motif. Once again, the important thing is to rake. Pluck the first two notes (beat 1) with one finger and the next two notes (beat 2) with the other finger.

Example 60

Final Exam Rock in E Minor

Closing Note

Congratulations on teaching yourself to play the bass guitar! You’ve hardly reached the end of the line, though. There’s much more to learn, so keep practicing your technique, scales, and arpeggios, and continue your studies with other books or possibly a private instructor. Also remember to try and jam with other musicians whenever possible. It’s a fun learning experience that will expand your musical horizons. Good luck!