Sweep Picking a Minor Arpeggio

Able to leap tall scales in a single bound---It's Arpeggio Man to the rescue! It's time to bone up on these tools from the fast lane. First, we'll spell out the notes/intervals in a minor chord/arpeggio. Then, we'll look at a run that incorporates those notes.

"A" minor notes

1-b3-5 is the spellng for any minor arpeggio. It's that small, yet significant, flat half-step at the 3rd that gives this chord its minor sound. So, in the key of "A", the notes are A-C-E. That "A" note could be played at the fifth fret-sixth string, seventh fret-fourth string, etc...the octave is up to you. The "C" and "E" can be played in any octave also. that is the key to playing multiple octave arpeggios. You have to view them as a set of intervals instead of locations on the neck. Viewing arpeggios as "boxed" positions is extremely limiting.

 

Example

Sweep picking ahoy! Get ready to play those 232-notes. This example should be played in straight sixteenth notes. Remember, this run is in the key of "A". Keep the intervals that make up the arpeggio in mind while playing this lick.

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