[smueske]

I'm looking for a book that has just guitar arpeggio studies. Does anyone have a title to recommend? I had one of those "duh" moments when I realized that arpeggios could be played using chord inversions. I know all of the common arpeggios and know how to construct any chord (and therefore could write the arpeggios) but it would be good to get some insight into putting together systems of arpeggios moving into and out of inversions.

[distressed_romeo]

Check out the Stephan Ross lesson on www.essentialguitarist.com .

[Drew]

There's a lesson or two on this site...

[smueske]

Hey Drew, thanks. Actually, I've looked through the lessons. Honestly, I already know the material covered. I guess what I'm looking for are chordal arpeggio studies that look at ideas to shift between arpeggios in inversions. A seven chord in second inversion into a different nine chord in third inversion, for example. Maybe what I need to do is just sit down and write everything down. Like I said, I can figure it all out, it would just be cool to have a series of exercises that move from different inversions. I think it would trigger some radical ideas.

[distressed_romeo]

Originally Posted by smueske

Hey Drew, thanks. Actually, I've looked through the lessons. Honestly, I already know the material covered. I guess what I'm looking for are chordal arpeggio studies that look at ideas to shift between arpeggios in inversions. A seven chord in second inversion into a different nine chord in third inversion, for example. Maybe what I need to do is just sit down and write everything down. Like I said, I can figure it all out, it would just be cool to have a series of exercises that move from different inversions. I think it would trigger some radical ideas.

To be honest, that'll probably teach you more than learning from a book will, even if it is more time consuming. I've been doing a similar thing since the summer with jazz comping, playing through 2-5-1s and similar sequences in each position, using a voice leading approach. It's a lot to take in, but worth the effort.

Remember how Allan Holdsworth learnt his scales? When he was young he wrote out every possible permutation of the chromatic scale, discarded all the ones with more than two semi-tones in a row, and learnt them all over the neck, which equipped him to improvise over pretty much anything.

[smueske]

That's a really good point. It would be a monstrous effort but would get me in at ground zero. I might even break it down to shapes by string.

[distressed_romeo]

Try doing it one position at a time, and gradually building them up 'til you can cover the whole neck. That way it seems like a less impossible task.

Good luck with it!