Atypical Arpeggios

I don’t mean that these arpeggios are unusual, but that many guitarists aren’t familiar with them.  None of these arpeggios are normal 1 3 5 triads, meaning that they do not necessarily contain a root, third and fifth.  Using these at the right times can really take your playing to the next level and make your playing stand out.  Mix these in with your standard fare of major, minor and diminished 7th arpeggios to add some variety. These work especially well over power chords since they have no thirds that might clash a bit with the 2nds or 4ths in these arpeggios.  If you are playing over full triads then it may be a little more difficult.  The fewer tones you have in the chords you play these over, the easier it will be to make them fit.

Some of you may be wondering when to use these arpeggios.  Of course, if you have one of the underlying chords in your song, that is a perfect opportunity to use one of these arpeggios.  Most of the time you won’t have such an easy opportunity to use them.  If your song is mostly triads, then you can still use these arpeggios, but you will have to be more careful.  One or two of the notes may be dissonant over the chord, but usually this won’t be a big issue, especially if you play these higher on the neck.  The higher in pitch these arpeggios are played, the smoother and less dissonant they will sound.  To help you I will list modes that fit the arpeggios.  Whenever you would use one of those modes in your playing, you can play one of the arpeggios.

First I will go over the 2 that are the easiest to use.  These are much more versatile than some of the other arpeggios in this lesson. These arpeggios will fit over the majority of the chords in diatonic scales.

Suspended second.
This arpeggio is built 1 2 5.  So instead of a third, there is the second instead.  This particular arpeggio has the major second interval, which fits over many more chords and scales than the minor second version.
Ionian, Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian

Suspended fourth.
This arpeggio is built 1 4 5.  So instead of the third, there is the fourth note of the scale. 
Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, Aeolian

A7sus4/9
This arpeggio has large intervals, but is much denser harmonically.  If this arpeggio were played in its basic voicing, it would be much more difficult to use.  The larger intervals make this seem less harsh.  It is built 1 4 5 7 9, meaning that it is essentially a ninths arpeggio with the third raised to the fourth. 
Mixolydian, Aeolian, Dorian

Next we have the two 6ths arpeggios.
These are both built 1 3 6.  I have included the major and minor variant of this arpeggio. 
Major 6th
Ionian, Lydian, Mixolydian

Minor 6th
Phrygian, Aeolian, Locrian

Note that 6ths arpeggios are enharmonic to 1st inversion arpeggios.  The difference here is the application.

Some Tips:
Try playing a normal triad ascending and one of these descending. Or try the opposite too.
Take a typical progression that you like and practice playing these appropriately over the chords.

Copyright Dave Cardwell 2007