String Skipping Arpeggios in 3/4

by Guido Bungenstock

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  • Hi guys!

    This time I chose a song that maybe reminds you of Joe Satriani's "Always with me, always with you" because of the ¾ time signature. It contains a lot of nice sounding arpeggios combined with some melody.

    I use a few different types of arpeggios:

    String skipping arpeggios that are based on wide triads (Minor and Major) built like this : 1st, 5th and the 3rd of the next octave. As you see there's always a little jump between each interval. Another interesting thing is that I start with an ascending arpeggio with the string skipping technique but descending with a normal arpeggio triad without string skipping by keeping the same bass note. Every descending arpeggio is based on the 5th chord of every individual ascending triad! This way the two different arpeggios work as two layers and form a new chord. For example C#m combined with G#m result in a C#m79 chord!

    3 notes arpeggio forms that are mostly based on 5th intervals combined with shifting accents. Guthrie Govan's "Waves" inspired me here a lot too.

    In the solo section I go a little further and use a string skipping arpeggio based on 1st, 3th, 7th, the octave, the fifth (of the next octave), the 7th (of the next octave) and the 9th (of the following octave). Carl Verheyen uses this concept a lot.

    Let's go thru the A & B sections of the song:

    A SECTION (ex. 0:00-0:25)
    C#m | G#m/C# | C#m | G#m/C# |
    B | F#m/B | A | E/A |
    C#m | G#m/C# | C#m | G#m/C# |
    B | F#m/B | A | E/A |

    C#m | G#m/C# | C#m | G#m/C# |
    B | F#m/B | A | E/A |
    C#m | G#m/C# | C#m | G#m/C# |
    B | F#m/B | A | B |

    B SECTION (ex. 0:25-0:47)
    E| B/E | E| B/E |
    Aadd#4| E/A |A | E/A |
    F#m| F#m/E |F#m| F#m/E |
    B | % |B | % |

    REPEAT ALL SECTIONS!
    And this time the clean arpeggio guitar stays underneath the solo guitar.
    The song ends with the last chord C#m.

    A typical chord progression in C#m and E Major. So I'm only using only the C# Minor and E Major scales.

    Final words
    This lesson is a good example on how easy it is to use good sounding arpeggios without remembering complicated fingerings or shapes. I tried to transcribe as close as possible. Specially in the Guitar Pro 5 you'll find all this little extras!
    Have fun with it!

    Cheers - Guido

    Technical specifications
    Guitar: Music Man Luke II
    Strings: D'Addario NYXL 09/42
    Amp: Peavey JSX Top with Marshall 2x12" V30
    Effects: T.c. electronic G-Major
    Sound-deflection system by DEEFLEXX

    Mics: Shure SM57
    Audio Interface: Focusrite Saffire PRO 24
    Recording SW: Logic 9, several plugins

    Standard tuning: E, A, D, G, B, E

    Tempo: 130 BPM

    Time signature: 3/4



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