Guitar Guide

Music Theory with the Guitar

Arpeggios and triads

triads

To memorize all major, minor, and diminished triads across all string sets, you should follow these exercises:

And then practice with them by doing the following:

1. Crosspicking through chord progressions
2. Improvising with triads only

Major arpeggios

E shape

The first 2 octave E shape arpeggio is based off the E shape pentatonic and has 4 triad sets going vertically on it.

A shape

This is the A-shape 1-2 octave for the major shape

D shape

This is the D shape which covers one octave but also has 4 triad sets, thus completing the 12 major triad sets, 3 for each of the 4 string sets.

Minor arpeggios

E shape

This is the 2 octave E shape arpeggio

A shape

This is the A-shape 1-2 octave for the minor shape

D shape

This is the D shape which covers one octave but also has 4 triad sets, thus completing the 12 minor triad sets, 3 for each of the 4 string sets.

Major 7th Arpeggios

There are multiple flavors of 7th arpeggios and here you'll learn them all. First, it's important to know the 1-octave shapes, as all the rest of the 2-octave shapes are just built from those.

1-octave shapes

These first four shapes are the most useful arpeggio shapes on all string sets.

• The first two are from the CAGED E arpeggio shape
• The second two are from the CAGED C arpeggio shape

Maj7 arpeggio E string set

Maj7 arpeggio D string set

Maj7 arpeggio B string set

Maj7 arpeggio G string set

These next shapes are based on a widened version of the basic, but still useful. It's translated down 3 sets.

Maj7 widened arpeggio E string set

Maj7 widened arpeggio B string set

Maj7 widened arpeggio D string set

There are two more useful widened shapes, which are also CAGED shapes - more on that in the two octaves section.

Maj7 CAGED G shape arpeggio

Maj7 CAGED C shape arpeggio

two octave shapes: CAGED

for the reset of the article, we'll categorize the CAGED shapes for each arpeggio. Each 7th arpeggio falls into using three main shapes for CAGED:

• E shape, with roots on D, high E, and Low E strings.
• A shape, with roots on A and G strings
• D shape, with roots on D and B strings

However, I will show you all the shapes.

E shape

Now we can start getting into the 2-octave shapes. First off, here's the E shape, based on the the E-shape major arpeggio:

Note how it's just a combination of two single octave Maj7 arpeggios from the E-shape arpeggio.

Maj7 arpeggio E string set

Maj7 arpeggio D string set

A shape

these are the 1-octave shapes from the A-shape arpeggio that make up the full arpeggio

Maj7 arpeggio A string set

Maj7 arpeggio G string set

D shape

The D shape is one octave but important regardless since you need the E, A, and D shapes to fully connect the maj7th arpeggio across the entire fretboard.

This is the most basic version, a single octave.

You can see how this begins to connect here with the expanded version:

C shape

The C shape is impractical, but connects to the A shape and D shape well.

The root on the A string connects with the A shape, and the root on the B string connects with the D shape.

I hope you can see why the C, D, and G shapes are inessential. Many of the notes are repeated between the E and A shapes.

G shape

The G shape is impractical but it connects nicely to the A and G shapes.

Here is the full G shape, connecting naturally to the E shape.

three octave shapes

For 3 octave shapes, you can start with C maj 7, which goes from the E-shape to the D-shape and skips to the A-shape.

Then practice Going from E -> D -> C -> A.

Minor 7th Arpeggios

1-octave shapes

Here are the 4 shapes on the E string set

Min7 arpeggio E string set

Min7 arpeggio E string set

Here are the 2 shapes on the A string set

Min7 arpeggio A string set

Min7 arpeggio A string set widened

Here are the 2 shapes on the D string set

Min7 arpeggio D string set

Min7 arpeggio D string set

Here are the 2 shapes on the G string set

Min7 arpeggio G string set

Chord grips

Spread Triads

Spread triads are simple triads where you just take the 2nd note of the triad and transpose it up an octave, and since you can do this for each inversion, there are many different shapes for spread triads. Most spread triads will have the root on the E, A, D strings.

Major spread triads

Here are the major ones:

Major Triad, A-string root

Major Triad, E-string root

Major Triad, D-string root

Here are the major ones that require some rearranging around.

Major Triad, G-string root

Major Triad, G-string root

Major Triad, B-string root

Major Triad, B-string root

Here are the minor ones:

Minor Triad, D-string root

Minor Triad, D-string root

Minor Triad, G-string root

And here's the diminished ones:

Diminished Triad, A-string root

1-octave shape image

1-octave shape image

1-octave shape image

1-octave shape image

Jimi hendrix triads

The jimi hendrix triads are the simple two-note chords with only the 1st and 3rd, with roots on D and G strings:

Jimi hendrix major triad, D-string root

Jimi hendrix minor triad, D-string root

Here are some more ones, that aren't really jimi hendrix triads, but they omit the 5th anyway.

Major Triad, E-string root

Major Triad, A-string root

Major Triad, D-string root

Here are all the minor triads as chords, which include only the root and the flat 3rd.

Minor Triad, E-string root

Minor Triad, A-string root

Minor Triad, D-string root

Shell chords

Although there are a lot of shell chords, they are easy to memorize if you group them by spread version and by string set.

Compact Shell chords

THe compact shell chords always have the 7th on top.

These are the compact shell chords on the E string root, which are related to the the E arpeggio maj7th shape.

Maj7 E string root (compact)

7th E string root (compact)

m7 E string root (compact)

These are the compact shell chords on the A string root, and keep in mind how they are the exact same as the E string roots.

Maj7 A string root (compact)

7th A string root (compact)

m7 A string root (compact)

The ones on the D-root are as so:

Maj7 D string root (compact)

7th D string root (compact)

m7 D string root (compact)

You also have these ones on the D-root but instead of 1-3-7, they are 1-5-7 chords (so not technically shell chords):

Maj7 D string root (compact)

7th D string root (compact)

m7 D string root (compact)

The ones on the G-root are as so:

Maj7 G string root (compact)

7th G string root (compact)

m7 G string root (compact)

Spread Shell chords

These spread shell chords have a much more lush and open voicing and always have the 3rd on top.

Maj7 E string root (spread)

7th E string root (spread)

m7 E string root (spread)

Here are the ones for the A string root

Maj7 A string root (spread)

7th A string root (spread)

m7 A string root (spread)

Here are the ones for the D string root

Maj7 D string root (spread)

7th D string root (spread)

m7 D string root (spread)

Major chord grips

These two major chord grips are formed from the E-shape major arpeggio.

Maj D-string root

Maj D-string root

These chord grips are from the A major arpeggio CAGED shape

Maj G-string root

These chord grips are from the D major arpeggio CAGED shape and C major arpeggio CAGED shape

Maj B-string root

Maj A-string root

Minor chord grips

These three minor chord grips are made from stacking a D-set minor triad on top of a G-set minor triad.

Minor D-string root

Minor B-string root

Minor G-string root

Minor G-string root

• The D-string root grip comes from the CAGED Gm arpeggio shape.
• The B-string root grip comes from the CAGED Dm arepggio shape.
• The G-string root grip comes from the CAGED Am arpeggio shape.
• The 2nd G-string root grip comes from the CAGED Am arpeggio shape.

Common maj7, 7, m7, m7b5, and dim7 chord grips

Here are all the seventh chords with roots on the E, A, D strings.

E string root

A string root

D string root

7th chord grips

These chord grips are all formed from the 7th arpeggio shapes.

These are the chord grips found from the E CAGED 7th arpeggio:

7th D-string root

7th high E-string root

• The one with the D-string root is just one-added note to the dom 7th shell chord with root on D-sring. The highest note is added. It also comes straight from the one-octave arpeggio from the E-shape.

This is the chord grip found from the CAGED D7 shape arpeggio. It starts on the same root.

7th D-string root

These are the chord grips found from the C caged 7th arpeggio shape:

7th A-string root

7th B-string root

7th B-string root

These are the chord grips found from the A-shape CAGED 7th arpeggio:

7th G-string root

min 7th chord grips

Here are the 4 most important minor chord grips:

Let's break it down:

D-shape chord grips

These are the D CAGED shape chord grips

C-shape chord grips

These are the C CAGED shape chord grips

A-shape chord grips

These are the A CAGED shape chord grips

maj7th chord grips

These are all the useful maj7 chord grips

• The E shape is just the 1-3-5 major triad with D string root, but shifting the root down one to get the major 7th.
• The A shape one is just the maj7th shell chord with root on G string, and then has one note lower.

Here are some more maj7 chord grips:

maj7th G-string root

m7b5 chord grips

Here are some m7b5 chord grips

major 6th chord grips

Here are the three most useful major 6th chord grips:

Here are maj6/9 chord grips, which are just the maj6 chord grips with the 9th added as well:

rootless 6/9 chord grip

rootless maj7th 6/9 chord grip

min6th chord grips

Here are the three most useful minor 6th chord grips:

Sus2 grips

Sus2 chords are used when you want to use a major or minor chord but without the tonality. It sounds kind of neutral.

• This sus2 triad is just taking the standard 1-3-5 triad with the D-string root, and moving down the major 3rd to a major 2nd.

Sus4 grips

Sus4 chords are used as pulls toward the major and minor of the same root. For example, Esus4 pulls back to E major or E minor.

Here are the three important Esus4 chords:

sus4 E + D string root

sus4 A string root

sus4 E string root

• The first one is just a variation of the E-string root major/minor barchord, so you can easily resolve to that.
• The third one is just the D-string 1-3-5 major triad, moving up the 3rd to the 4th. I hope you can see it.

maj9 chord grips

Here is the maj9 chord grip with root on the A string:

min9 chord grips

Here is a min9 chord grip with root on the A string:

Practice tips

Guitar HIIT deliberate practice

Here we'll dive into the basic principles of guitar practice.

1. goal: you need a main goal for the practice session and one weekly goal you're working towards. For example, your main goal for the session could be to learn the 1-octave E-shape maj7th arpeggio, and your weekly goal could be to connect all the 1-octave shapes together.
2. deliberate practice: you need to be deliberate about the way you practice. This means that you should be focused and intentional about the way you practice, and not just mindlessly playing through exercises or songs. You should be actively trying to improve and learn new things, and not just going through the motions.
3. HIIT: you should be doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for your guitar practice. This means that you should be practicing in short bursts of intense focus, followed by short breaks. For example, you could practice for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break, and repeat this cycle for a total of 4 cycles. This will help you stay focused and avoid burnout.
4. structure: you should have a structured practice routine that includes warm-up exercises, technical exercises, and repertoire practice. This will help you stay organized and ensure that you're covering all the important aspects of guitar playing.

structure

The best way to structure your practice routine is into these three categories:

1. have fun: this is where you play for fun and enjoyment, like transcribing or low-stakes improvisation.
2. look back: this is where you review what you've already learned and practiced. This could include going over previous exercises, songs, or techniques that you've already worked on. This will help you reinforce what you've learned and keep it fresh in your mind.
3. look forward: this is where you work on new material and techniques that you're trying to learn. This could include learning new exercises, songs, or techniques that you're trying to master. This will help you continue to grow and improve as a guitarist.

Here are example routines for different practice durations:

• 30 minutes: 10 minutes look back, 5 minutes have fun, 15 minutes look forward.
• 1 hour: 25 minutes look back, 5 minutes have fun, 30 minutes look forward.

rhythym guitar styles

Funk

Basic rhythym

In funk, you have strong beats on the 2 and 4, and you often use 16th note strumming patterns to create a groove. THis means you should accent the 2 and 4 beats when strumming.

R&B

Rootless chord voicings

Here are the rootless voicings for a 9th chord, which are often used in R&B music.

• Shape 1 is the same shape as the first inversion minor triad on the G, B, E string set.
• Shape 2 is the same shape as the first inversion minor triad on the D, G, B string set.

Shape 1 on G, B, E string set

Shape 2 on D, G, B string set

Here is a rootless voicing for a 13th chord

Chord progression tactics in R&B

Here are tips to master the R&B feel within a chord progression:

Techniques

• pinky harp: hammer on some notes when doing a bar chord, using the pinky harp technique.
• sliding into chords: slide into chords from a half step or whole step below to create a smooth transition between chords. In R&B, we slide into chords fast, like a grace note, rather than giving them an explicit note duration.

Styles

• dynamics: use dynamics to create a sense of movement and emotion in your playing. This could include using volume swells, palm muting, or other techniques to create a sense of tension and release. An example is arpeggiating through a chord, starting out soft and then ending loud.
• arpeggiation: play some chords in a staccato feel and then arpeggiate through the next chord in a progression.

Fills

We can add fills in between chord changes to add interest and variation to our playing. We extract these fills from these possibilities:

• major scale: use notes from the major scale for the key.
• pentatonic scale: use notes from the major or minor pentatonic scale for the key.
• arpeggios / chord tones: use notes from the chord tones of the chords in the progression, which means you can just use the arpeggio shapes for the chords in the progression.

exercises

Rhythm exercises

Lead rhythm exercises

rhythym grid on major scale positions

Do the grid, which is quarter notes -> eighth notes -> triplets -> sixteenth notes, and then back down again. Do this with all 5 major scale positions.

Here is the link to the exercise video.

Rhythym guitar exercises

Chord fills

Practice playing pentatonic, major scale, and arpeggio fills in between chord changes.

Start by taking a simple I - Vi progression in the key of E major (Emaj7 | C#m7). Create a simple motif by using notes from any of the following scales: E major scale, E major pentatonic scale, C# minor scale, C# minor pentatonic scale, as well as Emaj7 and C#min7 arpeggios.

For a chord progression of your choice, progress through these exercises:

1. Do chord fills using the pentatonic scale for the key.
2. Do chord fills using the major scale for the key.
3. Do chord fills using arpeggios for the chords in the progression.

Chord exercises

Play through these chord progressions to learn these chords and commit them to muscle memory, and understand where the roots are.