Minor Arpeggios In The CAGED System
Just as major arpeggios use the same notes as major chords, so do minor arpeggios use the same notes as minor chords. As well just as the difference between a major and a minor chord is one note moved down a half step, so is the difference between a major and a minor arpeggio is the same note moved down a half step. By now you should be starting to realize the similarities between chords and arpeggios. In fact there is really only one difference. You play the notes of chords in together, but the notes of arpeggios separately.
As previously mentioned the difference between a major and a minor arpeggio is one note moved down a half step. That one note is the 3rd. Don't be worried if you dont know what that means. All you need to know is that the first note above each root is moved down one semitone or a halfstep. Sometimes thats as easy as moving those notes down one fret, just like what has been done in the first and last diagrams below. The three middle diagrams use the same technique, but notice that in some situations a note may be moved to a different string to make the fingering of the arpeggio easier. To learn more about moving notes to different strings, read our lesson on Identifying Duplicate Pitches and Octaves. Here are the minor arpeggio shapes.
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Instructions This arpeggio is over the range of 5 frets. Use your 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers to fret the 2nd, 3rd and 4th frets respectively. Stretch your 1st finger down to fret the 1st fret. |
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Instructions This arpeggio is within a range of 4 frets so use the one finger per fret rule. |
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Instructions This arpeggio is within a range of 4 frets so use the one finger per fret rule. |
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Instructions This arpeggio is within a range of 4 frets so use the one finger per fret rule. |
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Instructions This arpeggio is within a range of 4 frets so use the one finger per fret rule. |
Remember that these 5 minor arpeggio shapes were all derived from the major arpeggios found in here which were in turn made from the CAGED system.
Part II - How To Practice These Shapes