Dominant 7th Arpeggio Charts for Guitar
The arpeggio charts in this guitar lesson are written from a horizontal perspective. So the first string is on top, and the 6th string is on the bottom. The number in red represents the root of the arpeggio.
Each arpeggio shape can be played anywhere on the neck of the guitar. The name will just depend on what position you are playing in. Just line the red notes up with whatever dominant 7th arpeggio you want it to be. You will have to have a basic understanding of what the names of the notes are on the neck of the guitar are to be able to determine what position to play in.
When the root of the arpeggio is not the lowest note in the form, you should practice the arpeggio in 2 ways.
1. Start on the lowest root in the form, work your way to the lowest note, then up to the highest note, then return to the lowest root again. Here is how you would play the above arpeggio form at the 5th fret. This would be an F7 arpeggio.
2. Play the arpeggio starting from the lowest note, work your way to the highest, then back to the lowest. As a variation, you may want to pause on the roots. That way your ear will become accustom to how all of the notes sound in relationship to the root. Again the roots will be the numbers in red.
Dominant 7th Chord Functions
Each arpeggio chart will be written in 2 ways. To the left you will see a suggested left hand fingering, and to the right you will see the Chord Functions. The chord functions are how the notes in the chord/arpeggio relate to the major scale with the same root. So the chord formula for a dominant 7th chord is 1 3 5 b7. The b7 is a half step lower than the 7th degree of the major scale with the same root.
Guitar Lesson Navigation
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