Legato Arpeggio
Oda Znidarsic
As a lover of the legato sound I always tried to adapt every new thing I learned so that it would fit my way of playing and technique. One of these were the arpeggios. Although there's quite a good number of techniques that can and should be learned and used to play arpeggios with, the method I will speak about in this lesson isn't very popular as compared with the 'usual' ones. Let's see.
If you check the tab/notation you'll realize that I'm using the 5 most important sounds of 7th chord arpeggios i.e. Maj7, Dom7, Min7, Min7b5 and Dim7.Knowing them in all keys will be very beneficial! I'm using 3 octaves ascend/descend fashion and the common tone approach i.e. same root throughout but changing the chord quality all the time. Very beneficial for the ear this kind of approach.
Some performance tips are that you should go by the indicated fret hand fingerings and pick directions. The reason is so that you keep everything as legato and tight as possible. Don't forget that when you slide up or down don't change the finger as obviously the slide would vanish! When descending try not to pick the new string but hammer to it before you slide or pull. This can be tricky at first but trust me the result will be very impressive indeed. Pick only the first note of every string and use downstrokes. Alternate picking will slow you down apart from complicating things. If played with an overdriven tone be sure to mute any unwanted notes precisely so that everything will sound neat and cool.
When you feel comfortable with them record some type of rhythm using any of the chords and solo upon it using the appropriate arpeggio(s). Be sure to play in time and with accuracy. Then fit them in a solo whenever you're sure they will theoretically fit. You will be amazed at the speed and smoothness they can add to your chops. You can even use a one octave arpeggio at a higher register on your fret board and keep repeating it to create a fast but subtle effect! I included a small short example for you at the end of the 'five wise guys'!
Many great rock players such as Joe Satriani, Randy Rhoads and Steve Vai have used modal sounds to create some great liquid legato guitar phrasing. This example uses a 3 note per string fingering from the E Aeolian mode to create a long run similar to what John Petrucci of Dream Theater might play. When ascending pick only when changing to a new string. See if you can play the last descending 7 notes only picking the first note. These kinds of phrases will get your pinky in shape in a hurry!
Example 3:
This example is a long descending phrase in which only the first note is picked! Everything else is articulated with the fret hand. Runs like this require great fret hand accuracy and strength to play cleanly. Pay attention also to muting unwanted string noise. You might also experiment with legato guitar ideas like this on your front (neck) pick-up for an even warmer sound. This is also in E minor.
Example 4:
In addition to scales and modes we can also play arpeggios with legato guitar phrasing. Oftentimes arpeggios are played one note after the other without any deviation in the order of notes. This can happen a lot when sweep picking arpeggios because many times the arpeggios are simply played from top to bottom or vice versa. Here is an example of how you might sequence an A minor 7th arpeggio using legato guitar phrasing for a less predictable sound.
Example 5:
To hear audio examples of many of the guitar phrasing ideas in this article as well as learning much more about what you can do with legato phrasing check out my downloadable 'Killer Rock Lead Guitar Legato Guitar Phrasing Course" now.
How To Master Sweep Picking
Arpeggio Technique On GuitarGet The Free eGuide
Agitato Legato Arpeggio contains 3 microphone positions (Close, Far, & Mixed). Everything was recorded with the best Neumann through custom pre-amps in a live church environment (the same we used for Adagio and Adagietto). We also offer output routing per microphone, so you can assign each mic to individual outputs for more heavy mixing.
The Ostinato Builder for violins contains nearly 5,500 tempo-synced Ostinato Samples. Used in conjunction with the playable legato patches, they add a final dash of realism and life to acrobatic orchestrations. The phrases are named with their recorded BPM, but sync to your DAW tempo using Kontakt Time Machine 2 and Pro.
When creating this package I spent months and months monitoring my performance concerning legato technique. I wanted to make sure I had a concise routine set up to attack all the weak points in my fretting hand, thus increasing my accuracy, endurance and my speed.
Establish a smooth and seamless legato technique with the precise practice routine that Al Joseph uses to build and maintain his high-octane chops. Strap yourself in and get ready to ride a wave of rapid playing gains.
I was never really into metal growing up*, though I can appreciate almost any music and there are definitely some great musicians in that scene. These days though, its seems like there are some uniquely creative shredders out there who cross genres, have incredible technique, musicality and are really interesting to listen to. As a guitarist they grab your ears no matter what kind of music you're into and demand you listen! Immediately I think of guys like Guthrie Govan, Ron Thal (Bumblefoot, Guns N' Roses) or Mattias Eklundh who are shredders from another universe, so musical and can seemingly play anything or any style they want that they could hardly be described as to only a hard rock or metal player. Well, recently this Canadian guitarist, Nick Johnston, starts popping up on my facebook feed. Along the same lines, he's a great player with a refreshing approach. Lately, He's been doing some posts teaching some of his go to lines for improv.
I'm always fascinated to see how other players move around the guitar and love picking apart lines to figure how they think. I've picked up a few of his lines and thought I'd post some transcriptions with insights into how you can get them into your own playing if you're interested. Check it out. You can see him teaching the lick here (he might be tuned down a half step).
On the way up he uses hybrid picking. Think of every three notes as a grouping. The first note is played with the pick, the second is plucked with the middle finger (marked "m" in the music) after which you hammer on the third note. Same for the next group of three notes. After that, the next group of three (last two beats of measure one) has an extra pull off and starts you descending through the line. On the way down it is all legato, meaning you don't pluck any notes with your right hand and its a hammer-ons and pull-offs party all the way down. Even as you cross strings you hammer-on (marked by "h" in the music). Try it out. It flows pretty smoothly.
I mentioned its over a "C minor 7 sound" as there is more going on than straight C minor. It is a C minor 7 chord with an added 9th and 11th (you could call it a number of things, Cm9, Cm11, etc., etc.). Here is the breakdown (Ex. 2):
Some I liked some more than others. You can see that the original pattern (A minor above) fits exactly the same over D minor here. That's kind of nice. Over the E minor chord you catch a flat 2 which is a little dark sounding. Cmaj7 and G7 work pretty well. Fmaj7 had a #11 (or #4) which was kind of cool. Anyway, moving a lick around like this is really useful for a couple of reasons:
Notice that you have three little chords embedded in the line: an A minor triad ("R" for root, 3 for the third, and 5 for the fifth), a G major triad and an E minor triad. You could really easily break the line into smaller parts so that you didn't always have to start on the 6th fret and could try mixing it fluidly into other lines you might play. Try this for starters (taken from the A minor line, Ex. 6):
Looking at a beautifully controlled and choreographed arpeggio, we notice a smoothness and fluidity in the way both arms move across the keyboard, seamlessly connected together and describing a gentle curve. If the arpeggio is played continuously as though on a loop, the curve turns into a figure of eight (or the infinity symbol), all angles rounded out. My general advice for arpeggios is to hold the elbows slightly higher than in scale playing. There will be a bit more space under the arms, as though a current of air from beneath were lifting the arms up slightly so that they appear to float. The golden rule is never drop the elbow down onto the thumb!
There are three main approaches to the thumb in arpeggio playing, all of which are viable. Which one you choose depends on the speed and musical character of the individual arpeggio as much as the particular school of piano playing you have inherited.
We achieve a physical legato to (and from) the thumb, the thumb travelling underneath the hand in the same way as in a scale. To achieve the necessary stretch comfortably the thumb needs to start its journey immediately, as soon as it releases its previous key, and the elbow needs to lead. This is the approach I recommend for beginners and intermediate level players presenting arpeggios for examination, and it is the most traditional. At the advanced level, I would introduce the thumb over approach as well as the arm shift.
Opponents of the thumb-under approach claim passing the thumb underneath the hand causes unnecessary tension at high speed (especially in the big stretches we find in arpeggios). Using an arm shift, the hand is simply carried from one octave to the next, the thumb making no attempt to pass under. A physical legato is compromised, but if done well there is no discernable break in sound.
If you would like to know more about arpeggio playing, I am delighted to announce the launch of Part 3 of my eBook series, Practising the Piano. Part 3 is a single, bumper volume on scales and arpeggios starting with a guide to the basic skills required followed by chapters for the elementary, intermediate and advanced levels.
c80f0f1006