what is your favorite arpeggio pattern?

The reason I ask is because I dont really have one. I am not to familiar with arpeggios and would like to find some cool ones to get started on. your answer can also be a string of arpeggios that sound good together. Im really looking forward to what you guys have to share.

Interested in this thread, there could be some really interesting posts, since my knowledge is so limited here.

I wouldn't call these my favorites, however, they are possibly my most used:

     Am    Asus2sus4    Am (Again)   Dm add 9  Fmaj7b5

e||------|------------|----------|-----------|-----------|

B||------|------------|----------|-----------|---------0-|

G||----5-|------7-----|--------9-|--------10-|-------2---|

D||---7--|----9-------|-----10---|-----12----|-----3-----|

A||--0---|--0---------|---0------|---0-------|---0-------|

E||-0----|0-----------|-0--------|-0---------|-0---------|



    A9

e||---------|

B||---------|

G||-------4-|

D||-----5---|

A||---0-----|

E||-0-------|

While we're on the chord topic, I love combining Am and F like so:

e:-12-------12--------12-------13-------|

B:----13-------13--------13-------13----|

D:-------14--------14-------14-------14-|

G:--------------------------------------|

A:--------------------------------------|

E:--------------------------------------|



This creates a really neo-classical sound. Similar to Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper".

Of course Am > A#m is also a good one.

A minor is probably my favorite chord. In fact, almost every song I write contains some form of the chord. It's kind like home-base for me.

Here is an arpeggio progression I used twice in my song, "Vicissitude"



  Dsus2      Gsus2     C5

e:------------------------------|

B:---------------------------13-|

G:-----------------14-----12----|

D:-------14-----12-----10-------|

A:----12-----10-----------------|

E:-10---------------------------|





I call that my Cliffs of Dover lick. That isn't the whole lick that 

I play, but what would the fun be if I gave it away?

all of the Am examples will fit well with my constant over use of the Am pentatonic scale. That post went above and beyond what I was expecting. thank you very much GS!

This would be my most used since it can be easily modified from Major to minor to diminished....

   A Major  or F#m7



e-12-9----------

B------10-------

G---------9-----

D-----------11--

A---------------

E---------------

  A minor or FMaj7



e-12-8-----------

B------10--------

G---------9------

D------------10--

A----------------

E----------------

    A diminished or F7

e-11-8-----------

B------10--------

G---------8------

D-----------10---

A----------------

E----------------

I also like these Major 7th arps...

   A Maj7 root on 6th string

e---------------4-5---

B-------------5-------

G-----------6---------

D-------6-7-----------

A---4-7---------------

E-5-------------------

    A Maj7 root on 5th string

e----------------12-16---

B-------------14---------

G----------13------------

D----11-14---------------

A-12---------------------

E------------------------

The last two work really well if you can run them up then back down. I play my arps with alternate picking, Steve Morse style, so they may not fit well with sweep picking.

nice ones. I really like the diminished version of the Amaj.

I know this may seem stupid to some but I took all of the modes and played them as arpeggios. I mixed them up by skipping each degree... 1st,3rd,5th,7th,2nd,4th,6th. With risk of catching flack from the theory gurus i will post this anyhow. Don't criticize until you have tried them. They actually sound very interesting.




Remember I play alt picking so sweeping may not flow so smoothly.

This is the tab for Ionian. Each arpeggio follows the same pattern.

e----------------

B-----------3-7--

G---------4------

D-----2-6--------

A---4------------

E-5--------------

I do that all the time! Not necessarily skipping via odds or even degrees, but if arpeggios are the individual notes in a chord and chords are the groupings of individual notes in a scale, and scales in a key can be separated as modes... You see where I am going...

Who cares about theory anyway. :)

+1000 IF IT SOUNDS GOOD...PLAY IT! LOUD!!!!!!!

Actually it was the Lydian that caught my ear. Sounds awesome to me.

Lydian is always a favorite, to me it has the most variation in tonal arrangements (I know that sounds silly because they all have the same notes), which yields greater variety whilst remaining the same "area".

I found an idea that I really like on a Guthrie Govan video where he started on the seven of a major seven arpeggio and made it so that all 4 notes in the arpeggio are all played on the low E string and then brought up through the octaves on the D string and the high E string. It looked like this.

t= tap

           t           t          t

|-------------------------9-10-14-17--|

|-------------------------------------|

|-------------------------------------|

|-------------11-12-16-19-------------|

|-------------------------------------|

|--9-10-14-17-------------------------|