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Guitar Arpeggio
C Major
An arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time. C Major is the C chord spread across the neck — the bright, settled sound at the centre of Western music. A root, a major third and a perfect fifth — nothing pulling anywhere.
C
1
E
3
G
5
Every position on the neck
Dark green is the root. Tap any note to hear it — the highlighted box is a playable position starting at fret 7.
The chord it comes from
Every arpeggio is a chord in disguise. Learn the grip and the notes are already under your fingers.
How to actually use it
- 1Play it over its own chord. When C goes by, every note of this arpeggio is a safe landing — that is what makes arpeggios sound "inside" where scales can sound aimless.
- 2Target the chord tones on the strong beats. Land on the root or the third when the chord changes, and fill the gaps with scale notes in between.
- 3Learn one position cold before spreading out. The five-fret box highlighted above is enough to solo with; the rest of the neck is the same shape repeating.
- 4Say the degree as you play it. Knowing you are on the ♭7 rather than "some note" is the difference between running a pattern and making a line.