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February 2016 Issue Videos

John Petrucci Lesson: Combining Triad

Arpeggios to Form Polytonal Chordal
Allusions
Posted 01/27/2016 at 4:12pm | by John Petrucci

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Complete lesson: Combining triad

arpeggios to form polytonal chordal
allusions.

RELATED CONTENT

I often use triadic arpeggio forms within my riffs

and solos as a tool to create rich-sounding,
poly-chordal sounds.

hours ago

Id like to continue in that vein by presenting

different ways in which to move from one
arpeggio form to another, using a series of
specific triads that complement one another
well.

Ernie Ball and Dream Theater's John

Petrucci Announce Match the Master Contest

Lets start with the triads F# diminished and D

major, as shown in FIGURES 1 and FIGURE 2,
respectively. The F# diminished triad is built
from the notes C, F# and A, and the D major
triad is built from almost the same set of notes,

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triad is built from almost the same set of notes,

D, F# and A. Both FIGURES 1 and 2 show
these triads as played in fifth position for
comparison.
If I wanted to get a bluesy vibe, Id use the D
major triad and combine it with the F#
diminished triad, as demonstrated in FIGURE
3. Here, the C note is heard as the b7 (flat
seventh) of D, implying a D dominant-seven
tonality.
Now lets try combining the F# diminished

arpeggio with an A minor arpeggioA C Eas

shown in FIGURE 4. The combination of these
two sets of notes gives an F#m7b5 arpeggio (F# A C E: see FIGURE 5). These licks work well
over an Am chord, as the inclusion of the F# note, the major sixth of A, implies an Am6, A Dorian
mode type of sound.
As you probably have noticed, all of these arpeggios are played on the top three strings, and I
often like to incorporate sweep picking when using arpeggios like this. FIGURE 6 illustrates a
combination of an Em7 arpeggioE G B Dand a Gmaj7 arpeggioG B D F#. As denoted in the
example, in order to sweep pick these arpeggio shapes properly, begin with an upstroke on the
first note and then use a single down-stroke to rake across the top three strings to play the next
three notes.
The form ends with another upstroke. I then slide up to 10th position and reverse the process,
beginning with a down-stroke and then using a single upstroke to rake across the top three
strings, moving from high to low. FIGURE 7 offers an example of applying this approach to the
chord progression Em7 Am9 F#m7b5 Gmaj7.
This is the last installment of Wild Stringdom for now. I hope these columns have been useful to
you and have served to broaden your knowledge of the guitar while building up your chops.
Thanks for reading, and Ill see you out on the road!

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Comments
ROYGBIV
January 30, 2016 at 9:40am

Hold my beer and watch this..

gfein1138
February 26, 2014 at 10:57pm

Awesome!

gazoscreek
February 26, 2014 at 4:18pm

As Macklemore says ... "This is f*cking awesome"

gazoscreek
February 26, 2014 at 4:19pm

Very well useful lesson. Thank you.

pikman
February 26, 2014 at 11:27am

Great lesson.....

isabelmatthews456
January 28, 2016 at 2:40pm

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