Use The Maj7 Arpeggio Over Chords I + IV
In the playlist above, you’ll find video lessons demonstrating how to play all five Amaj7 arpeggio shapes. You can use this arpeggio whenever you play over chord I or IV since they naturally extend to maj7.
Even though it’s rare, the maj7 chord does sometimes appear in other places than for chords I and IV. Should this be the case, you could then apply the maj7 arpeggio. In fact, whenever there is a maj7 chord, the maj7 arpeggio will work.
In order to use the maj7 arpeggio as you solo or write, it is essential that you learn it in all shapes and keys.
To completely nail the maj7 arpeggio shapes, you must continue through the cycle of 4th. So after Amaj7, continue with Dmaj7, Gmaj7, Cmaj7, Fmaj7, etc, until you’re back at Amaj7 again.
Let’s look at some TAB demonstrating this concept, this is the C-shaped maj7 arpeggio.
This TAB was for illustrative purposes only, reading it in all twelve keys will not make you better at playing the C-shaped maj7 arpeggio, it will make you better at reading TAB!
Instead, make sure you can see it and the other four shapes on the fretboard and play them in all keys.
Only when you have achieved this should you move on to the next step which is to learn and play the dom7 arpeggio.
Maj7 Arpeggios Guitar Lessons | Related Pages
Arpeggios | Step-by-step guitar course
There are only four CAGED arpeggio shapes to learn on the guitar, the min7, the maj7, the dom7, and the min7b5.
In the step-by-step arpeggio course, we master all these arpeggios in all CAGED shapes, an essential skill to acquire if you want to improvise.
Major Pentatonic | Major Scales
This is where it all starts, you must learn how to play the Major Pentatonic in all five shapes and don’t cheat by thinking of them as minor.
And let’s not name these shapes 1-5, let’s call them by their CAGED name, and let’s practice them not just in A as the videos show!
Guitar Chords | The CAGED System
Using traditional music theory, the stave, and a piano, you’ll get easy-to-understand chords but they will not help if you want to play chords on the guitar.
Instead, on the guitar, we use chord shapes derived from the five open-position chords, C, A, G, E, and D, hence CAGED.
Extend barre chords | Chords
Let’s extend all CAGED barre chords to min7, maj7, dom7, and the awkward min7b5. These are all possible to play!
Following the introduction video, you get individual videos demonstrating how to play this, moving through all CAGED chord shapes.
Chordacus
Spytunes chords, scale, and arpeggio software, Chordacus is a refined version of the so-called CAGED system.
Now available as both a chromatic (original version) and “within a key”, developed with the help of a Spytunes student.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about maj7 arpeggios, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.