Module 7: Improvisation ILesson 1intermediate⏱ 75 min + two weeks of daily drills

Seventh-chord arpeggios in position

Learn two-octave arpeggios for maj7, 7, m7, m7b5 and dim7 from the 6th and 5th strings, and drill them through the ii–V–I so every chord tone is under your hand while the changes go by.

Why arpeggios come before scales

Ask a jazz player to solo over a chord and the first thing they hear is not a scale: it is the chord itself, laid out one note at a time. An arpeggio is a chord played melodically, and it is the most honest raw material an improviser has. If you play nothing but the notes of Dm7 over Dm7, you cannot sound wrong. Scales come later (Module 9) because scales contain notes that clash on strong beats; arpeggios do not.

This lesson gives you ten shapes: the five seventh-chord qualities that cover almost every chord in a standard, each with the root on the 6th string and again with the root on the 5th string. That is the same logic as the shell voicings of Module 4: if you can find the root on strings 6 and 5 (see fretboard note names), you can play any chord's arpeggio anywhere on the neck within a few seconds. The rest of this module builds on these ten shapes, so give them two full weeks.

The five qualities you need

Every seventh chord is a stack of a root, a 3rd, a 5th and a 7th. The five qualities differ only in which of those degrees are lowered. The table below is generated by the course engine; use it to check the spellings as you play each shape.

Read down the columns and notice the pattern. From maj7 to 7 only the 7th drops a half step. From 7 to m7 only the 3rd drops. From m7 to m7b5 only the 5th drops. From m7b5 to dim7 only the 7th drops again. So each shape is the previous shape with exactly one finger moved one fret lower. If you learn them in this order, you learn one shape and four one-note edits, not five unrelated patterns.

How to practise a two-octave shape

Each shape below covers two octaves: root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, root, then back down. Practise every shape the same way:

1. Slowly, ascending and descending, saying the degree aloud ("root, three, five, seven, root…"). You are not learning a finger pattern; you are learning where the 3rd and the 7th live. Saying the degree is what makes that stick.
2. With a metronome, swing eighths, clicks on beats 2 and 4, as in Module 5. Start at 60 bpm and move up in steps of 8 only when three repetitions in a row are clean.
3. Alternate picking throughout, including string crossings. Jazz tempos punish any technique that only works downwards.
4. One finger per fret. The root-6 shapes sit in a four-fret window. The root-5 shapes need a shift at the octave, which is marked in the notation; make the shift with the 1st finger and keep the hand relaxed.

Root on the 6th string: major 7

The root-6 shape lives in one position. With the root under your 2nd finger at fret 3 (G), the whole shape fits between frets 2 and 5. The 7th of a maj7 is one fret below the octave root on the same string, which is why the shape feels like "root, skip, root" on strings 6, 4 and 1.

\tempo 80
.
\ts 4 4
:8 3.6 2.5 5.5 4.4 5.4 4.3 3.2 2.1 | 3.1 2.1 3.2 4.3 5.4 4.4 5.5 2.5 | 3.6.2 r.2 |

Look at the map above and find the notated shape inside it: every dot you played lies between frets 2 and 5. The map also shows you the other places the same tones live, which is where the root-5 shape comes from.

Root on the 5th string: major 7

With the root at fret 3 on string 5 (C), the first octave fits between frets 2 and 5. The second octave does not: the 7th and the upper root fall on string 1 above fret 5. The cleanest solution is a shift at the octave. Play the first octave in position II, then move the hand up so your 1st finger sits at fret 5 and finish the shape on strings 2 and 1. Shift back on the way down. The text marks in the notation show where.

\tempo 80
.
\ts 4 4
:8 3.5 2.4 5.4 4.3 5.3 5.2{txt "shift"} 8.2 7.1 | 8.1 7.1 8.2 5.2 5.3{txt "shift"} 4.3 5.4 2.4 | 3.5.2 r.2 |

Dominant 7: lower the 7th

Only one note changes from maj7 to 7: the 7th comes down a fret, in both octaves. In the root-6 shape the 7th moves from the 4th finger to the 2nd on string 4, and from the 2nd finger to the 1st on string 1. Keep the same window of frets.

\tempo 80
.
\ts 4 4
:8 3.6{ch "G7"} 2.5 5.5 3.4 5.4 4.3 3.2 1.1 | 3.1 1.1 3.2 4.3 5.4 3.4 5.5 2.5 | 3.6.2 r.2 |
:8 3.5{ch "C7"} 2.4 5.4 3.3 5.3 5.2{txt "shift"} 8.2 6.1 | 8.1 6.1 8.2 5.2 5.3{txt "shift"} 3.3 5.4 2.4 | 3.5.2 r.2 |

Play the maj7 and the 7 shape back to back on the same root and listen. The 7th chord sounds restless; it wants to move down a 4th (or up a 5th) to a tonic. That pull is the engine of the ii–V–I and of the blues.

Minor 7: lower the 3rd as well

From the dominant shape, lower the 3rd by a fret in both octaves. In the root-6 shape the 3rd now sits on fret 1 of string 5 and fret 3 of string 3. Notice that the root-6 m7 shape has the same fingers on strings 6, 4 and 1 as the dominant shape; only the 3rds have moved.

\tempo 80
.
\ts 4 4
:8 3.6{ch "Gm7"} 1.5 5.5 3.4 5.4 3.3 3.2 1.1 | 3.1 1.1 3.2 3.3 5.4 3.4 5.5 1.5 | 3.6.2 r.2 |
:8 3.5{ch "Cm7"} 1.4 5.4 3.3 5.3 4.2{txt "shift"} 8.2 6.1 | 8.1 6.1 8.2 4.2 5.3{txt "shift"} 3.3 5.4 1.4 | 3.5.2 r.2 |

Half-diminished: lower the 5th

The m7b5 chord (also written ø7) is the ii chord of a minor key and appears constantly in standards, usually heading into a V7b9. From the m7 shape lower both 5ths by a fret. In the root-6 shape the flattened 5th on string 5 and the one on string 2 both fall under the 1st or 2nd finger; the shape is tighter than it looks.

\tempo 80
.
\ts 4 4
:8 3.6{ch "Gm7b5"} 1.5 4.5 3.4 5.4 3.3 2.2 1.1 | 3.1 1.1 2.2 3.3 5.4 3.4 4.5 1.5 | 3.6.2 r.2 |
:8 3.5{ch "Cm7b5"} 1.4 4.4 3.3 5.3 4.2{txt "shift"} 7.2 6.1 | 8.1 6.1 7.2 4.2 5.3{txt "shift"} 3.3 4.4 1.4 | 3.5.2 r.2 |

Diminished 7: lower the 7th once more

The dim7 chord is built of nothing but minor 3rds, so every note is three frets from the next. From the m7b5 shape, lower the 7th by one more fret. Because of the symmetry, the shape repeats itself every three frets, and any of its four notes can serve as the root; you will use that in Module 11. For now, learn it as a shape with a clear root, like the other four.

\tempo 80
.
\ts 4 4
:8 3.6{ch "Gdim7"} 1.5 4.5 2.4 5.4 3.3 2.2 5.2 | 3.1 5.2 2.2 3.3 5.4 2.4 4.5 1.5 | 3.6.2 r.2 |
:8 3.5{ch "Cdim7"} 1.4 4.4 2.3 5.3 4.2{txt "shift"} 7.2 5.1 | 8.1 5.1 7.2 4.2 5.3{txt "shift"} 2.3 4.4 1.4 | 3.5.2 r.2 |

Moving the shapes

Nothing in these shapes depends on the key except the fret of the root. To play Fm7b5 with the root on string 6, find F on string 6 (fret 1) and play the root-6 m7b5 shape from there; for the root-5 version find F on string 5 (fret 8). Use the scale and arpeggio finder to see any arpeggio across the whole neck when you are unsure, and compare its map with the shape you are playing.

Two habits make moving the shapes reliable:

• Find the root first, then play the shape. Do not try to transpose by shifting a finger pattern you half remember; locate the root, say its name, and then the shape takes care of itself.
• Choose the string by the position you are in. If your hand is already around fret 3 and the next chord is Cmaj7, use the root-5 shape (C at fret 3 on string 5) rather than jumping to fret 8 on string 6. Half of good phrasing is not moving when you do not have to.

The ii–V–I arpeggio drill

Now put three shapes together. In C major the ii–V–I is Dm7, G7, Cmaj7. With the hand in position II, Dm7 uses the root-5 shape from fret 5, G7 the root-6 shape from fret 3, and Cmaj7 the root-5 shape from fret 3. One bar each: up the first octave and back down.

\tempo 90
.
\ts 4 4
:8 5.5{ch "Dm7"} 3.4 2.3 5.3 3.2 5.3 2.3 3.4 | 3.6{ch "G7"} 2.5 5.5 3.4 5.4 3.4 5.5 2.5 | 3.5{ch "Cmaj7"} 2.4 5.4 4.3 5.3 4.3 5.4 2.4 | 3.5.1 |

Three variations, each worth a week:

1. Reverse direction every chord. Dm7 up, G7 down from its highest note in the position, Cmaj7 up. This forces you to know the top of each shape as well as its root.
2. Start every arpeggio from its 3rd. The 3rd is the note that tells the ear which chord you are on; starting there is the beginning of the guide-tone thinking in the next lesson.
3. Change key every four bars using the table below, keeping the hand in roughly the same place and choosing root-6 or root-5 shapes so you never move more than two frets.

Quiz