Blues Rhythm Lesson 8: Arpeggiating Chords

An arpeggio is a chord play melodically, one note at a time. A chord can be arpeggiated in a harmonic context but simply playing one note at a time from within the voicing. This is a common comping tool in slower blues. Players can make up their own arpeggiating pattern, but for the purposes of this exercise we will begin with the a couple simple examples. Once it is mastered, students may begin to create their own.

Picking Pattern 1: