Major Add9 Arpeggios

Hello shred nerds! Today's lick is an arpeggio sequence utilizing two MajAdd9 chords: Dadd9 to Cadd9. I'm really fond of this kind of sound... try it out over a static E power chord as well as the respective chord progression. Here's the video and tab (note that I'm on a 7 string tuned down a whole step to ADGCFAD and for musical clarity I will be naming the notes in pitch, not position).



Tab - Guitar Pro 6
Tab - PDF file

I'm structuring these arpeggios as 1 9 3 5 (13) (so for the Dadd9 it would be the notes D E F# A (B) and for the Cadd9 thats C D E G (A). Notice that I'm throwing the 13th in occasionally as well to help with the flow of the lick. I like playing arpeggios like this for a rather geeky reason; they remind me of the Prelude Theme from Final Fantasy games.

There is some extensive use of two finger tapping on the right hand here, as well, and I'm using it in the first two repetitions of the arpeggio to alternate "peaking" the line with the 13th and root. When I hit the 13th I'm "rolling" between T2 and T3 on the same string, but to hit the root, you need to do an unassisted hammer-on from nowhere onto the B string with T3 and back down again to the G with T2. The sensation is slightly different than rolling because instead of doing a hammer-hammer-pull-pull motion, you need to do a hammer-hammer-hammer-pull motion and be careful not to let the notes between the B and G bleed together.

Next I skip up to the high E and do what I've nicknamed an "expansion" pattern, where I go from a 3 note per string phrase to a 5 note per string phrase in which I grab the previously tapped note with my 4th finger, allowing me to "expand" the line up an additional two notes with my right hand. This is another kind of phrase I'm quite fond of. Notice here I "cram" notes so that the peaks of the melodic lines fall on specific parts of the beat without paying too much attention to the rhythmic subdivision (as such the subdivisions in the tab are approximate). Finally, I descend down to the G to repeat the pattern. Also notice that when I switch arpeggios I'm anticipating the new chord melodically when I go down to the G. This is done for technical reasons more than anything, as it allows a smoother transition to the new arpeggio from the previous one.

Once you've gotten this kind of pattern down, experiment with your own variations and try moving it around the fretboard and onto different strings.  By the way, should you want to try this lick out with minor add9 arpeggios, simply flat the 3rd (and depending on whether you want a Dorian or Aeolian sound, you may want to flat the 13th as well).

As always, if you like what you see here, and you'd be interested in setting up a free trial webcam guitar lesson with me, you can email me here.

Also, if you haven't be sure to check out my band, Dark Empire on Facebook, Nightmare Records, and iTunes.

Until next time,

Matt