The big three arpeggio types for Jazz

So, we can cover any chord progression using three basic types of arpeggios.

Minor Seventh (m7)

1 b3 5 b7

This arpeggio is pretty similar to a minor pentatonic note with one key pitch missing - the 4. It has a resting, neutral sound to it and can be used safely on major and minor 7th.

• Minor 7th - as it is
• Major chord - a minor third higher (i.e. relative major.) So - we can use Am7 on C, Gm7 on Bb and so on. This creates a major 6th sound.

Minor Sixth (m6)

1 b3 5 6

Very much the sound of swing! This arpeggio is only one note different again, but contains the spicy major 6th (a semitone lower than the minor seventh) this adds interest to the sound. It's extremely useful because it covers a number of key sounds:

• Minor 6th - as it is
• Dominant 7th - a fourth higher - so Am6 works on D7, Gm6 works on C7 and so on. This creates a dominant 9th sound
• Altered Dominant - a semitone lower - so Am6 works on Ab7alt, Gm6 works on F#7alt. This is the tritone substitute often mention in jazz theory incidentally. The overall sound is a 7b9b13. 
• Half diminished or min7b5 - a minor third lower - so Am6 works over a F#m7b5, Gm6 works on Em7b5 and so on. Minor 6th chords are inversions of half diminished chords and vice versa.

Diminished Seventh chord (o7)

1 b3 b5 6

Distinguished by its b5 interval, this chord has a symmetrical structure which means it repeats itself every 3 frets! No reason therefore to learn loads of fingerings. Very common in Gypsy Jazz music it lends an almost classical sound to lines.

• Diminished 7th - as it is.
• Dominant 7th - a semitone lower. Creates a 7b9 sound. Very useful and heavily used by Django and Charlie Parker, among others.

In the next lesson, I'll demonstrate how to apply these three arpeggio types to a common standard. In the mean time - here is a video lesson discussing these arpeggios: