Creating Killer Riffs w/ Arpeggios - Riff Of The Week:S4,e35

Every Wednesday I do a new Riff Of The Week™ guitar education video. Here's Season 4 ,Ep 35: "Creating Killer Riffs With Arpeggios"

Riff Of The Week™
Since 2005

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Hi, I'm Dave Weiner. I'm a Favored Nations recording artist, a G.I.T. graduate and have been playing in Steve Vai's band since 1999.

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Thanks for visiting. Enjoy!

Dave

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• riffoftheweek
• daveweiner
• guitarlesson
• chords
• jazzguitar
• bluesguitar

[billmeedog]

Hi Dave, excellent lesson bro!

I'm curious why you chose to standard-notate (in the staff - NOT TAB!) this new riff using "flats" (like "Db" and "Ab" instead of the more key-sig-appropriate "C#" and"G#" respectively? For one thing, the two possible keys ("A-Major/A-Ionian" or "E-Major/A-Lydian") are both sharp keys?...Also, you wouldn't have needed to use a natural-sign on the "Ab's" if they were just "G#'s"?...I guess brass-players would dig the flats! (LOL!)

No big deal - AWESOME RIFF!

[riffoftheweek]

thx for pointing that out. new tab program. i didn't notice it was labeling as flats and not sharps. It should def be in A maj which has 3 sharps.

[tweekskratch]

for some reason I can't download your podcasts? keep it comin man, I love it!

[riffoftheweek]

itunes feed returning shortly

[diwash9612425]

damn man it is so complicated !! its easy to listen hard to play !!!

[riffoftheweek]

This is actually on the easy side of things. But it just takes time. Hit me up for a lesson and you'll get it.

[punkiassjunki]

whats the difference between a A7 and an Amaj7? is an A7 a flat seventh?

[damuddykip]

Actually an arpeggio is any notes of a scale played note by note. For example it could be the 1, 3, 5 and 7 of a scale or it could be a 1, b3, 5, 6 to get a minor 6th arpeggio or possibly 1, 3, 5 b7, 9 to get a dominant 9th arpeggio. Also Paul Guilberts arpeggios sound different because tends to do some string skipping so his arpeggios get more of the low to high range. Hope this helped out. If not...oops.

[berherbi]

dave

your tutorials are amazing!!!!!!!!!!

berherbi

[Sperzel]

Regarding Paul Gilbert's arpeggios. It is more in the way he plays them, the techniques he uses to play them that gives them that Gilbert touch. His choice of notes is not very different.

Gilbert favors string-skipping when playing arpeggios, as opposed to sweep-picking them. He has a couple of lessons on arpeggios in his instuctional vids, and many clips can be found here on youtube.

[Sperzel]

An arpeggio is defined simply as the notes of a chord played separately, so the term actually doesn't say anything about the choice of notes.

Having cleared that up. Chords, or arpeggios, can be constructed using any formula you want. Say you wanted an Esus4-arpeggio. You take the 1, 4 and 5 notes out of an E-major scale. E A and B respectively. If you wanted a Gmin7b5 chord, you would need 1, 3, b5 and 7 out of G-minor.

[GuitarCrazyManiac]

So Dave, an arpeggio is just the 1, 3, 5, and 7 of the scale you're using? So if I wanted to do an E major arpeggio, I'd just play and E, G#, B, and a D# (and then repeat if I wanted to do what you did here)? Also, what about Paul Gilbert's arpeggios. He seems to do it a bit different. I'm a little confused. :-)

[B7aug5]

Fawking AWESOME. I love the pulling technique in G. Works in any key, really, but any of the strings that are part of open chords does the trick. G is the natural one. E for the exact reason Dave explains in the beginning of the vid.

Best instructional vids I have ever seen.

[Fluffie14]

i like that you do this even though you dont get many views keep it up and someday it will be huge

[IgneousWarrior]

I kind of curious about your sweeping idea. I saw you changed strokes at some points, but I think it might sound smoother and more organic if you simply used a hammer-on so you could continue using a single down stroke.

[oldhairyone]

No it won't.  He isn't using the low B.