Arpeggio Solos

Now that you know the five CAGED arpeggio shapes, try improvising with. Soloing with just arpeggio shapes isn’t ideal. It’s going to sound a little bland. Understand this is just one concept. In a few months, you’ll be using arpeggios, pentatonic, and full scales and weaving back and forth between them all. Starting with arpeggios is just the first of several bricks in the wall.

Each solo below uses one specific CAGED pattern. In the videos, I play the solo once and that’s the end. The backing tracks play through three times. I suggest you try this:

1. Play the solo as written, then…
2. …embellish the written solo, then…
3. …improvise your own ideas using the arpeggio shape

All solos use the same chord progression: D | D | G | G | A | A | D | D ||

Pattern 1

D | D | G | G | A | A | D | D | 

1. Watch the video
2. Play along with the video
3. Play along with the backing track, which plays three times
   1. Play the solo as written
   2. Embellish the written solo
   3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 2

D | D | G | G | A | A | D | D | 

1. Watch the video
2. Play along with the video
3. Play along with the backing track, which plays three times
   1. Play the solo as written
   2. Embellish the written solo
   3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 3

D | D | G | G | A | A | D | D | 

1. Watch the video
2. Play along with the video
3. Play along with the backing track, which plays three times
   1. Play the solo as written
   2. Embellish the written solo
   3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 4

D | D | G | G | A | A | D | D | 

1. Watch the video
2. Play along with the video
3. Play along with the backing track, which plays three times
   1. Play the solo as written
   2. Embellish the written solo
   3. Improvise your own ideas

Pattern 5

D | D | G | G | A | A | D | D | 

1. Watch the video
2. Play along with the video
3. Play along with the backing track, which plays three times
   1. Play the solo as written
   2. Embellish the written solo
   3. Improvise your own ideas

Wrap Up

This final solo shows what you can do by combining arpeggio patterns across the neck. This doesn’t restrict you to just one position. As an added bonus, there are two beginner sweeping patterns hidden in this solo!

D | D | G | G | A | A | D | D | 

1. Watch the video
2. Play along with the video
3. Play along with the backing track, which plays three times
   1. Play the solo as written
   2. Embellish the written solo
   3. Improvise your own ideas