Diminished 7th Arpeggios Over Bars 9 and 10

Introduction

Okay, here's another lesson showing you how to use diminished 7th arpeggios over certain parts of the 12-bar blues. This time, we're going to focus on bars 9 and 10. In other words, we'll be using diminished 7th arpeggios over E and D when playing in A.

Concept Overview

The nice thing about this concept is that you can apply diminished 7ths over both of those chords. Here's what to remember:

• Use diminished 7ths over the third of each chord.
  • When in E, start on the third of the E chord.
  • When in D, start on the third of the D chord.

If you get them mixed up, the sound can become quite jarring. So, make sure you play them in the right order.

Application in the 12-Bar

Let's run through bars 9 and 10 so you can hear the interplay between D and E.

From the start:

1. 2. 3. 4.

This shows a bit of what you can do. Now, I'll provide some examples for you to learn note for note.

Example 1: Diminished 7th Arpeggio Lick

Here's our first example of the diminished 7th arpeggio style lick over bars 9 and 10 (E and D).

1. Start by running up a diminished 7th arpeggio from the E string:

   • Seventh fret on E
   • Fourth fret
   • Seventh fret to the fifth on A

2. Repeat this style of run up to D:

   • E string: Seventh, fourth, seventh to fifth
   • D string:
     • Eighth fret up to sixth
     • Ninth, sixth, ninth

3. When you reach the ninth fret on the D string, shift up one fret to start the diminished 7th arpeggio over D:

   • Move to the 10th fret:
     • 10th, 7th, 10th
     • Move to the G string:
       • 8th fret, 11th fret
       • 8th fret, 11th to B string
       • Jump up two frets to the 10th fret on B
       • Go to the 13th fret on B

4. After that, you can return to an A minor pentatonic or blues scale based around that, ending up in fourth position pentatonic. For example:

Try playing something like this:

• (Play an example)

Let's hear this with some music underlying. You'll get a couple of bars of 8 before we transition into bars 9 and 10:

Now, let's try it one more time:

Example 2: Double Stop Diminished 7th Arpeggio

Here's the second example of a diminished 7th arpeggio style run over bars 9 and 10 (the E chord and the D chord).

As usual, I like to throw in a double stop whenever possible. This next lick will involve a double stop running from the fourth fret in minor third intervals.

1. Start on the fourth fret.
2. Change for the D chord as we did in the last lick.
3. Instead of minor thirds, leap up to the 20th fret.

Playing Technique

I will be using hybrid picking, which involves:

• A pick between the thumb and first finger
• Using the second finger for plucking

Note: It's not necessary to use hybrid picking, but it adds a nice touch.

Playing Steps:

1. Start from the fourth fret

   • Move up in minor third intervals:
     • Fourth → Seventh → Tenth → Thirteenth → Sixteenth
     • Leap to the 20th fret

2. Move back down in minor third intervals:

   • 17th → 14th → 11th → 8th → 5th

By ending up back on the fifth fret, we maintain our position in A minor.

Let's hear it with some music again.

Let's do it one more time for clarity:

That wraps up the lesson on using diminished 7th arpeggios over bars 9 and 10. Happy playing!