Major 6 Arpeggios for Guitar
Once you have the basic major and minor arpeggios down, it’s good to expand your repertoire of arpeggios. After all, arpeggios are as plentiful as chords. In this lesson we’re going to take a look at major 6 arpeggios, which make for a flavorful and melodic addition to your vocabulary.
Major 6 Arpeggio Formula
The major 6 arpeggio is formed from the intervals that make up the major 6 chord, which are the root, major 3rd, perfect 5th, and major 6th.
With the formula in hand, let’s apply them to the fretboard to create the arpeggio shapes.
Major 6 Arpeggio Shapes
We can use the CAGED major arpeggios as the basis for the shapes, then just add the major 6 to complete the major 6 arpeggios. For the examples in this lesson we’ll be working with Gmaj6 arpeggios, but the shapes are movable and can be applied to all maj6 arpeggios.
C Shape Major 6 Arpeggio
The first shape is based off the C form CAGED shape. The diagrams show the arpeggio intervals and recommended fingerings for playing the arpeggio. Feel free to adjust the fingering if you find something else works better for you.
The tab guides you through playing the arpeggio starting from the root note on the 10th fret of the 5th string.
A Shape Major 6 Arpeggio
The second shape is based off the A form CAGED shape. The tab guides you through playing the arpeggio, again starting from the root note on the 10th fret of the 5th string.
G Shape Major 6 Arpeggio
The third shape is based off the G form CAGED shape. The tab guides you through playing the arpeggio starting from the root note on the 15th fret of the 6th string. This arpeggio can also be moved up so the root note on the 6th string falls on the 3rd fret. In this case, you’ll play the notes that would be fingered with the index finger as open notes.
E Shape Major 6 Arpeggio
The fourth shape is based off the E form CAGED shape. The tab guides you through playing the arpeggio starting from the root note on the 3rd fret of the 6th string.
D Shape Major 6 Arpeggio
The last arpeggio utilizes the D form CAGED shape. With this arpeggio you’ll be starting from the root note on the 5th fret of the 4th string.
Diagonal maj6 Arpeggio Patterns
As with any other arpeggio, maj6 arpeggio shapes can be combined to form diagonal arpeggio patterns that move horizontally up the fretboard as well as vertically across the fretboard. These arpeggios are great for transitioning between positions.
Diagonal Arpeggios – 6th String Root
Diagonal Arpeggios – 5th String Root
Diagonal Arpeggios – 4th String Root
Wrap up
In this lesson we looked at the major 6 arpeggios that can be formed from the CAGED chord shapes. It’s another arpeggio to add to your repertoire. Try incorporating these arpeggios into your playing over maj6 chords and over standard major chords to add a little flavor.
Cheatsheet for this lesson is available on Patreon.
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