E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio on guitar

E♭ · G · B · D

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 13 · Sevenths.

The notes

  1. E♭1
  2. G3
  3. B♯5
  4. D7

The E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio is E♭, G, B, D.

You may also see it called 1 3 ♯5 7.

On the staff

E♭FG♭GA♭B♭C♭DE♭

On a treble staff, the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio is written E♭ G B D.

The solid notes are the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio. The pale notes are the rest of E♭ harmonic minor, the larger scale it is carved out of, so you can see which notes it leaves out.

Why the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio has this flat

  1. E♭1
  2. 4
  3. G3
  4. 4
  5. B♯5
  6. T+S
  7. D7
  8. S
  9. E♭8

A scale is a pattern of steps, and this one is 4 4 T+S S: 4, 4, a tone and a half, and so on. S stands for a semitone, the distance of one fret or one key. T+S stands for a tone and a half, which is three semitones. 4 stands for a step of four semitones. The pattern is what gives E♭ augmented major 7th its sound, and it stays the same whichever note you start on.

This scale has only four notes, so it does not use every letter. It is E♭ harmonic minor with some notes taken out, and it keeps that scale's spelling exactly.

Apart from the tonic, no note needs a sharp or a flat, because every other letter already falls where the pattern needs it.

The E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio is written with E♭. Only the tonic carries an accidental, and that comes from the key you picked rather than from the 4 4 T+S S pattern of steps.

The pattern of steps is the part of a scale that never changes. The letter names take sharps or flats to fit that pattern, and a key signature is a record of those sharps or flats.

On the piano

C7DE2F3GA♯5BC7DE2F3GA♯5BC7DE2F3GA♯5BC7DE2F3GA♯5BCC♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C♯1E♭♭3G♭4A♭5B♭C2C3C4C5C6

The keyboard shows the same four notes as a shape you can see. The coloured keys are the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio, the pale keys are the rest of E♭ harmonic minor, and you can click any key to hear it.

E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio on the whole neck

EADGBE123456789101112131415G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7G3B♯5D7E♭1G3

46 notes of the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio are marked across six strings.

This is every place the notes of the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio fall on the guitar, with each note's name and its scale degree. The roots are marked so you can find your bearings.

Position by position

Position 1 — starts on the 3
EADGBE3456783♯5713♯57713♯5
Position 2 — starts on the ♯5
EADGBE789101112♯5713♯5713♯571
Position 3 — starts on the 7
EADGBE101112131415713♯5713♯571
Position 4 — starts on the 1
EADGBE11121314151613♯5713♯5713

The E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio has four playable positions, at frets 3–7, 7–11, 10–14 and 11–15.

Each shape starts on a different degree of the scale and fits inside five frets, so your hand can play all of it without moving.

One climb up the neck

EADGBE11121314151617181920212213♯5713♯5713♯57TAB111514171317161916201922

The climb runs from fret 11 to fret 22 and plays twelve notes.

This is one path from the lowest root to the top of the neck, and it plays each note once, never on two strings. It takes two notes on every string. The widest stretch on any one string is four frets.