E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio on 5-string bass

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 bass 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♭C0C1C2C3C4

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

BEADG123456789101112131415B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3B♯5D7E♭1G3

37 notes of the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio are marked across five strings.

This is every place the notes of the E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio fall on the 5-string bass, 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 7
BEADG345678713♯5713♯57
Position 2 — starts on the 1
BEADG45678913♯5713♯571
Position 3 — starts on the 3
BEADG89101112133♯5713♯5713
Position 4 — starts on the ♯5
BEADG121314151617♯5713♯5713♯5

The E♭ augmented major 7th arpeggio has four playable positions, at frets 3–7, 4–8, 8–12 and 12–16.

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

BEADG45678910111213141516171819202113♯5713♯5713♯571TAB48710111014121317161920

The climb runs from fret 4 to fret 20 and plays thirteen 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 a different number of notes on different strings. The widest stretch on any one string is five frets.