Adding Enclosures to Jazz Guitar Arpeggios
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Learning how to play jazz guitar means learning how to properly outline chord changes
using scales, licks, patterns and other melodic ideas in your lines and phrases.
While learning how to play jazz guitar scales over ii-V-I chords is an important tool for
any jazz guitarist to explore, often times learning the arpeggio for each chord can be
just as helpful in building interesting and appropriate jazz-guitar lines over any chord
progression.
Though playing the arpeggio for each chord is a great way to outline each change in a
progression, it can quickly become a bit boring if we simply stick to the exact notes in
the arpeggio.
So, in today’s lesson we’ll be explore ways that you can add Enclosures to your jazz
guitar arpeggios in order to properly outline chord progressions, while keeping things
interesting at the same time.
In this lesson we will focus on one type of enclosure, adding a half-step above and a
half-step below each note that we are targeting in our lines.
So, if you want to target the root of each chord in a ii-V-I progression in C major, you
would play Eb-C#-D for Dm7, Ab-F#-G for G7 and Db-B-C for Cmaj7.
If you would like to explore this concept further, various enclosures and how to apply
them to your jazz guitar lines, check out my in-depth article “Building Bebop Vocabulary
- Enclosures for Jazz Guitar.”
Arpeggio Enclosures - Root
The first interval that we will enclose is the root of each chord, as applied to a ii-V-I
chord progression in the example below.
As with any new concept, learn this idea as written in C, then take it to other keys with
the same fingering, at various tempos. Followed by adding a root enclosure to other
fingerings you know for these arpeggios, and finally using this enclosure to build lines in
your jazz guitar solos.
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Once you have this idea/concept under your fingers and in your ears, feel free to move
on to the next enclosure in this lesson. If you have this enclosure down, it will make
learning and applying all of the other enclosures much easier when you tackle them in
the jazz guitar woodshed.
Arpeggio Enclosures - Third
Here is an example fingering for how you would apply enclosures to the 3rd of each
chord in a ii-V-I chord progression.
After you have learned this approach in the key of C major, practice bringing it to other
keys around the neck. As you do, try picturing the 3rd of each chord and targeting that
note with an enclosure instead of only memorizing the fingering below.
Knowing a fingering for this, or any, enclosure can be very helpful when learning to
apply this concept to your jazz guitar licks and phrases.
But, if you can develop the skill to recognize any interval in an arpeggio and then add in
an enclosure by targeting that note in your lines, that is when these exercises become
truly beneficial for your jazz guitar playing.
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Arpeggio Enclosures - Fifth
You can also add enclosures to the 5th of each chord you are using in your soloing
lines. In the following example you can see an enclosure added to the ii, V and I of a iiV-I progression in the key of C Major.
Work this enclosure out in the example fingering below, then take it to any other 1 or 2
octave arpeggio fingerings you know for these chords, as well as bring the progression
to other keys in your practice routine.
Arpeggio Enclosures - Seventh
The last single enclosure we can explore is the 7th of each chord, we will stick to the
basic Root-3rd-5th-7th arpeggio in this lesson rather than add extensions at this point in
your exploration of enclosures.
If you feel that you have a strong command of enclosures on each of those four
intervals, in both a technical and improvisational context, then feel free to explore
adding enclosures to Extended Jazz Guitar Arpeggios as well, such as the 9th, 11th and
13th of each chord.
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Arpeggio Enclosures - Root and 5th Combo
To finish up our exploration of applying enclosures to arpeggios, here is an example of
using two enclosures over each chord in a ii-V-I chord progression.
I have chosen the root and 5th for this example, as they tend to sound the best and be
the easiest intervals to use when combining 2 enclosures over 1 chord.
Try working this pattern out in the key of C, and in the example fingering below, before
moving on to other keys and fingerings across the neck in your practice routine.
As well, make sure to learn this from a technical standpoint, but also to put on a ii-V-I
backing track and use these enclosures to build lines in an improvisational context as
well.
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Arpeggio Enclosures Blues Solo
Here is an example of these different Arpeggio Enclosures in action, as applied to a
Jazz Blues Chord Progression in the key of Bb.
Start by learning this sample solo as written, in various tempos and perhaps in various
octaves across the fretboard.
Once you can play it from memory, put on a Bb Jazz Blues backing track and try playing
this solo for the 1st chorus, then improvise your own lines in the 2nd chorus. Continue
to alternate between the written solo and your own solo as you begin to integrate these
lines more organically into your own playing.
Click to hear audio for this solo.
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Arpeggio Enclosures Practice Guide
To help get you started on your exploration of Arpeggio Enclosures, from both a
technical and improvisational standpoint, here are some of the ways I like to work these
ideas out in the practice room.
1. Learn 1 enclosure, such as around the root of each chord in a ii-V-I chord progression
in 12 keys and in various tempos/fingerings around the neck.
2. Move on to the next enclosure and repeat the above exercises.
3. Mix two or more enclosures together over a ii-V-I chord progression in various keys,
tempos and fingerings.
4. Put on a ii-V-I backing track in 1 key and solo over those chords using 1 enclosure.
Repeat in various keys and tempos.
5. Mix more than 1 enclosure into your lines over Exercise 4.
6. Apply each enclosure on it’s own, and together, over a jazz blues chord progression
in various keys.
7. Write out your own solo etudes over the jazz blues progression, as well as other Jazz
Standards that you know or are working on in the practice room.
Have a question or comment about this lesson? Visit the Arpeggio Enclosure thread at
the MWG Forum.
For 100s of more FREE Jazz Guitar Lessons visit www.mattwarnockguitar.com