Chord
- Formula
- 1 · 3 · 5 · b7
- Function
- Dominant
- Available tensions
- 9, 13 (b9, #9, #11, b13 when altered)
Arpeggio through the cycle
C7
AC♯EG
F7
DF♯AC
B♭7
GBDF
E♭7
CEGA♯
A♭7
FACE♭
D♭7
B♭DFA♭
G♭7
E♭GB♭D♭
B7
A♭CE♭G♭
E7
D♭FA♭B
A7
G♭B♭D♭E
D7
BD♯F♯A
G7
EG♯BD
Why am I practising this?expand
- What it teaches
- Chord tones as physical shapes, in every inversion, so that harmony is available from any starting note rather than only from the root.
- Problem it solves
- Root-position-only arpeggios make lines predictable and force awkward leaps when the harmony moves.
- Physical skill
- Inversions place the same chord in different parts of the horn, evening out your control across registers.
- Theory reinforced
- Dominant seventh: 1 3 5 b7. Function: Dominant.
- Improvisation
- Starting an idea from the 3rd, 5th or 7th instead of the root is the fastest way to stop sounding like an exercise.
- Ear training
- Sing the 3rd and 7th before playing — those two notes carry the chord's identity.
- Common mistakes
- Always starting on the root; letting the top note of the arpeggio go sharp; ignoring the descending form.
- Recommended tempo
- 60-80 BPM in eighth notes, ascending and descending, no gap between keys.
- Increasing difficulty
- Two octaves, then alternate inversions between keys, then move through major thirds instead of fourths.
- Mastered when
- Any inversion of the chord, from any of the twelve roots, at tempo, without hesitation.
How to practise it
- 01Play the chord type in root position around the whole cycle.
- 02Repeat starting from the 3rd, then the 5th, then the 7th.
- 03Alternate ascending and descending between keys.
- 04Finish by playing only the 3rd and 7th of each chord around the cycle.