Minor 7 Arpeggios

The minor 7 arpeggio is an essential improvisational tool that can be used by jazz improvisers to play over minor 7 chords. If you have followed the previous lessons on jazz arpeggios then you will know that as well as using a minor 7 arpeggio over a minor 7 chord, you can also use it to play over a host of other chords using a technique known as arpeggio substitution.

Lets start by taking a look at the intervals that make up the minor 7 arpeggio

Minor 7 Arpeggio

1, b3, 5, b7

As you can see, the minor 7 arpeggio has four notes, the root, minor third, fifth and flat seventh. In the key of C, the minor 7 arpeggio would look like this

C, Eb, G, Bb

As well as just playing the minor 7 arpeggio over a minor 7 chord, you should also experiment with arpeggio substitution ideas. An example of this would be playing an Am7 arpeggio over a Cmaj7 chord to create a C6 sound. You can play the minor 7 arpeggio over a wide range of chords for different effects.

Below I have written out the minor 7 arpeggio in all 12 keys

C minor 7 arpeggio

C Eb G Bb

Db minor 7 arpeggio

Db E Ab B

D minor 7 arpeggio

D F A C

Eb minor 7 arpeggio

Eb Gb Bb Db

E minor 7 arpeggio

E G B D

F minor 7 arpeggio

F Ab C Eb

Gb minor 7 arpeggio

Gb A Db E

G minor 7 arpeggio

G Bb D F

Ab minor 7 arpeggio

Ab B Eb Gb

A minor 7 arpeggio

A C E G

Bb minor 7 arpeggio

Bb Db F Ab

B minor 7 arpeggio

B D Gb A

Make sure you can play the minor 7 arpeggio in all keys because you will play it often when improvising in jazz.