Guitar Tabs Exercise: 4 Tones Arpeggios in the Mixolydian Scale
How to make your solos sound not like scales
Guitar players that start to learn how to play lead guitar solos often complain that their lines sound like an endless scale, instead of a meaningful melody.
This happens because the most common way to practice lead guitar is to execute endlessly scales up and down.
So if you feel trapped in scale shapes, here's a great exercise that will help you unlock the musicianship hidden in any scale pattern. On this page you find the guitar tabs pdf of the exercise, the Guitar Pro file and the mp3 audio .
This exercise will help you:
- Break the cage of scale fingerings
- Gain fingers strength and agility
- Sounds better on chord changes
- Understand better the fretboard
All in a single 4-frets scale pattern.
The G Mixolydian Scale
So, let's start with the G Mixolydian scale pattern at fret 3.
G Mixolydian Scale
From this scale pattern, we're going to identify all the 4 tones arpeggios within the scale. To do this, for each note in the scale, we proceed by thirds, until we get to the higher octave (here you find a complete tutorial on chords construction )
G7 Arpeggio
Am7 Arpeggio
Bm7b5 Arpeggio
Cmaj7 Arpeggio
Dm7 Arpeggio
Em7 Arpeggio
Fmaj7 Arpeggio
G7 Arpeggio (higher octave)
Am7 Arpeggio (higher octave)
Bm7b5 Arpeggio (higher octave)
Arpeggio in the scale : Guitar Tabs Exercise
The exercise consists of playing all these arpeggios keeping the fretting hand on the G Mixolydian position:
- The index finger will take care of the notes on fret 2
- The middle of fret 3
- The ring of fret 4
- The pinkie of fret 5
Practice this exercise until muscle memory internalizes these movements, and you'll find yourself playing more melodic and less "scalesy" guitar solos.
You can also expand this concept and apply the arpeggio in scale exercise to other scale positions .
Recap Video
Arpeggio In Scale Guitar Tabs Exercise: Conclusion and download links
We have just seen a great exercise that helps us unlock the "sound like a scale cage" and train our fingers at the same time.
Here below you find the downloads related to this exercise:
- Guitar Tabs Pdf
- Mp3 of the exercise (80 Bpm)
- Guitar Pro tab (to open this file, you'll need the magic software for guitar tabs Guitar Pro )
If you want to make progress faster on guitar, through a step-by-step learning program, be sure to check out our report on the best lessons, strategies and tools to improve your guitar skills.
FAQ
Why do my guitar solos often sound like an 'endless scale' instead of a meaningful melody?
Many guitarists fall into this trap because they primarily practice scales by running them up and down. While good for technique, this approach can make solos predictable and lack melodic direction. This exercise helps by breaking down the scale into chordal fragments (arpeggios), encouraging you to think more melodically and target specific chord tones.
What are '4-tone arpeggios' in the context of the G Mixolydian scale, and why are they important for soloing?
In this context, 4-tone arpeggios are four-note chords built from each degree of the G Mixolydian scale by stacking notes in thirds. For example, starting on G gives G7, starting on A gives Am7, and so on. They are important because they directly outline the underlying harmony, making your solos sound more connected to chord changes and more musical than simply playing scale notes sequentially.
How does playing arpeggios within a single G Mixolydian scale pattern improve my fretboard understanding and finger agility?
By focusing on specific arpeggio shapes within one fixed scale position, you develop a deeper understanding of how chords are embedded in scales across the fretboard. This targeted practice also builds finger strength, independence, and muscle memory, as you learn to efficiently navigate between the notes of each arpeggio using precise finger placement within the established hand position.
When practicing this exercise, what is the recommended finger positioning for playing the arpeggios within the G Mixolydian scale pattern?
For the G Mixolydian scale pattern starting at fret 3, the recommended finger positioning is one finger per fret: your index finger handles notes on fret 2 (if stretching from fret 3), your middle finger plays notes on fret 3, your ring finger plays notes on fret 4, and your pinky handles notes on fret 5. This consistent hand position helps build muscle memory and efficiency.
Why are there different types of arpeggios, like G7, Am7, and Bm7b5, all derived from the single G Mixolydian scale?
The G Mixolydian scale contains seven distinct notes. When you build a 4-tone arpeggio by stacking notes in thirds, starting from each of these seven scale degrees, you naturally create different chord qualities. Each arpeggio (G7, Am7, Bm7b5, Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7) represents a different chord available within the harmony of the G Mixolydian scale, providing a rich palette for melodic improvisation.
Can I apply this 4-tone arpeggio exercise to other scales or scale positions on the guitar?
Yes, absolutely! The concept of extracting 4-tone arpeggios from a scale can and should be applied to other scale types (like major, minor, Dorian, etc.) and across different positions on the fretboard. This broadens your melodic vocabulary and further enhances your understanding of how scales and chords interrelate across the entire guitar neck.