Minor Arpeggios: One Flat, Whole New Mood

The short answer: a minor arpeggio is the minor chord's notes — root, ♭3rd, 5th — played one at a time. It differs from the major arpeggio by a single half step, and that half step is the entire difference between bright and melancholy. Gitori's Minor Arpeggios course teaches five ways to play minor arpeggios across the neck.

The ♭3 is the whole story

Compare the formulas: major is 1-3-5, minor is 1-♭3-5. One note moves one fret, and the emotional temperature drops ten degrees — the deep dive on that phenomenon is Major third vs minor third. Practically, this means minor arpeggio shapes are your major shapes with one alteration, so if you've done the major course, you're not learning five new patterns from scratch — you're learning where the 3 lives in each pattern and lowering it.

Where you'll use them

• Over minor chords, anywhere — the ii and vi chords of a major key, the i of a minor key, that one moody chord in an otherwise happy song.
• Minor-key soloing — outlining i–iv–v changes with arpeggios instead of running the minor pentatonic box gives your lines that composed, intentional quality.
• Relative-minor moves — every major key hides a relative minor (explained here); its arpeggio is one of the strongest sounds you can play over the relative major.

What the course covers

Five patterns for traversing 1-♭3-5 across the neck — position shapes, spreads, and diagonal paths — each with its own lesson and drill, then mixed randomly in the Find Arpeggios game with the clock running.

Before you start

Scale degrees first — the shapes are degree logic made physical, and the degree courses make that automatic. The Major Arpeggios course is the recommended predecessor so the ♭3 edit has something to edit.