Arpeggios in C — getting started
The C-G-Am-Em progression — probably the most-played in all of pop — picked note by note instead of strummed: it's the catalog's very first arpeggio sheet, built for a picking hand that has never held a chord this long without strumming it as a block. All four chords are open, no barre, which leaves full attention for the real novelty: picking one string at a time, bass to treble, while the fretting hand keeps the whole chord shape held down through the whole arpeggio.
Tips
Set the full chord shape before playing the first note, and don't lift a finger before the next change.
Start very slowly: the goal isn't speed, it's one string ringing at a time, never two by accident.
Find the first string to pick on each chord: the A string for C (3rd fret) and Am (open), the low E string for G (3rd fret) and Em (open).
Chord progression — C
Chords
Suggested next step: Arpeggios in E minor
Related sheets
- C major scale — open position (Level 3)
- Pop improvisation in D (Level 3)
- Improvisation — pop in C, relative scale (Level 3)