Arpeggio · E7♯5 · Guitar
The E7♯5 arpeggio is E – G♯ – C – D — chord tones 1 3 ♯5 ♭7. E7♯5 is a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth; its sound is floating, whole-tone. Below, every E, G♯, C, D on the fretboard is marked, with the root in gold. Press play to hear a one-octave arpeggio, or tap any note.
Visualizer
Guitar · standard tuning
Piano
Play runs the arpeggio up and down one octave in the position starting at fret 7. Tap any marked note to hear it. “Show” switches or combines the fretboard and keyboard; “Sound” picks the instrument you hear. Audio is synthesized in the browser.
Reference
| Chord tone | Note | Interval from E |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | E | unison (0 semitones) |
| 3 | G♯ | major 3rd (4 semitones) |
| ♯5 | C | minor 6th (8 semitones) |
| ♭7 | D | minor 7th (10 semitones) |
Goes with: E Whole tone (E G♭ A♭ B♭ C D). Voicings: E7♯5 voicings on guitar.
Common questions
E – G♯ – C – D. As chord tones: 1 3 ♯5 ♭7. Played one after another instead of together, that is the arpeggio.
E7♯5 is a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth. Its character is floating, whole-tone.
E Whole tone (E G♭ A♭ B♭ C D) — the arpeggio is the skeleton of that scale, so practise them together.
Start on the root E on the A string at fret 7 and play A-string fret 7, A-string fret 11, D-string fret 10, G-string fret 7, G-string fret 9. Then play it descending, then in eighth notes with a metronome, then over the a dominant that wants extra tension before resolving down a fifth.
Keep going
Same arpeggio on piano · Augmented 7th (7♯5) hub · chord-scale theory.
Other arpeggios from E