D Major Arpeggio Drill
Arpeggios — broken chords — appear constantly in Irish jigs and reels. The D major arpeggio (D, F#, A) requires you to skip holes rather than stepping through them. This builds two things simultaneously: finger agility for non-adjacent holes, and breath control for the pressure change needed when jumping across the octave break.
Tab Notation
Use this notation as a reference while practising. Each row is a phrase; dots represent covered holes.
d major arpeggio
extended two-octave arpeggio
g major arpeggio
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Play D — F# — A slowly, tonguing each note. Listen for evenness of tone across the jump.
- 2
Continue upward: D — F# — A — D+. This crosses the octave — at D+ you need slightly more air pressure.
- 3
Play the full ascending arpeggio: D, F#, A, D+, F#+, A+, D++.
- 4
Descend: D++, A+, F#+, D+, A, F#, D.
- 5
Try the G major arpeggio: G, B, D+, G+.
Practice Tips
- Anticipate the pressure change before you arrive at the upper D — don't wait until you're on the note.
- Arpeggios are the best interval-jumping exercise because they mirror the leaps you'll actually use in tunes.
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