An easily recognizable Bach arpeggio

In music, an arpeggio is a broken chord where the notes are played or sung in succession rather than simultaneously. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. This article describes musical chords in traditional Western styles In Music, the term note has two primary meanings 1 a sign used in Musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a Sound; The word, like many other musical terms, originates from Italian, in which it means "in the manner of the harp. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. "

Explanation

an arpeggiated chord

An arpeggio is a group of notes which are played one after the other, either going up or going down. The notes all belong to one chord. The chord may, for example, be a simple chord with the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the scale in it (this is called a "tonic chord"). An arpeggio in the key of C major going up two octaves would be the notes (C,E,G,C,E,G,C). In Music, an octave ( is the the use of which is "common in most musical systems

An arpeggio is similar to a broken chord, but a broken chord keeps rising in groups of three or four notes, each group starting a little higher.

Students of musical instruments learn how to play scales and arpeggios. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. In Music, a scale is a group of musical notes collected in ascending and descending order that provides material for or is used to conveniently represent part or all They are often a requirement for music examinations.

An "arpeggiated chord" means a chord which is "spread", i. e. the notes are not played exactly at the same time but are spread out. Harps very often play arpeggiated chords. The harp is a Stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. In piano music they are quite often used. An arpeggiated chord is written with a wiggly line going from top to bottom in front of the chord. An arpeggiated chord is spread from the lowest to the highest note. Occasionally composers such as Béla Bartók ask for them to be played from top to bottom. Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25 1881&ndashSeptember 26 1945 was a Hungarian Composer and Pianist, considered to be one of the greatest This is shown by adding an arrow pointing down.

Instruments

Any instrument may employ arpeggiation, but the following instruments use arpeggios most often:

• String instruments are used to play arpeggios in classical music. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Along with scales, arpeggios are a form of basic technical exercise.
• Bass guitarists often use arpeggios to play out chords. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the This article describes musical chords in traditional Western styles
• Guitarists use arpeggios extensively in certain genres, such as Neo-classical, and often while employing the sweep-picking technique. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Neoclassicism in music was a 20th century development particularly popular in the period between the two World Wars in which composers drew inspiration from music of the 18th century Sweep picking is a technique used on the Guitar in which a 'sweeping' motion of the pick is combined with a matching fret hand technique in order to produce a specific
• Synthesizers are often called upon to play arpeggios, especially in electronica. Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary Electronic music designed for a wide range Some synths contain arpeggiators especially for this purpose. An arpeggiator (often shortened to arp) is a feature available on some hardware Synthesisers and Virtual instruments It allows the player to automatically
• Keyboards, such as piano and accordions are used to play arpeggios. A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a Musical keyboard. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers The accordion is a portable box-shaped Musical instrument of the hand-held Bellows -driven free-reed aerophone family sometimes referred to as a Squeezebox

In Western classical music, a chord that is played first with the lowest note and then with successive higher notes joining in is called arpeggiato. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music In Music, an arpeggio is a broken chord where the Notes are played or sung in Sequence, one after the other rather than Ringing out simultaneously Sometimes this effect is reversed, with the highest note coming first. In some modern popular music arpeggiato is called a "rolled chord". A rolled chord is a sequence of notes played almost at the same time like strumming a Chord on a guitar

In early computer music, arpeggios were often the only way to play a chord since sound hardware usually had a very limited number of oscillators. A chiptune, or chip music, is music written in sound formats where all the sounds are synthesized in realtime by a computer or Video game console Sound chip Instead of tying them all up to play one chord, one channel could be used to play an arpeggio, leaving the rest for drums, bass, or sound effects.

Media

Sound sample with arpeggios

A synthesized flute-like instrument and a harp playing various chords in arpeggio, joined later by strings playing the same notes simultaneously.

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

See also

• Music theory
• Broken chord
• Musical terminology
• Arpeggiator
• Bell effect

References

External links

• Guitar arpeggios at GOSK. Music theory is the field of study that deals with the Mechanics of music and how Music works In Music, an arpeggio is a broken chord where the Notes are played or sung in Sequence, one after the other rather than Ringing out simultaneously This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores An arpeggiator (often shortened to arp) is a feature available on some hardware Synthesisers and Virtual instruments It allows the player to automatically The Bell Effect, also known colloquially as "bells" is a technique used in Musical arrangement where single notes of a chord are played in sequence by different instruments com