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Arpeggio
 
 
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In music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, an arpeggio is a broken chord
Chord (music)

In music and music theory a chord is a set of two or more different note that sound simultaneously. Most often, in European-influenced music, chords are tertian Sonority that can be constructed as stacks of thirds relative to some underlying musical scale....
 where the note
Note

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; and 2) a pitched sound itself....
s are played or sung in sequence
Sequence

In mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects . Like a Set , it contains Element , and the number of terms is called the length of the sequence....
, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. The word, like many other musical terms, originates from Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
, in which it means "in the manner of the harp
Harp

The 'harp' is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the Sounding board. It is also considered to be a percussion instrument....
".

b>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
Chord

Chord may mean:* Chord , a aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously.** Guitar chord an aggregate of musical pitches played simultaneously on a guitar...
.






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In music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
, an arpeggio is a broken chord
Chord (music)

In music and music theory a chord is a set of two or more different note that sound simultaneously. Most often, in European-influenced music, chords are tertian Sonority that can be constructed as stacks of thirds relative to some underlying musical scale....
 where the note
Note

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; and 2) a pitched sound itself....
s are played or sung in sequence
Sequence

In mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects . Like a Set , it contains Element , and the number of terms is called the length of the sequence....
, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. The word, like many other musical terms, originates from Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
, in which it means "in the manner of the harp
Harp

The 'harp' is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the Sounding board. It is also considered to be a percussion instrument....
".

Explanation

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
Chord

Chord may mean:* Chord , a aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously.** Guitar chord an aggregate of musical pitches played simultaneously on a guitar...
. 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 octave
Octave

In music, an octave The octave is occasionally referred to as a diapason.The octave above an indicated note is sometimes abbreviated 8va, and the octave below 8vb....
s would be the notes (C, E, G, C, E, G, C).

An arpeggio is a type of broken chord. Other types of broken chords play chord notes out of sequence or more than one note but less than the full chord simultaneously. Arpeggios can rise or fall for more than one octave.

Students of musical instrument
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
s learn how to play scales and arpeggios. 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. Harp
Harp

The 'harp' is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the Sounding board. It is also considered to be a percussion instrument....
s very often play arpeggiated chords. In piano music they are quite often used. An arpeggiated chord may be written with a squiggly line going from top to bottom in front of the chord. It is spread from the lowest to the highest note. Occasionally, composers such as Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók

B?la Viktor J?nos Bart?k was a Hungarian people composer and pianist, considered to be one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. Through his collection and analytical study of folk music, he was one of the founders of ethnomusicology....
 have asked for them to be played from top to bottom. This is shown by adding an arrow pointing down. Arpeggios are known at the end of scales.

Instruments

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

    A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones....
    s are used to play arpeggios in classical music. Along with scales, arpeggios are a form of basic technical exercise.
  • Bass guitar
    Bass guitar

    The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
    ists often use arpeggios to play out chords
    Chord (music)

    In music and music theory a chord is a set of two or more different note that sound simultaneously. Most often, in European-influenced music, chords are tertian Sonority that can be constructed as stacks of thirds relative to some underlying musical scale....
    .
  • Guitar
    Guitar

    The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
    ists use arpeggios extensively in certain genres, such as neo-classical
    Neoclassicism (music)

    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, though some of the inspiring canon was drawn as much from the Baroque music period as the Classical music era period ? for this reason, music which draws infl...
    , and often while employing the sweep-picking
    Sweep-picking

    Sweep picking is a technique used on the guitar in which a 'sweeping' motion of the plectrum is combined with a matching fret hand technique in order to produce a specific series of notes which are fast and fluid in sound....
     technique.
  • Synthesizers are often called upon to play arpeggios, especially in electronica
    Electronica

    Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing....
    . Some synths contain arpeggiator
    Arpeggiator

    An arpeggiator is a feature available on some hardware synthesisers and virtual instruments. It allows the player to automatically step through a sequence of notes based on the player's input, most often from a keyboard MIDI controller, thus creating an arpeggio....
    s     especially for this purpose.
  • Keyboards
    Keyboard instrument

    A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organ s as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic musical instrument....
    , such as piano
    Piano

    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
     and accordion
    Accordion

    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....
    s, are used to play arpeggios.


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. Sometimes this effect is reversed, with the highest note coming first. In some modern popular music arpeggiato is called a "rolled chord
Rolled chord

A rolled chord is a sequence of notes played almost at the same time like strumming a chord on a guitar. They are mostly seen on piano. They are very common, producing a harp-like effect....
".

In early computer music
Chiptune

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 using sample-based synthesis....
, arpeggios were often the only way to play a chord since sound hardware usually had a very limited number of oscillators. 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


See also

  • Music theory
    Music theory

    Music theory is the field of study that deals with how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It identifies patterns that govern composer techniques....
  • Musical terminology
    Musical terminology

    This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian language , in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions....
  • Bell effect
    Bell effect

    The bell effect, also known colloquially as "bells", is a technique used in musical arrangement in which single notes of a chord are played in sequence by different instruments which sustain their individual notes to allow the chord to be heard....


External links

  • at GOSK.com