What are arpeggios?

[vanessa]

Hi ,

I decided to start a new post since I didn't want to hijack jim stones thread on arpeggios, yet it is that very post which prompted me to ask this question which I'm sure sounds ridiculous to those who understand music .

Well, the thing with me is that I'm still very much a beginner hence I still know very little musical theory and so far I never came across the word 'arpeggios' before . I did a google search but didn't find anything useful , so since whatever 'arpeggios' are seem to be good for developing finger dexterity and muscles it is something that I would be interested in practising but I'm clueless as to what it is that might be good for me to practice...

... so I'm wondering if there is anyone on this board who wouldn't mind explaining in simple terms what arpreggios are, and tell me if for example there are charts and written excercises out there I can look at and practice these mystery arpreggios, and does anyone know of any useful links related to this topic - links where the language is kept fairly simple so I can understand it.

So, thank you very much for putting up with this rather clueless and silly question ,

Vanessa

[Loren]

An arpeggio is simply the notes of a chord played one at a time, typically in an asending or desending pattern, as opposed to playing the chord notes all at once.

Arpeggiated chords in Ir Trad music, on non-chording instruments like flute and whistle, are quite common.

Loren

[jim stone]

Well, I barely understand this myself, very little theory here.
But I think it's this (corrections, elaborations welcome).

A chord is made of notes that are sounded simultaneously.
e.g. a G chord or a D chord or an A minor.

An Arpeggio consists in the notes in the chord arranged
serially, so that they played one after the other.
There is a multitude of patterns in which the notes
could be arranged--these are arpeggios.

Musicians and singers often practice arpeggios to
develop precision and desterity. Also lots of tunes
are made up largely or partly of arpeggios, so
one gets a better intuitive understanding of
tunes and keys, can improvise better, and so on.

That's what I think they are, anyway. Folk musicians
may not be much interested in this sort of practice,
but it is said that this practice on the flute
helps dexterity, etc.

[Father Emmet]

Some arpeggios:

D: D F# A d f# a d'
Em: E G B e g b
G: D G B d g b d'
A: E A c# e a c#'
Am: E A c e a c'
Bm: D F# B d f# b d'
C: E G c e g c'
D7: D F# A c d f# a c'
A7: E G A c# e g a c#'

Please correct me if any of these are incorrect.

[I.D.10-t]

My instructor described a song like a para
graph. The changes from one chord to an
other often signified what would be like an
end of a sentence . Breathing in the middle
of an arpeggio was like breathing in the mid
dle of saying a word.

He explained it much better though.

[Loren]

One of the practical benefits of knowing where the arpeggiated chords fall on your instrument, for a given key, is that it can greatly help with regards to learning new tunes by ear, and on the fly - Something I'm still working on, to be sure.

Since single note sounding instruments cannot play chords, they typically arpeggiate chords, particularly in "Folk" music like Ir Trad. What you don't hear much in folk music are lots of scale runs, but you constantly hear chords arpeggiated.

So, if you know what key a tune is in, then you know what chords fall within that key, and if you learned your arpeggios, then you know what movements are going to be likely on your instrument. That's sort of the cerebral, more "classical" mentality of it.

The flipside, for us "Folkies" and "Tradders" is that if you learn your arpeggios for the basic keys of Ir Trad, or whatever music you play, then when you hear a particular progression, or series of progressions in a tune, you will immediately know where those notes fall on your instrument, how to play that movement, and you will likely know what key the tune is in quite quickly, all of which make learning a new tune a MUCH quicker and easier process.

As for dexterity, sure, any repetitive motion helps with that, and precision when practicing arpeggios is certainly important, but the main benefits are not dextrous in nature, but rather musical in nature.

[jim stone]

The Bill Hart book contains a number of what he
calls 'Broken Chords,' which involve a good deal
of jumping around within the notes of a chord.

So in D:

F# D A D

A F# D F#

F# D F# A

F# A F# D

Lots of these. I don't know whether these are 'arpeggios.'
Anyhow they certainly seem to teach
dexterity.

Obviously these can be played with some notes in
the second octave. Various options.

[Doug_Tipple]

I don't know what music school you people went to, but where I went to school, an "archipelago" was an expanse of water with many scattered islands. Nothing to do with music, at all. That is probably the reason for the confusion.

[jim stone]

I don't know what music school you people went to, but where I went to school, an "archipelago" was an expanse of water with many scattered islands. Nothing to do with music, at all. That is probably the reason for the confusion.

Yes, i went to that school, too.
We called the teacher of 'archipelagos'
'Mr. Tortoise,' because he taught us.

(stolen from Lewis Carroll)

[Wormdiet]

Trivia Update:

The term "arpeggio" derives from the Italian wod for harp - arpa. So, to arpeggiate means to play in a harp-like manner.

[mutepointe]

don't feel inadequate about your musical theory. at one point, i was in a folk group where everyone but me had extensive musical training. but none of them could communicate with each other regarding each other's instruments or transposing or singing or how to re-arrange a song to meet our group's needs. seeing as how i was the person who cajoled most of the folks to join the group, i felt responsible to learn how to speak everyone's language and to double check that everyone was in the right key and using the right music. i'm not meaning to brag, i just want to point out that extensive musical training isn't everything we imagine it to be and even folks with extensive musical training can have some major gaps in their knowledge.

[Dave Parkhurst]

The Arpeggios are a family in Venice, renowned for their financial savvy and support of the arts during the Renaissance.

Dave

[vanessa]

Thanks a million, everyone - the explanations were most helpful and thanks Father Emmet for writing out some of the arpeggios and to jimstone for sharing some of the arpeggio excercises; also I found it most interesting that the word derives from the Italian for harp.

Vanessa

PS Not sure though how to do the 'Venetian Gondola' or 'big lake' excercises on my flute

[jim stone]

Just to add my impression that these exercises
really help--a little goes a long way, IMO.
Which isn't to say one should do them only
a little...

[s1m0n]

In simple terms on a whistle, you can assume that if you're playing a sequence of every other note for three or more notes, you are playing an arpeggio--that is, outlinig a chord.