Arpeggio
A chord's notes played one after another
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An arpeggio plays a chord's notes one after another rather than together: it turns a vertical chord into a horizontal line. It can rise, fall, go back and forth, or span octaves.
It differs from a chord: a chord sounds together, an arpeggio in succession; it is often used interchangeably with broken chord, though broken chord stresses the accompaniment figure and arpeggio the playing gesture. The usual mistake is to treat it as a mere exercise — it is a bridge between melody and harmony; a good arpeggio makes the harmony flow.
Read deeper → chord
Sources
- 琶音的演奏与记谱，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Arpeggio"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.