A "broken chord" is a chord broken into sequence of notes.

A broken chord may repeat some of the

notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio (Italian: [arpeddo]) is a type of "broken chord" where the notes comprising a chord are
played or sung in a rising or descending order. An arpeggio may also span more than one octave.
The word "arpeggio" comes from the Italian word "arpeggiare", which means "to play on a harp".

Even though the notes of an arpeggio are not played or sung all together at the same time, listeners
hear the sequence of notes as forming a chord. When an arpeggio also contains passing tones that
are not part of the chord, different music theorists may analyze the same musical excerpt differently.
Arpeggios enable composers writing for monophonic instruments that play one note at a time
(e.g., flute, saxophone, trumpet), to voice chords and chord progressions in musical pieces.
Arpeggios and broken chords are also used to help create rhythmic interest. A notable example of
which is the Alberti bass figuration which was widely used in piano music from the Classical music
period. With an Alberti bass, rather than play the notes of a chord all at once, the pianist plays simple
rhythmic figures in which the notes of the chord are played as a broken chord.
Contents
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1Explanation

2Instruments

3See also

4Further reading

5External links

Explanation[edit]

Arpeggiated chord
An arpeggiated chord

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An arpeggio is a group of notes which are played one after the other, added either going up or going
down. Executing an arpeggio requires the player to play the sounds of a chord individually to
differentiate the notes. The notes all belong to one chord. The chord may, for example, be a simple
chord with the 1st, (major or minor) 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale in it (this is called a "tonic triad").
An arpeggio for the chord of C major going up two octaves 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 instruments and singerslearn how to play and
sing 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 at the same time, but are
spread out. Arpeggiated chords are often used in harp and piano music. An arpeggiated chord may
be written with a wavy vertical line in front of the chord. It is spread from the lowest to the highest
note. Occasionally, composers such as Bla Bartk have asked for them to be played from top to
bottom. This is shown by adding an arrow pointing down. Some ostinato figures consist of
arpeggios.