What is an arpeggio in music? In this article, learn what arpeggios are, how to identify them, and how to play them on the piano.
An arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time. Sometimes arpeggios are called “broken chords” and can be played in both ascending and descending order. You can find an arpeggio in music if you see three or four notes in a row that would normally build a blocked chord, but instead are played one after another. One interesting fact about the word arpeggio is that it originates from the Italian word “arpeggiare,” which means “to play on a harp.” Harp players are known to play lots of arpeggios, so the name comes from that practice!
Learn to play arpeggios on the piano in all twelve keys! Download our FREE Complete Guide to Arpeggios.
How many piano arpeggios are there?
There are actually quite a lot of them! To start, there are 24 major and minor scales, so each of these scales will have an arpeggio, but there are also variations of each of these arpeggios, depending on the note that you begin the arpeggio on. These are called inversions. There are also diminished scales and augmented scales that have their own arpeggios. If that seems like a lot, don’t worry! With practice and dedication, you can play the music that you dream of playing – just learn the arpeggios that you need as you go! Again, have fun and keep practicing!
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Are arpeggios important? How do they help with piano?
Learning arpeggios on the piano is very important and practical, because they show up in music all the time! Classical composers often use arpeggios in their pieces, and popular songs can sound really exciting when the musicians play them. Arpeggios make the music sound flowing, beautiful, or even energetic, depending on how they’re played.
How do you practice piano arpeggios?
Now it’s time to start playing! Below is a description of how to practice your first piano arpeggio. For extra help, watch the following video. In this episode of Music Notes, Hoffman Academy teacher Alex will introduce you to some easy arpeggios that will make you sound like a pro!
First, start by finding the first-octave position of the arpeggio. Place your right thumb on the root C, your second finger on E, your 3rd finger on G. Then, reach up with your fifth finger to get the octave C when it’s time to play it. This pattern will work in any octave.
It’s important to remember that you don’t have to have all of these keys covered at once! You’ll play one note at a time, so let your hand follow your fingers as you play. Your wrist can turn as you go from your thumb up to your fifth finger. Once you’ve got your hand position, slowly play through the notes of the arpeggio. Practice playing through the whole pattern, up from thumb to pinky and then back down. As you’re practicing, focus on an even and steady rhythm. Keep the volume of each note the same.
Once you feel comfortable with the C major arpeggio, you can apply the same pattern to other major or minor piano chords. If you want a really fun challenge, check out our Free Lesson, One Octave Arpeggios. Take your time working on arpeggios, making sure that you keep good posture and technique. Most importantly, have fun and keep practicing!
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What is the pattern for arpeggios?
The most basic pattern for arpeggios is to play them with chords in root position. Begin on the root of the chord, then skip up to the third, then skip up to the 5th, and then play the root an octave higher at the top. If you want to play another octave, for your right hand you can reach your thumb under to play the root an octave up, for your left hand you can reach finger 5 over to play the root an octave up, and then you’re in position to play it all over again. Reverse this process when moving down the keyboard.
Watch this video for tips on how to play two-octave arpeggios:
For an extra challenge, practice playing arpeggios using a different inversion of the chord! For example, here’s how to play the first inversion of a chord: With your right hand, start with your thumb on the third note of the scale, play the fifth with finger two, the root with finger four, and the third an octave up with finger five. For your left hand, start with finger five on the third, play the fifth with finger four, the root with finger two, and the third an octave up with finger one.
How do you play piano arpeggios quickly?
To practice playing arpeggios on the piano quickly, first you need to practice slowly. It’s difficult to play them well at a quick tempo without first building up your speed and approach.
To begin with, practice keeping a slow and steady pace, playing each note with a similar volume and allowing your finger to play to the bottom of the key. It can be helpful to sing the names of the notes out loud as you play. For example, sing “C-E-G-C” as you ascend the arpeggio, and “C-G-E-C” as you descend. Practice with the right hand first, using the proper fingering 1-2-3-5 as you ascend and 5-3-2-1 as you descend.
Next, switch to your left hand. Again, practice singing as you play, but focus on the left hand fingering 5-4-2-1 as you ascend and 1-2-4-5 as you descend. Notice that your left hand doesn’t use the middle finger as you play, but your right hand does. Your right hand doesn’t use the fourth finger.
Now, finally, to speed it up, it is helpful to use a metronome. If you don’t have a metronome, you can easily download a metronome app onto your phone (one that I recommend is called Metronome Beats App). Once you have a metronome available, set the beat to equal 68. Line up one note at a time with the beat of the metronome. When you can easily line the notes up with the beat, speed the metronome up by ten. When you master lining up the notes at this higher speed, speed it up by ten again. You can continue to do this until playing piano arpeggios becomes challenging, then stick with that speed and keep practicing!
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