arpeggios

Chords from scales? A scale chord? Is musical style partially determined by how far up in the arpeggio the harmony aspires to ...?

Italian for "harp like", the musical component termed arpeggio can become an important component on one's musical palette. Why? Well, for a number of reasons. Arpeggios are handy for the players of non chordal instruments such as the horn players when wanting to clearly outline the chosen harmony with a more vertical approach to their lines. Thus, we can use arpeggios while creating lines to outline the character of fast moving chord progressions. Also, arpeggios provide another cool approach for the creative artist in creating their melodies, to artistically balance a more scalar, melodic type of line. And that rapidly articulated arpeggios can almost instantly raise the level of excitement in the music being performed.

In theory, arpeggios are a kind of hybrid between scales and chords. We play them like scales but articulate the successive pitches of a chord. Some players think in terms of "chord scales", and this generally implies the arpeggio. This first idea simply converts a C major chord into it's chord scale or arpeggio. Example 1.

Sound familiar? Easy enough right? So, where do the arpeggios come from? Are they limited to the three notes of the triad? Nope. Here is a chart that looks at the C major scale and the diatonic arpeggio it creates. Example 2.

Theorists use Roman numerals to designate a particular chords position within a given key. Upper case denote major chords, lower case roman numerals denote minor chords. Same with the arpeggios? You betcha. What this chart of example 2 above has done is to simply spell out the pitches of the major scale two ways. First as a major scale, created by whole steps and half steps. Then as a chord scale or arpeggio, created by a repeating sequence of the major and minor third interval. In creating the arpeggio from the scale, did we simply skip every other pitch? Yep. Sorta like this? Example 2a.

Easy enough eh? That all of our scales loop back to their origins really makes things easy n'est pas? Let's create the seven diatonic triads of the key of C major. Example 3.

Notice how the chords are exact segments of the arpeggio of example 2a? Cool with spelling out chords? Here are the sounds of the chords created from the above chart over the tonic pedal. Example 3a.

Nice voice leading huh? Next, let's "arpeggiate" the chords spelled out in the chart of example 3. Example 3b.

Presto! Instant arpeggios! Lets combine the last two ideas and run the whole thing over a dominant pedal. Example 4.

So, can we take any the pitches of any chord and play them as a scale? Yep. And is it proper to call this chord scale an arpeggio? Of course. Easy enough eh? Potato or patato, same thing. Let's arpeggiate all of the seven diatonic chords of the C major scale as in example 3 and 4 but this time add each chord's seventh degree. Example 5.

Cool sound eh, try to get this above example under your fingers. Can we do this in any key? Sure, why not. Here is the exact same arpeggio theory from above projected from the root Eb. Here is the chart. Example 6.

Here is the music. Example 6a.

Arpeggios from the minor keys also? Of course, how about C minor? Here is a chart outlining the theory and pitches. Example 7.

Music from chart. Example 7a.

Can we extend the arpeggios like we extend the chords? Can we add the 9th 11th, 13th etc.? Yep, let's do it. Here are the arpeggios from each degree of the key of C minor extended to the 9th chord degree. Example 8.

Let's place these these arpeggios into some common musical situations and explore some of their properties. Using the common One / Six / Two / Five chord progression, we simply create an "arpeggiated" melodic line. Example 9.

Arpeggios need not be "formal" in the arrangement of their pitches. Dah. So any combination or permutation of the chord tones is possible? Absolutely. Arpeggiating a chord simply implies to create a musical phrase using the pitches of the chord. Example 10.

Jazz players love arpeggios because in fast moving cycles of chords, which can happen a lot in some jazz styles, arpeggios not only clearly outline the harmony but by their very nature also generate such excitement in the music. Directionally moving either up or down, arpeggios tell the harmonic story. The melody of this next idea uses arpeggios to cycle through diatonic chords from C major then modulates to Four, F major in measure 44. The ii / V of bar 43 is created from the pitches of F major. Example 11.

Combining arpeggios and scales is potentially such an important melodic combination for the creative musician. Here our melody uses the arpeggio as a "springboard" to quickly get the line moving followed by a more melodic idea to complete the phrase. In brighter tempos, the arpeggio can "'rocket" a line into orbit. Example 12.

The off beat eighth note pickup on the "and of four" in bar 48 above is a key rhythmic "launcher" commonly used with arpeggiated melodic figures, used here to set up the repeat of the line. This kind of pickup into the line is known as the half step lead in, potentially a very important concept and ability to acquire for the emerging jazz artist. Click the music again and feel how the 1/8th note launches the arpeggio. This kind of melodic line and it's rhythms of example 12 are all over the jazz styles, especially swing and bebop.

So, where else do we find arpeggios? Here is a cliche rock and roll bass line from the 50's, now used in the rockabilly and swing dance bands so popular again today. The line is based on simply arpeggiating the harmony. Arpeggiating the blues based, dominant rockin harmony, One / Four / Five in C with a bit of the blues spice, oh so nice. Example 13. 

Sound familiar? Very common rock and roll idea originating in the 50's. One potentially important way to view arpeggios is by chord type. This perspective groups the harmony, thus the arpeggios, into one of three categories. Why would we want to do this? Well, it can dramatically reduce the number of possibilities to be learned by using one set of theoretical principles projected to any chord or arpeggio built in thirds, which theorists affectionately refer to as tertian harmony. Are there other kinds of harmony? Of course, we have everything here n'est pas? Let's look at chord type and the arpeggios they can create.

In one school of thought, there are basically three different "types" of chords available to the creative artist and of course, endless variations of each. In defining these 3 types, A chord is based on either the major or minor triad to which is added a major or minor 7th. Identified by number, we commonly relate the 3 chord types to 3 of the diatonic chords of the major scale, these are either the One, Two or Five chords. The diatonic Three and Six chords are the same intervals as Two, Four is like One and Seven is it's own special case, but functions a lot like Five. So, accepting this idea of 3 types of chords, can you sense how thinking "chord type" might simplify matters? Any chord becomes part of one of three families or types? But isn't each degree unique? Of course. Are the One, Two and Five chords the most common? Well, style depending, yes they oftentimes are. Does chord function play a part? Totally. Tonal gravity? Yep. So what does this have to do with arpeggios? Well ...

Arpeggio study. The following practice idea for arpeggios combines two important musical filters, chord type and a cycling of pitches by perfect 4th. I heard this arpeggio exercise years ago at the local college, coming from a pianist in a practice room. It's a real bear without a metronome. The exercise simply arpeggiates the three chord types then transposes the idea around the cycle of fourths via a Two / Five cadential motion. Example 15.

Cool huh? Good challenge for ya? Yeh, you and me both. Good things take time eh? This exercise comfortably under our fingers can help unlock some serious doors. Measure 49 loops back to our starting point, the key center of C. Can you read through this exercise? Are the symbols used to represent the music familiar? If not, click standard musical notation to get a look at what the symbols are called and what they mean. Other arpeggio topics? Scale / chord / arpeggio? Color tones / spelling chords. Entire educational volumes are devoted to this topic of arpeggios and various permutations, check at your local library or music bookstore. Click jazz lines to see more of the arpeggios in action.

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Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Albert Einstein