Arpeggio

Various arpeggios as seen on a staff

In music, an arpeggio is a chord where the notes are played in succession rather than simultaneously. Arpeggios are usually played from the lowest note to the highest, but exceptions are not uncommon. The word comes from the Italian for "in the manner of the harp."

The following instruments use arpeggios:

String instruments are used to play arpeggios in classical music. Along with scales, arpeggios are a form of basic technical exercise.
Bass guitarists often use arpeggios to play out chords.
Guitarists use arpeggios extensively in certain genres, such as Neo-classical.
Synthesizers are often called upon to play arpeggios, especially in electronica. Some synths contain arpeggiators especially for this purpose.
Arpeggios were heavily used for playing chords on the Commodore 64 home computer due to its limitation to three simultaneous voices. This contributes to the C64's characteristic lively sound.

Arpeggio

See also