The course › Unit 10: Play, improvise, create
Lesson 55 of 72 · Rolling out the chords: the sound of ballads
An arpeggio is a chord whose notes you play one after another instead of all at once. The word comes from the Italian arpeggio: playing “like on a harp.”
You already know the broken chord: an arpeggio is the same idea, in a steady flow, often in eighth notes. It’s the sound of piano ballads.
The C chord in the left hand: 5 on C, 3 on E, 1 on G.
The most common left-hand pattern: root, third, fifth, third, with fingers 5-3-1-3. Your hand doesn’t move: it keeps the shape of the chord, and your fingers “walk” over its notes.
Why this way: An arpeggio isn’t four notes to read: it’s one chord, and your hand already knows it. Grouping notes into meaningful blocks (chunking) is one of the keys to fast reading: your brain reads “C major,” not “C, E, G, E.”
Left hand, fingers 5-3-1-3: your hand stays on C-E-G. In measure 3, the arpeggio comes back down; to finish, the block chord.
Read the arpeggio in the bass clef and play it with your left hand, using the fingers shown. It’s always the same hand shape: only the position changes.
A second pattern, more open: the 1-5-8, meaning the root, the fifth and the octave (C – G – C), with fingers 5-2-1. Without the third, the sound is wider and deeper: the right hand brings the color of the chord.
The 1-5-8 on C: a nice open octave, with the thumb on top.
In the right hand, the arpeggio often climbs four notes, C – E – G – C, with fingers 1-2-3-5, then comes back down. For inverted chords (F = C – F – A – C), it’s the same hand shape: 1-2-3-5.
Tip: Let your wrist follow the motion, like a small wave: it goes along with your fingers instead of staying stiff.
Did you know?: The famous Prelude in C major that opens Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (1722) is made of nothing but arpeggios: one chord per measure, rolled out from beginning to end.
C – A minor – F – G, the ’50s progression. Right hand: each arpeggio climbs (1-2-3-5) and comes back down. Left hand: one whole note per measure.
The great classic: the left hand rolls out C – G – A minor – F in 5-3-1-3, while the computer holds the chords. Let the notes sing, smoothly connected. C – G – A minor – F, the 5-3-1-3 pattern on each chord.
As a bonus, a great folk song: The House of the Rising Sun. It’s in 6/8: each measure has two big beats of three eighth notes, “1-2-3, 4-5-6.” The arpeggio climbs four notes and comes back down two. One chord per measure, in six eighth notes. The computer plays the bass.
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