What is Guitar Arpeggio and How to Play It?

The technique of playing the guitar provides several basic techniques for obtaining chord sounds both when accompanying a solo musical instrument, and for harmonious accompaniment of your own melodic line. Among them, the performance of chords with the help of arpeggios stands out for its popularity and beauty. Next, let's take a closer look at what this method of playing the guitar is, what its varieties are and what exercises will help novice guitarists master the arpeggio technique to perfection.

Arpeggios on the guitar are called brute-force by ordinary people and self-taught guitarists, since the musician alternately “plies” the strings of the instrument with the fingers of his right hand. However, this is correctly noted - arpeggio comes from the Italian word "arpeggio", where "arpa" is translated as "harp" - another stringed musical instrument, well known to all. It is on the harp that the main way of playing is similar to plucking its strings with the fingers of both hands.

In this case, a novice guitarist may have a question about how chord playing has to do with all this. Let's deal with this.

As you know, a chord is formed due to the simultaneous sounding of at least three different sounds of the main scale. For example, a C major (C) chord is produced when C-E-G notes are in tune. Any two sounds from the named ones, played at the same time, are not a chord (they are called two sounds).

Only three or more sounds with different step values ​​in the scale form a chord consonance... If you add another sound to the C major chord, for example, "B flat" or pure "B", then this will also be a chord, but its name will be slightly different - the C major seventh chord (C7).

Now we should go back to arpeggios and guitar strings. The standard tuning of a six-string guitar is in the minor scale. Most of the strings (sixth, third, second, and first) form an E minor chord when played simultaneously. At the same time, the following notes sound:

• E of the first octave on the 1st string (main tone);
• small octave B on the 2nd string (quint tone);
• a minor octave G on string 3 (chord third);
• E of a large octave on the 6th string (root).

The fifth and fourth strings are not pure minor triads (e-sol-si). If we include the sound of the fourth string (D of a small octave), then we get a seventh chord, however, also from the sound "E" and still the minor one (Em7). The fifth string (A large octave) will confuse the initial chord and the beginner musician even more, so we will restrict ourselves to the fact that the common mode - E minor - will remain even if all open strings of the standard-tuned guitar sound simultaneously.

And since when playing on different guitar strings their sound does not decay immediately, the resulting sounds merge into one consonance, which is called a chord.

During the existence of the guitar, a large number of both typical types of arpeggios and those obtained spontaneously have been invented. Strumming expands the boundaries of the arranger and guitarist-performer, gives new possibilities for variations and improvisation, enriches and decorates the accompaniment... They are used in all styles of music, from folk to alternative. They are played in different metro-rhythmic formations, both in 4/4 size and all others (2/4, 3/4, 3/8, 6/8 and so on).

The main typical ones include the following 4 types of arpeggios, on the basis of which lessons for novice guitarists are taught to develop skills in brute-force technique:

1. ascending (scheme P-i-m-a, where P is the thumb of the right hand, i is the index finger, m is the middle, a is the ring finger);
2. downward (scheme P-a-m-i);
3. mixed (P-i-m-a-m-i);
4. broken line (P-i-m-i-a-i-m-i).

In the presented schemes, the playing of the fingers of the right hand on the strings strictly intended for them is meant:

• the thumb (P) plays sounds only from the bass strings (sixth, fifth or fourth, depending on the name of the chord played by the fingers of the left hand);
• the index finger (i) only plays on the third string;
• middle finger (m) - second string;
• ring finger (a) - the first string.

Below are the notes of some exercises for the types of arpeggios for those students who can understand them: ascending arpeggio, mixed and broken beat.

To play brute-force correctly, you need to know the technique of sound production with this method.

Busting is great for developing the fingers of the right hand and mastering the basic apoyando and tirando sounding techniques. Therefore, playing open strings will be the best solution to start mastering arpeggios.

The bass in the initial types of arpeggios, which are indicated above, is reproduced from the sixth string at the expense of "one" by the reception of apoyando, that is, with support on the adjacent string (in this case, on the lower fifth).

Further, the options for sounding "their" strings with the rest of the fingers diverge:

• in the movement of the fingers (i-m-a) in the ascending search, the sound production should be without support (tirando), since in the case of apoyando, the previous string will be muffled by the finger that produces the next sound;
• in a downward arpeggio, all sounds are played with the fingers resting on the adjacent string (upper);
• in mixed and broken iterations, it is better not to pay attention to the possibility or impossibility of using apoyando, and to extract only tirando sounds.

When playing brute-force, evenness of sounds is important for beginners. To play in equal beats, you must either use the metronome, set it to 60 beats per minute, or count the score aloud - loudly and clearly. For ascending and descending arpeggios, the count is up to four (one count, starting with the bass, per sound). Then it starts all over again - counting and arpeggio.

For mixed arpeggios, the count is up to six, and for broken arpeggios, up to eight.

The sounds should be not only smooth and clean, but also the same in dynamics: the bass is slightly accented (deep and loud), the rest of the sounds in volume should be kept at an average level, not highlighting any of them in any way. This is not required initially.

What is guitar arpeggio and how to play it, see the video.