arpeggio

American  

[ahr-pej-ee-oh, -pej-oh] / ɑrˈpɛdʒ iˌoʊ, -ˈpɛdʒ oʊ /

noun

Music.

plural

arpeggios

1. the sounding of the notes of a chord in rapid succession instead of simultaneously.

2. a chord thus sounded.

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arpeggio British  

/ ɑːˈpɛdʒɪəʊ /

noun

1. a chord whose notes are played in rapid succession rather than simultaneously

2. an ascending and descending figuration used in practising the piano, voice, etc

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Other Word Forms

• arpeggiated adjective
• arpeggioed adjective

Etymology

Origin of arpeggio

1735–45; < Italian: literally, a harping, noun derivative of arpeggi ( are ) to play on the harp (< Germanic; compare Old English hearpi ( g ) an to harp)

Explanation

An arpeggio is a series of increasing or decreasing notes played one after another, rather than all together as a chord. When musicians are first learning an instrument, they often practice arpeggios. String instruments commonly play arpeggios, especially violins and violas. You can also play an arpeggio on a banjo, bass guitar, or a keyboard instrument like a piano. It's also possible to sing an arpeggio, emphasizing each individual note. The word is Italian, from arpeggiare, "to play upon the harp," and ultimately from arpa, or "harp."

Example Sentences

She came up with a swirling arpeggio effect, which Britell turned into a motif for the “memory of trauma.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2022

Details are fastidious; in “I Drink Wine,” she sings “I’m trying to keep climbing up” while her voice rises in an upward arpeggio.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2021

Co-orchestrator Todd Sickafoose responded to that flourish with one of his own, embellishing Mitchell’s score with a propulsive violin arpeggio in tune with the scene’s growing grandeur.

From Washington Post • Oct. 12, 2021

DaBaby and Ricch’s “Rockstar,” Billboard’s official 2020 Song of Summer, was the most bewitching of the bunch, built out of a moody guitar arpeggio gentle enough for a country record.

From Slate • May 1, 2021

They conduct the genome, thereby playing out its music—activating the viola at the fourteenth minute, a crash of cymbals during the arpeggio, a roll of drums at the crescendo.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee