Taking Music Beyond the Scales - A Look at Arpeggios

In the major scale there are eight notes. From the root note all the way to the next root note an octave higher. For example in the key of C we have:

C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

These notes are played in that order because they sound complete and pleasing on the ear. As you move through the scale you will notice a cadence as the notes go out through a harmony before resolving itself as you return to the root note an octave or eight notes higher.

Out of this set of notes we can also construct a chord. The corresponding major chord for C uses the strongest notes out of the notes of the scale. By that I mean that although all of the notes in the scale fit together and sound pleasing to the ear there are some notes within them that form a stronger harmony than the others.

Theses strong notes form a kind of backbone to the scale and they are the 1, the, 3 and the 5. So in the key of C they are:

C=1, E=3 and G=5.

It is these notes that make up the chord, and by playing them as individual notes you have what is termed in music an arpeggio, or broken chord as the direct translation goes. Give the C major scale a try and then play the notes of the C arpeggio to see how it sounds.

Arpeggios work as useful tools in constructing melodies and provide valuable insight into how chords are constructed. Take the C arpeggio again and this time make the 3rd one note lower, so now instead of an E you play an Eb. Now it should like this:

C=1, Eb=2, G=3

By making the 3rd one note lower, you have now made a minor chord. Take the C and the G:

C=1, G=5

Now you are playing a 5th chord. Try adding the 7th not of the scale to the arpeggio:

C=1, E=3, G=5, B=7

By adding the 7th note of the scale in this case the B, you are now playing a C major7 arpeggio.

The value of the arpeggio cannot be understated. As you learn more about this and begin to recognize different types of arpeggio you will begin to recognize them in different genres of music. For example, you will hear the major7 crop up a great deal in Jazz and Latin music, and you will begin to notice that the start of the American National Anthem is a major arpeggio in reverse. Give them a try and after a while you will see how they fit in to the scheme of things!

For More Information on scale and arpeggios visit http://www.guitar4free.com/scales/majorscales

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