Arpeggio

An arpeggio is a chord whose notes sound one after another rather than simultaneously, usually in an ordered pattern. It can span one or more octaves.

Chord: A group of notes sounded together or understood as a harmonic unit. An arpeggio unfolds the notes of a chord over time.
Musical interval: The measured distance in pitch between two notes. Intervals determine the pitch relationships between successive arpeggio notes.
Broken-chord accompaniment: An accompaniment texture that presents chord tones in succession instead of as a block chord. Arpeggios sustain harmony while giving accompaniment a moving, patterned texture.
Block chord: A chord whose notes are played simultaneously in a compact rhythmic unit. It contrasts with an arpeggio by sounding the chord tones together.
Broken chord: A chord whose notes are played successively rather than simultaneously. This broad term describes the sequential performance that defines an arpeggio.
Triad: A three-note chord built from a root, a third, and a fifth. Triads provide the basic three-note forms commonly played as arpeggios.
Cadenza: An extended solo passage, traditionally near the end of a concerto movement. Arpeggios often help cadenzas display a soloist's speed and command of harmony.
Scale: An ordered series of pitches arranged by ascending or descending intervals. A scale uses consecutive scale degrees, while an arpeggio selects chord tones.
Alberti bass: A keyboard accompaniment pattern that repeats chord tones in a low–high–middle–high order. It is a distinctive broken-chord pattern used in Classical-era keyboard music.
Seventh chord: A four-note chord formed by adding a seventh above a triad's root. Its four chord tones create a common expanded arpeggio shape.

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