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How to Practice Arpeggios Arpeggios are broken
chords, generally played up and down the keyboard. Arpeggios are important for various
reasons: they help build knowledge of what makes up each chord, they improve |
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technique and finger dexterity, and they improve knowledge
of how harmonies and melodies are developed.
When learning piano or music in general, it is useful to practice
arpeggios daily. First, it helps to have a
good manual of scales and arpeggios at the piano. The book should cover the following
arpeggios in each key: major, minor, and dominant seventh. It is also helpful to have major seventh and
diminished arpeggios as well. A good
text is the MacFadden scale and arpeggio manual,
although introductory texts by Alfred or The
Complete Book of Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, and Cadences When practicing it is
especially important to work on developing good technique. Start with C major, probably the most basic
chord. Work out the most comfortable
fingering for each hand, usually 1-2-3 or 1-2-4. Focus on keeping your whole body relaxed;
make sure the wrists stay flexible and the fingers are in natural positions,
not lifted up or at all contorted. Try
to keep the thumb relaxed and on an even level with the keyboard. Also it may be helpful to play with the tip
of the thumb rather than the first joint.
These instructions of course should be analyzed with your teacher,
given that this page cannot go into enough detail that a teacher would easily
provide in person. Bearing technique in mind,
you should then practice the arpeggio using a metronome. You could play using any rhythm, but one
helpful method for developing finger independence and tempo is as follows:
play the arpeggio first in quarter notes up just one octave. Continue and play each tone as eighth
notes, up two octaves. After returning
to the root C, next play the tones as triplets and go up three octaves. Finally, play in sixteenth notes and go up
four octaves. This will help establish
rhythm and your ability to change between beats and note durations. Go through the entire
circle of fifths for the major arpeggio, that is, play the major arpeggio in
each key, using the technique and rhythm ideas above. Next, play the minor scales. Finally, if you have time, it helps to also
play other arpeggios such as dominant and diminished. Developing the ability to
play and understand arpeggios and the theory behind them will pay off greatly
in learning music—from performing classical works, to improvising, to having
good technique and execution. |
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may work also.|
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