What is the purpose of arpeggios?

[GabrielSaul]

I've just been learning about arpeggios. I really should have picked them up much, much earlier; I get the general concept, I was just wondering how I should be using them.

I've read that they are either played ascending or descending, is this always true? And if it is, what does this do stylistically for jazz pieces and improvisation? Are they used for soloing?

If someone could explain what the typical use of arpeggios is, that would be much appreciated.

GabrielSaul

[JonR]

Arpeggio has two related meanings.
Literally, it means "like a harp", implying spreading a chord so you hear each note; most likely ascending but sometimes descending.
The other meaning, which applies more to improvisation, is the notes of a chord in any order, and in any octave, wherever you can find them on your instrument.

Because most jazz soloing is based on chord tones, knowing all the notes of every chord, everywhere, is obviously fundamental knowledge.
Nevertheless it would be rare to use arpeggios alone when soloing, unless perhaps the chords were changing fast. Generally the arpeggios would be your foundation, linked by passing notes and chromatics.
For any tune you want to improvise on, I suggest making sure you know the arpeggios of all the chords first, all over your instrument.

[GabrielSaul]

Originally Posted by JonR

Arpeggio has two related meanings.
Literally, it means "like a harp", implying spreading a chord so you hear each note; most likely ascending but sometimes descending.
The other meaning, which applies more to improvisation, is the notes of a chord in any order, and in any octave, wherever you can find them on your instrument.

Because most jazz soloing is based on chord tones, knowing all the notes of every chord, everywhere, is obviously fundamental knowledge.
Nevertheless it would be rare to use arpeggios alone when soloing, unless perhaps the chords were changing fast. Generally the arpeggios would be your foundation, linked by passing notes and chromatics.
For any tune you want to improvise on, I suggest making sure you know the arpeggios of all the chords first, all over your instrument.

Perfect.

I suppose that's how solos get the effect of "following the song" if that makes sense?

[Haddock]

Originally Posted by GabrielSaul

Perfect.

I suppose that's how solos get the effect of "following the song" if that makes sense?

You can play the chord progression of the tune on your instrument (especially useful for non-chord-playing instruments) which helps get the sound of the progression into yiour ears.

When doing this it will really help things to progress if you are able to keep to the harmonic rhythm of the tune as written; which means you have to play each chord for the same number of beats as they occur in the tune. Say, for example 1 bar of C maj 7 followed by 2 beats of D min 7 and 2 beats of G7 (which would add up to form the second bar in the progression).

This technique is a great building block on which to start building ideas for improvised lines and, as you have said above, it means you can follow the songs chord changes on your instrument without needing to have any form of backing!

[JonR]

Originally Posted by GabrielSaul

Perfect.

I suppose that's how solos get the effect of "following the song" if that makes sense?

Precisely.

When I first started listening to music (just before I started learning to play), I used to think solos were where the player just "went crazy" (in a cool way of course). I soon realised - once I started listening properly, learning tunes, and learning easy bits of solos - that there was reason and formulas behind it.
Right from the beginning, it was clear that it always began from the chords: they were using notes drawn from the chords. When they played a note that wasn't in the chord at that moment, it would be a passing note (on a weak beat, between two stronger notes that were in the chord), and it would probably be a note from one of the other nearby chords.
Sometimes you'd get a bent note, a "blue note". That might not be in any of the chords, but it usually got bent up towards a chord tone; so was obviously referring to a chord tone. It was like a wacky embellishment or decoration of the chord tone, a sideways approach. There were chromatics too (as I learned to call them) which did the same thing: provided jazzy/bluesy ways of getting to a "target note" (chord tone).

I never encountered the idea of "playing scales" back then, although I dimly remembered the concept of major scales from school lessons, and knew (sort of) that songs were in "keys", which meant they drew from a limited set of notes (as did the chords).
I would always be playing vocal melodies on guitar - because I couldn't sing, but could read music, so I learned to play from songbooks. Melodies, of course, also work closely with the chords. So I was well prepared for making my own improvisations: I understood melody, I knew about the chord link. (However, it didn't occur to me to try improvising a solo myself for some time; it actually didn't interest me much. I composed tunes from the start, but otherwise just tried copying what I heard as best as I could. So I absorbed plenty of "vocabulary" before I thought of the idea of "speaking" for myself.)

None of that was hard. It was pretty much a no-brainer, in fact; it was just obvious that was what was going on, you didn't even have to listen very hard. I don't think I thought conceptually at all, in terms of analysis. There was no need for that.
(BTW, it wasn't serious jazz I started with: it was folk and blues, with some rock'n'roll and 20s jazz thrown in. Simple stuff to be sure, but the principles proved to hold good with more advanced music too.)

[michaelsorg]

Originally Posted by GabrielSaul

I've just been learning about arpeggios. I really should have picked them up much, much earlier; I get the general concept, I was just wondering how I should be using them.

I've read that they are either played ascending or descending, is this always true? And if it is, what does this do stylistically for jazz pieces and improvisation? Are they used for soloing?

If someone could explain what the typical use of arpeggios is, that would be much appreciated.

GabrielSaul

Ascending and descending are 2 possibilities - starting in the middle and moving above and below (or below and above) is another way. The main thing is to maintain a melody. Perhaps the arpeggio is itself the melody (like "In the Mood," but more often you have a voice leading that prevails as the melody, emphasized tones which move in a melodic way with each change of chord. Simplest example: C triad, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, B diminished triad, C.
Start on G, E, C go up to A, F, D then B, G, E etc. You may already be doing this, I don't know what level you're on. One thing I always recommend, even to beginners: don't keep starting arpeggios on the root! It's a bad habit that's hard to lose. The bass player's playing the root - if the soloist jumps around to the roots, it's parallel octaves. It sounded bad 250 years ago, and still sounds bad today! If you're not yet comfortable with 7th chords, start on the 3rd or 5th of each chord. To have a melodic sequence,you may need to start on the 5th of a chord then move to the root of the next. Or start on the 9th of a chord, move to the 5th of the next chord, Beacause the chords are progressing (usually) in 4ths/5ths, you have to shift your inversions to create a smooth melody.
You can see a somewhat advanced example of this that I posted recently here: allaboutjazz.com
This is not strictly arpeggiation, but you can see leaping between chord tones, there's some connecting through non-chord tones. Main point is: there's a smooth melody that's being emphasized in the midst of the leaps.

[michaelsorg]

OK, here's a simpler example with more strict arpeggiation.

[jazz oud]

Originally Posted by michaelsorg

Ascending and descending are 2 possibilities - starting in the middle and moving above and below (or below and above) is another way.

To clarify this part of Michael's post, an arpeggio can have the notes played in any order (in time) and any order (vertically).

For example, C major arpeggio.
Vertical structure: Root position (CEG)
Temporal structure:
low-middle-high (CEG)
high-middle-low (GEC)
middle-low-high (ECG)
middle-high-low (EGC)

Vertical structure: 1st inversion (EGC)
Temporal structure:
low-middle-high (EGC)
high-middle-low (CGE)
middle-low-high (GEC)
middle-high-low (GCE)

Vertical structure: 2nd inversion (GCE)
Temporal structure:
low-middle-high (GCE)
high-middle-low (ECG)
middle-low-high (CGE)
middle-high-low (CEG)

So with 3 notes, you have 12 ways of playing the arpeggio.

If you extend the arpeggio to the octave or 7th, you have even more options.

[Chorkstain]

Originally Posted by jazz oud

So with 3 notes, you have 12 ways of playing the arpeggio.

If you extend the arpeggio to the octave or 7th, you have even more options.

Doesn't each inversion have 6 permutations?

[jazz oud]

Oops!

You're right, I left out some, I was in a bit of a rush . . .

Each also has high-low-middle and low-high-middle

Root: CEG
GCE
CGE
1st: ECG
GEC
EGC
2nd: GCE
EGC
GEC

So there are 18, not 12, when using 3-note arpeggios.

Same approach obviously works with any 3-note pitch set (doesn't have to be a triad). The 1 4 5 and 1 b3 4 sets are useful, especially in 4-note versions with the octave:

145 (CFG)
1458 (CFGC) permutations: 1485, 1548, 1584, 1854, 1845, 4581, 4518, 4851, 4815, 4158, 4185, 5814, 5841, 5148, 5184, 5418, 5481
1258 (FGCF)
14b78 (GCFG)

1b34 (CEbF)
1b348 (CEbFC)
1268 (EbFCEb)
15b78 (FCEbF)

145 permutations: 154, 451, 415, 514, 541 (these can be any inversion)

1458 permutations: 1485, 1548, 1584, 1854, 1845, 4581, 4518, 4851, 4815, 4158, 4185, 5814, 5841, 5148, 5184, 5418, 5481

1b34 permutations: 14b3, b314, b341, 4b31, 41b3

etc.

[guitarjazz]

What is the purpose of scales?

[jazz oud]

Originally Posted by guitarjazz

What is the purpose of scales?

What is the purpose of music?

[jazzman1945]

Any melodic line expresses musical means different types of movements: crawling (chromatic scale at a slow tempo), walking (regular scale), jumping up - down the steps (arpeggio), flight (fast chromatic).

[Jazzguitarsussx]

Hi, I'd use arpeggios mixed with scales but use chromatic approach notes to 'enclose' each note of the arpeggio. For example one note below or one note above or target a note with both one below and above. Or even something like two notes above and one below- ensuring the 'target, enclosed' note is on a down beat.
You try many ways of targeting each chord tone then take an arpeggio and approach each chord tone a different way. By surrounding each arpeggio note this way it sounds less like just running up or down a straight arpeggio but your using outside notes to target these important notes... (if that makes sense!)

[GabrielSaul]

Originally Posted by jazz oud

What is the purpose of music?

That could be anything between writing beautiful odes to the world and lying face down in a pool of your own vomit.