"Chords are just arpeggios"

Nickie

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A very popular and knowledgeable ukulele store owner here said something to me yesterday.
He said that chords are just arpeggios, played very fast.
I thought about that all the way home.
I don't know.
What do you think?
 
Arpeggios are just chords played slower. :p
 
When you are strumming chords you are playing the notes at the same time. Arpeggios, sometimes known as broken chords, are the individual notes played in a sequence. The word arpeggiare comes from the Italian, meaning playing as if on a harp.
 
On a low G instrument, a G chord that includes a low G would not have the low B in it. A G arpeggio could be G B D
 
I always think of it the opposite way........arpeggios are just chords played by picking single strings.
 
A rooster and an egg are lying in bed, the rooster is smoking a cigarette, the egg turns over and snarls: "Well, there's ONE mystery solved!!"
 
...in a sequence.

Serious question. Is an arpeggio a picking pattern? I was asked to settle a debate on this at the HIUR and formulated an answer, but I'm not set on it.

At the time, I said, an arpeggio is the chord tones played IN ORDER, up or down. Like: C E G C G E C. On the other hand, a "picking pattern" is ANY ORDER of plucked strings while holding a chord. So a picking pattern could be an arpeggio, but only in certain instances.

Anybody know the true definition - if there is such a thing?
 
Broken chords
 
In music theory, arpeggios are broken chords. But we can not use arpeggios instead of chords often on our ukulele, because of root notes. Let's strum!
 
Well, you can still play an arpeggio, but in inversion rather than root position. For example C chord in root- C E G, 1st inversion- E G C, 2nd inversion- G C E
 
Serious question. Is an arpeggio a picking pattern? I was asked to settle a debate on this at the HIUR and formulated an answer, but I'm not set on it.

At the time, I said, an arpeggio is the chord tones played IN ORDER, up or down. Like: C E G C G E C. On the other hand, a "picking pattern" is ANY ORDER of plucked strings while holding a chord. So a picking pattern could be an arpeggio, but only in certain instances.

Anybody know the true definition - if there is such a thing?

I guess if the sequence is repeated then it qualifies as a "pattern". So to me an arpeggio is a picking pattern.........but I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again:p
 
Well, you can still play an arpeggio, but in inversion rather than root position. For example C chord in root- C E G, 1st inversion- E G C, 2nd inversion- G C E

Hi, EDW!

When changes chords, we need root (base) notes first in arpeggio in general. In piano and guitar, almost always they can do it and they do but we can not do it always on our ukulele.
 
Hi, EDW!

When changes chords, we need root (base) notes first in arpeggio in general. In piano and guitar, almost always they can do it and they do but we can not do it always on our ukulele.

Root is on the bottom if you want root position.
 
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