arpeggiator
Chord note cycler
An arpeggiator is an electronic music device or software function that automatically plays the notes of a chord in sequence rather than simultaneously.
Found in synthesizers, keyboards, and digital audio workstations, it transforms held chords into rhythmic patterns—ascending, descending, or in programmed orders.
The arpeggiator turned a simple triad into a pulsing synth line.
Orders signals chronologically
- oscillatorCyclic signal generator
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
- waveformGraphed oscillation pattern
- filterPorous separation device
envelope · LFO · resonance · polyphony · monophonic · analog · digital · subtractive
Ordered succession of elements
- progressionSequential forward movement
- motifRecurring thematic element
- ostinatoRepeating musical figure
- loopCurve closing on itself
step · gate · note · octave · direction · up · down · random
Device directing a system
- keyboardArray of input keys
- DAWAudio production software
- channelPassage for transmission
- CCAdditional email recipient field
clock · sync · USB · plugin · host · input · output · mapping
sequencer
Orders signals chronologically
- oscillatorCyclic signal generator
- modulationVarying signals to transmit
- waveformGraphed oscillation pattern
filter · envelope · LFO · resonance · polyphony · monophonic · analog · digital · subtractive · FM
sequence
Ordered succession of elements
- progressionSequential forward movement
- motifRecurring thematic element
- ostinatoRepeating musical figure
loop · step · gate · note · octave · direction · up · down · random · order
controller
Device directing a system
CC · clock · sync · USB · plugin · host · input · output · mapping · learn
tempo
Rate of musical performance
swing · syncopation · groove · time · clock · BPM · subdivision · triplet · dotted · sixteenth
chord
Notes sounded simultaneously
scale · diatonic · major · minor · diminished · augmented · suspended · voicing · inversion · extension