arpeggios
Notes played sequentially
Arpeggios is the plural of arpeggio, a musical term for the notes of a chord played in succession rather than simultaneously.
The technique appears across instruments—a pianist's fingers rolling up the keys, a guitarist sweeping across strings: She practiced her arpeggios for hours.
The word comes from Italian arpeggiare, to play the harp, where such broken chords are natural to the instrument.
Note-playing hand technique
- scalesPlates or weighing devices
- exercisesActivities for fitness
- etudesMusical practice pieces
- precisionAccuracy of measurement
speed · accuracy · dexterity · coordination · repetition · drills · warm-up · metronome
Lock-operating instruments
- octavesEight-tone intervals
- pedalingTurning bike cranks
- fingerworkDigital manipulation skill
- ivoryTusk-derived material
ebony · concerto · sonata · nocturne · romantic · classical · rolling · cascading
Simultaneous independent melodies
- polyphonySimultaneous independent melodic lines
- fugueContrapuntal musical form
- textureSurface tactile quality
- motifRecurring thematic element
development · figuration · ornamentation · variation · accompaniment · sequence · ostinato · flourish
Gradual increase in loudness
- diminuendoGradual decrease in loudness
- fortissimoVery loud, musically
- pianissimoExtremely quiet, in scores
- rubatoElastic musical timing
fermata · allegro · adagio · presto · andante · glissando · vibrato · ritardando
Stringed instrument's neck face
- tappingRepeated light striking
- fingerstylePlucking strings directly
- acousticRelating to sound
- electricPowered by current
shredding · solos · licks · riffs · neoclassical · tablature
fingering
Note-playing hand technique
precision · speed · accuracy · dexterity · coordination · repetition · drills · warm-up · metronome · memorization
keys
Lock-operating instruments
- octavesEight-tone intervals
- pedalingTurning bike cranks
- fingerworkDigital manipulation skill
ivory · ebony · concerto · sonata · nocturne · romantic · classical · rolling · cascading · rippling
counterpoint
Simultaneous independent melodies
- polyphonySimultaneous independent melodic lines
- fugueContrapuntal musical form
- textureSurface tactile quality
motif · development · figuration · ornamentation · variation · accompaniment · sequence · ostinato · flourish · embellishment
crescendo
Gradual increase in loudness
- diminuendoGradual decrease in loudness
- fortissimoVery loud, musically
- pianissimoExtremely quiet, in scores
rubato · fermata · allegro · adagio · presto · andante · glissando · vibrato · ritardando · accelerando
fretboard
Stringed instrument's neck face
- tappingRepeated light striking
- fingerstylePlucking strings directly
- acousticRelating to sound
electric · shredding · solos · licks · riffs · neoclassical · tablature
chord
Notes sounded simultaneously
tonality · voicing · resolution · tension · dominant · subdominant · tonic · diatonic · cadence · modulation
- fingerstyle guitarfingerpicking, fingerstyle, thumbpick, fingerpicks, thumb picks
- piano studiesetudes, finger exercises, technical studies, drills, exercise books
- classical musicBach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms
- kids musicsinging, songs, lullabies, nursery rhymes, alphabet songs
- musicianshipsinging, playing, performing, practicing, harmonizing
- Beginner Pianoeasy songs, finger exercises, piano method, method books, simple melodies