Play Piano Arpeggios To Build A Solid Technique
Becoming skilled at playing the piano takes diligence and consistent work, but if you put in productive practice time and use effective finger exercises, your development will progress at a good pace. Piano arpeggios are patterns which outline the primary notes of a chord – the root, the third and the fifth. Practicing arpeggio figures is helpful since many pieces, especially those belonging to the classical era, contain plenty of arpeggio figures.
These exercises are not only useful to classical pianists – jazz pianists also need to be able to play arpeggio figures, as in improvisation it is useful to have a large toolbox of techniques. The more methods of playing you know, the greater variety you can bring to your playing.
There are a handful of different types of arpeggios that can be played – each consists of a different basic pattern. A major arpeggio, for example, contains an interval spanning four semitones (a major third) followed by one of three semitones (a minor third) followed by the first note played, an octave above. Thus a major arpeggio on the note G would have the notes ‘G, B, D, G’ if you were playing a single octave.
An ascending minor arpeggio is built on the pattern of a minor third followed by a major third, so that a C minor exercise would consist of the notes ‘C, E flat, G’ repeated over multiple octaves. As you can see from these descriptions, it helps to have a basic understanding of the different types of intervals.
In short, there are five types of intervals – major, minor, perfect, augmented and diminished. A major interval has a characteristically ‘bright’ or ‘happy’ sound, while a minor interval has a sound that can be described as more ‘mournful’ or ‘dark’. If you practice an arpeggio for each major and minor key, along with augmented and diminished patterns, the finger exercise will improve your playing over time.
When you introduce arpeggio exercises into your practice regimen, it is best to start out with slow and separate practice so you can work out which fingers to place on which notes, and so that you can learn to play each arpeggio smoothly. Once you are sure of the notes, you can experiment with playing legato (a smooth transition between each note), staccato (playing each note short and sharp) and other variations, and you can also try playing both hands simultaneously.
A hopeful pianist needs to incorporate many different exercises into his or her repertoire in order to develop a good technique and to see progress. Piano arpeggios are useful because they develop the speed and accuracy required to execute complicated musical passages without fumbling.
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