Guitar Play Broken Chords

Though the terms broken chord and arpeggio are often used interchangeably by guitar players, there are some minor differences between the two.

They both refer to the notes of the chord being played individually (rather than strummed together) but while in broken chords the notes are allowed to ring together in arpeggios the notes are not allowed to bleed into each other.

In arpeggios the notes of the chord are usually played in a linear order while in broken chords they’re played according to where they’re found on a particular chord shape.

Learning The Basics Of Guitar: How To Play Special / Split / Slash Chords

In this lesson I show you how to compose solos using arpeggios and in today’s lesson we’ll use broken chords as a composition tool.

The notes can be played after each other as they occur in the chord shape you’re playing as in ex. 1, or in different order as in ex. 2.

Before starting to use broken chords as a compositional tool, it’s good to get fluent in playing different sequences over one chord.

Broken Chords Images, Stock Photos, 3d Objects, & Vectors

This will train your right hand to play broken chords as well as give you ideas to use when making your own music.

The examples in the broken chords chart above are just a few of the many possibilities you have by playing the notes in a different order, or applying a different rhythm.

Ex. 1 is pretty straightforward as a sequence and uses triplets in the rhythm. Ex. 2 and Ex. 3 are another two sequences over the chord.

Piano Chord Patterns For Beginners

Ex. 4 introduces string skipping which is another option you have when composing with broken chords. Though it may feel natural to play notes on adjacent strings, once you introduce string skipping, your options when writing music instantly go up.

Ex. 5 is a hybrid of a string skipping sequence and a regular sequence. It is meant to show you that when sequencing a chord, you’re free to change the pattern anytime you want.

1. Rhythmic – the examples above use just eight notes and triplets. You have more choices than these such as using sixteenth notes, dotted notes as well as mixing and matching these different rhythmic elements, as in the example below:

Broken Guitar Tab, Seether

2. Changing the order of the notes: Experiment with different sequences. Use string skipping when necessary and don’t be afraid to mix and match. Don’t worry if you play something that goes out of the sequential pattern you’re playing. If it sounds right, it’s going to be right when using it in composition.

In order to find the right notes and chords, composers use keys to show them which notes and chords fit together (and, for those who go deeper into music theory, why) which is what we’ll be doing here.

I won’t be explaining how keys work in this lesson, but will simply choose the key of C major. (Click on the link if you want to learn which chords are in which key. This will give you the ability to compose music in all keys. Or else, keep reading on, compose in C major, and widen your options later on).

Morning Has Broken (cat Stevens)

It is the only major scale that doesn’t have any sharps or flats, which makes it easier to use for explanatory purposes.

These are all the chord choices we have in the key of C major. (For the purposes of this lesson we’ll be leaving the B diminished chord out, so we actually have 6 chords to choose from).

Note: We actually have more chord choices if we harmonize the scale with 7th chords or use extensions but since our goal is to learn how to use broken chords, we’ll be keeping things as simple as possible.

Video Lesson: 5 Ways To Strengthen Your Pinky

To do this, we’re first going to assign a Roman numeral to each chord in the key that we have as an option.

Thus, the popular chord progression I – IV – V, would be the chords C – F – G in the key of C major.

As you’ll see in the example broken chord melody at the end of this lesson, there’s a bar where there’s written N.C (No Chord) instead of a chord name over the notes.

How To Play Chord Melody On Guitar

The reason is that I’m not even using a chord in that bar. I’m just going down the scale of C major.

I use notes that are not in the chord at other places in the music (such as the third note of bars 2 and 3). These create a little dissonance that when resolved to a chord tone, makes the music more melodic.

The following is the C major scale in open position. All these notes are options you can use in the music you will be writing.

Music Theory For Guitar

I suggest that you learn it to get warmed up into music made with broken chords, but in the end, you should also come up with your own ideas.

One way to get fluent in composing with the guitar is to use a method like the above and write as much music as possible.

Alongside with that you should keep learning music theory and applying it to the guitar, as well as improving your guitar technique.

Creating Memorable Arpeggio Solos

When you take music theory concepts (such as keys, scales and chord progressions), combine them with the technique (picking the notes, or string skipping) and add to them your own creativity, you will be improving both of these skills at the same time.

You may consider giving a donation, by which you will be helping a songwriter achieve his dreams. Each contribution, no matter how small, will make a difference.

Posted by zodaries14

Tweet