{"id":1606,"date":"2020-07-17T06:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T13:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=1606"},"modified":"2023-01-13T15:22:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T23:22:09","slug":"arpeggio-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/arpeggio-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Arpeggio Practice – The FUN Way!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arpeggios are one of those musical things that separates piano players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing how to play arpeggios (and use them in songs) makes you a step above. It sounds much more complicated, musical, and impressive<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t take a genius to know that to get better at arpeggios it helps to practice them (it\u2019s true!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the problem is that arpeggio practice can often be \u2026 boring. Especially if all you\u2019re doing is playing them up and down, up and down, over and over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not musical. That doesn\u2019t sound that impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, you need to practice your arpeggios. But this lesson will show you HOW to practice arpeggios in a way that\u2019s super musical, applicable, and fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Arpeggio<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What makes this practice unique and creative is that we\u2019re only going to be playing one arpeggio in the right hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exercise is in the key of D minor (or F major if you prefer to think that way). Our right hand is ONLY going to play an F major arpeggio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s it. Super simple to start with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s time to make it musical…<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The left-hand is where the magic is going to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you\u2019re playing that F major arpeggio in your right hand, play the each of the following notes in order with your left:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D – Bb – F – C<\/b><\/center>\n\n\n\n

Hold each note for the value of TWO arpeggios. So you\u2019ll play that F major arpeggio up and down TWICE before changing notes with your left hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beautiful right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we\u2019re doing here is mixing the major sounds (the F major arpeggio) with the relative minor sounds (D minor is the relative minor of F major).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we\u2019re not done yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two-Handed Arpeggio Practice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Things are about to get a bit more complicated, but the result will be spectacular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep playing that F major arpeggio with your right hand. But, instead of playing single notes with our left hand, we\u2019ll play arpeggios starting on those notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we\u2019ll be playing arpeggios with BOTH hands, but only the left-hand will be changing positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing to do is figure out what notes we\u2019ll be playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1st arpeggio is D minor. So we\u2019ll use the notes D-F-A-D:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"D<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After that, we\u2019ll move down to the Bb. The notes are Bb-D-F-Bb:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bb<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then we\u2019ll move down to the F major arpeggio. You should know this one by now!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"F<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And finally a C major arpeggio. The notes are C-E-G-C:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"C<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This might take a bit of time. Go slow and just start with your left hand if you need to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as fingering goes, you can choose to play these left-hand arpeggios with your 5-3-2-1 fingers (which is what I do) or you can use 5-4-2-1. Some people prefer one over the other. It\u2019s up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re ready, try playing these arpeggios hands together. Keep playing that F major in your right hand and play those 4 arpeggio patterns in your left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It sounds AMAZING!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s doing so much to help you improve your arpeggio skills! Technique practice made fun \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to take things to the next level…<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re ready for it (and up for a challenge) you can try moving this out to two-octave arpeggios!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So your right-hand will play a double-octave F major arpeggio while your left-hand plays a slower, single-octave arpeggio (still moving around the keys).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This technique will require a thumb-tuck<\/a>. It\u2019s a fantastic tool to help you play the piano faster and this is a wonderful way to practice it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take it slow, make sure you\u2019re practicing it correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, if you\u2019re playing so fast that you\u2019re making mistakes, then all you\u2019re doing is practicing those mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we don\u2019t want that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have some fun. Take it slow, and enjoy this beautiful arpeggio practice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfb9 Your Go-To Place for All Things Piano<\/b><\/h2>

Subscribe to The Note<\/i> for exclusive interviews, fascinating articles, and inspiring lessons delivered straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time.<\/p>