There are a number of ways for a guitarist to play a chord that can have a significant impact on how the listener is affected by the song. All of the notes in the chord do not have to be played simultaneously, which is the typical method of playing chords. The term “broken chords” covers various other methods that a guitarist can use to present a chord.

“Arpeggios” are a very similar idea, to the point the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Generally, a broken chord lets the notes of the chord ring together, while an arpeggio plays the notes of the chord separately.

Broken Chords

Broken chords are most often used for slower, mellower rhythm guitar work. This is not necessarily the only use of broken chords, but it is the most common usage. There can be a good amount of variance in how slowly the individual notes are introduced. The example below shows three different methods of playing a broken chord, each of which gives a distinctly different tone. Each method uses the exact same open Am chord, but sounds quite different.

Example 1: Standard 'A minor' chord, and three broken chord versions

In the last article we covered first and second inversions of major and minor triads. This week we’ll do some further exercises on these, and look at inversions of augmented and diminished triads.

Recap exercises

The following example simply presents a series of major and minor triads in second inversion, block form. After you hear the chord, stop the player and sing them back, first paying attention to the basic size of the intervals. On a second listening, try to figure out their quality:

Once you have spent some time with inversions of major and minor triads you can use the following example to test your skills. Click to read the rest…

Ever pick up a piece of sheet music and wish that you could hear the notes on the page? Working on ear training can be frustrating if you can’t hear the melody and don’t know how to pick it out on a keyboard. Noteflight’s online notation software can help you develop your ear training skills whether you are a beginning musician, a music educator, or a professional.

Sign up for Noteflight’s free account at Noteflight.com. Once you have registered, you have a virtual music program at your fingertips. Not only does Noteflight give you the tools to create original music and your own ear training exercises, it gives you social networking capabilities through Facebook and Twitter. You can even set up a profile to share your work with the world. Noteflight provides you with HTML code to post your scores and exercises on your own personal blog or website and allows you to export your files as audio and MIDI files.

Picking out a melody

Use Noteflight’s simple interface to input a melody for easy playback. Click to read the rest…