How to Play Guitar Arpeggios

An arpeggio, when executed correctly, gives a distinct sound to whichever chord this technique is being applied to. The word arpeggio means "broken chord" in Italian, and that's exactly what it is; a chord whose notes ring out in succession. Each note is to be heard by itself and silenced before the other is sounded; this is not a chord whose notes are played all at once. When the technique is mastered, it will no doubt add classical flair and distinction to one's playing.

Things You'll Need

• o Guitar tuned to standard tuning (E-A-D-G-B-E)
• o Thick guitar pick

Instructions

How to play Guitar Arpeggios

1. With your left hand, fret an A minor chord; starting at the A string, leave the A string open, fret the D string behind the second fret, fret the G string behind the second fret, and fret the B string behind the first fret.

2. Grasping your guitar pick between your index finger and thumb, pluck the A string, and then mute it using your palm. Then pluck the D string and mute it by releasing the tension on the fretted note. Repeat each action for the remainder of the strings, keeping in mind that you need to mute the high E string with your left hand.

3. Keep practicing; start out slow, painfully slow even, until you are sure that you are getting the technique down properly. Once you've mastered it slowly, begin to speed it up a bit, just don't try to do it as fast as possible because it sounds horrible; remember the whole point of playing music is so that the music sounds good, not necessarily fast.

4. Try reversing the process; start at the high e string and work your way backwards to the A string. You'll have to strum up instead of down, so this will make for another challenging exercise.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to take it slow, no one ever became a guitar god in one day.