Perfect your arpeggio technique with these 4 top tips.
Arpeggios are one of the most vital scales for pianists everywhere. Not only are they good exercises for your fingers and wrists, but they are also good practice for when you need to fire off five perfect arpeggios in a row in the middle of a Chopin piece. So, we need to make sure that we are mastering our arpeggio technique. Take a look at our four tips to remember when practising arpeggios below, and then have a go at practising them using our All About Arpeggios cheat sheet.
1. Fingering
Make sure to double-check your choice of fingering. Not all arpeggios start on finger 5 in the left hand and finger 1 in the right hand. Always double check! If you are still unsure, try a number of different fingerings to help you work out which suits you best.
Download issue 102 of Pianist for an extra, in-depth masterclass on fingering.
2. Pace
Start slow and steady. As you become more accustomed to the notes and fingerings of the arpeggio, begin to increase your speed. Arpeggio speeds will vary depending on what stage you are in your piano learning. Beginner? Try 50 bpm. Intermediate or advanced? Aim for 60-90 bpm. The use of a metronome here is vital.
3. Style
Practise your arpeggios in varied styles. Start with a simple legato, mezzo forte style. Then, move on to legato pianissimo before trying legato forte. Once you are comfortable with those, test yourself by playing staccato. Better yet, stretch your learning even further and try playing rubato.
4. Remember their use
It can be easy to dismiss arpeggios as something we just have to do as part of our warm-up. However, you will need to use arpeggios in the majority of pieces that you play. Remembering how vital they are to your overall learning journey should encourage you when practising them.
Time to practise...
Download our All About Arpeggios cheat sheet, which includes FOUR interactive pages full of major and minor exercises!
DOWNLOAD HERE
