Arpeggio

ar·peg·gi·o

1. The sounding of the notes of a chord in rapid succession instead of simultaneously.
2. A chord thus sounded.



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In music, an arpeggio is Italian for broken chord where the notes are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. This word comes from the Italian word "arpeggiare" , which means "to play on a harp". These are formed from scales, the arpeggio is based on the relative scale playing the "key" notes or those affected by the key signature.


Explanation
An arpeggiated chordAn arpeggio is a group of notes which are played one after the other, either going up or going down. Executing an arpeggio requires the player to play the sounds of a chord individually to differentiate the notes. The notes all belong to one chord. The chord may, for example, be a simple chord with the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the scale in it (this is called a 'tonic chord'). An arpeggio in the key of C major going up two octaves would be the notes (C, E, G, C, E, G, C).
An arpeggio is a type of broken chord. Other types of broken chords play chord notes out of sequence or more than one note but less than the full chord simultaneously. Arpeggios can rise or fall for more than one octave.
Students of musical instruments learn how to play scales and arpeggios. They are often a requirement for music examinations.
An 'arpeggiated chord' means a chord which is 'spread', i.e., the notes are not played exactly at the same time, but are spread out. Arpeggiated chords are often used in harp and piano music. An arpeggiated chord may be written with a squiggly vertical line in front of the chord. It is spread from the lowest to the highest note. Occasionally, composers such as Béla Bartók have asked for them to be played from top to bottom. This is shown by adding an arrow pointing down."

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Tempo

(Italian for time, plural: tempi) is the speed or pace of a given piece. It is a crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.

Provided by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo


Tempo
In music, the speed at which a piece should be played. One way of indicating the tempo of a piece of music is to give a metronome marking, which states the number of beats per minute; for example, ‘crotchet = 60’ means that there should be 60 crotchet beats to the minute, that is, one per second. Modern electronic metronomes measure tempo very accurately. Performers sometimes change or even ignore metronome markings, playing at a tempo that suits their interpretation of the music. However, the knowledge of performance practice gained by academic investigation into early music has encouraged performers to pay more attention to original tempo markings.

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(Link) tempo

al·le·gro (ə-lěg'rō, ə-lā'grō)

adv. & adj. Abbr. allo
In a quick, lively tempo, usually considered to be faster than allegretto but slower than presto. Used chiefly as a direction.
n. pl. al·le·gros
An allegro passage or movement.

[Italian, from Latin alacer, lively.]

provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Chord

a group of three or more notes that, when played simultaneously, can form a harmonic structure that can support a melody or a solo line. The simplest chords are triads, which are made of the first note of a scale and then alternate notes. For example, in the scale of C Major (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C), the triad would be C,E,G. Seventh chords use four notes: they consist of a triad with an added interval. For example, in the scale of G Dominant (G,A,B,C,D,E,F,G), the four-note seventh chord would be G,B,D,F. There are also more complicated chords which add additional intervals (see ninth chord, "alt dom"). A chord can also be played one note at a time (see "arpeggio" and "broken chord").


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